Why Do People Raise Goats?
Have you ever wondered after coming across some people, why do people raise goats? why keep and raise goats? What is appreciable about them? Goats mean different things to different people. For farmers, it means a source of livelihood. For homesteaders, it means a companion or a pet.
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Goats are one of those animals that take less and give more. Goats are a major part of animal husbandry. A goat is not just a pet but is a source of finances too. Now, you must be wondering how to raise baby goats?
Goats not only give milk and meat but also skin and fibre. Further, we will discuss all the benefits you can get, from these sometimes gentle and sometimes naughty animals.
There are more than 80 breeds of goats worldwide. Each has different characteristics based on its size, colour, and habitat. Here are some of the reasons why do people raise goats?
Popular Reasons – Why Do People Raise Goats?
Meat
According to the survey three-quarter of the population eat goat meat. Because of the consumption of meat in such a large quantity goats are raised by 90% of the farmers. With proper marketing strategies and depending on the breeds, farmers get ample money.
Milk & Dairy
The goats which are dairy-based give a superabundant amount of milk, more than the family can use. Goat milk gives cheese, yogurt, buttermilk. These products are ideal for people who cannot tolerate cow’s milk. Small-scale farmers could just sell the fresh milk for income.
Soap
Beneficial for people with sensitive skin, goat’s milk makes soft, wonderful, and mild soap.
Fibre
Versatile in nature, goats not only give meat and milk but also their fibre. Pygora and Angora goats give highly expensive mohair, which is why they are so expensive.
Cashmere goats produce cashmere. Other than these the raw fibre of the goat could be spin into yarn and weave or crochet into any product. Still, thinking why do people raise goats? Below are more uncommon reasons.
Clear Land
Goats being vegetarian is very helpful for farmers in case they want to clear weeds from their cultivating lands. Goats incredibly ruminate and love eating blackberry brambles and weeds. Simply leave them on wherever you want to clear out and let them work as brush hogs.
Pack Animals
Being comfortable and able to climb through steep and rocky paths, goats can be trained for carrying gear on hikes. Goats are fully capable of carrying 20%-30% of their body weight and have a negligible environmental impact. As they rely on bushes and weeds you don’t need to pack any food for them.
Dung as Fuel
Wood and petroleum are costly and hard to come by for small farmers, goat dung is used as a fire fuel as it is easily available and that is for free.
Skin and Hide
Goatskin is used for making many products such as gloves. For this, the goatskin is dried and tanned like leather. With hairs still intact, goat hides are used traditionally in Africa to create drum heads. Rugs are also prepared with goatskin.
Easy to Train and Handle
Goat is easily trainable as it is social in nature. Because it is smaller in size compared to other farm animals such as cows and buffaloes, goats can be controlled and managed by children as well. Their smaller size makes it easier to handle them.
Inexpensive to Keep
Goats are not only useful in terms of their milk and meat but are highly economical (light on farmers’ pockets) to take care of.
You don’t need to give them any fancy, costly food. Just leave them in the pasture, as they feed on bushes and weeds. They also do not need any fancy shelter, just some good fencing and hay is enough. Thus, inexpensive to keep.
Versatile
This animal really takes the crown of the most versatile animal. It not only gives us meat, milk, fibre, and skin, but it is used for carrying packs and form fuel with their dungs. This creature does it all.
Manure
Okay, you must be thinking every animal dung can be used to manure, what makes this one special? But goat manure is great for your fields.
According to the studies, about 300 pounds of manure can be produced by a goat each year. And since the feces of the goat is in pellet form, it makes them easy to handle. Manure produced by the goat is a high source of nitrogen, potassium, potash, and other minerals as well.
Easily Acclimatise
With other farm animals such as horses, dogs, and cows, any new addition to the group can create a tense environment. It becomes about acceptance in the group. But with goats, there is no such problem.
Goats easily adapt to the new environment and do not create any havoc( unless it is a matter of male dominance). Goats are non-reactive to the addition of any new animal. They solely focus on their grazing regardless of who comes and goes among them.
Great Companion-
A goat may not be the choice for a pet over the usual cat, dog, or fish. What child will beg his/her parents for a goat as a pet? Despite that goat is gentle loving and caring in nature. They are gentle in nature.
They are loyal, delightful, and funny creatures that may make you fall in love with them. Their free run jumps may put you in a good mood when you are sad. Goats are herd animals being social in nature, so it is in their best interest if they have one of their own with them
Conclusion
Generally, the only reasons that come to mind for keeping goats are meat and milk. But today we shed some light on more popular reasons and benefits of keeping goats. These little creatures receive so less from us and yet give so much.
In a way they provide food and milk for our families, they help financially( to farmers), they sometimes are a part of our clothes as cashmere or leather. They carry our gears and most important of all, they can be a companion to anyone when they need goats to be kept as a pet. We have discussed some important reasons why do people raise goats?
This article is only for educational purposes we care for every animal’s life whether wild or domestic and do not support slaughtering. The above information is for understanding why do people raise goats? We do not have any hatred for any society of people or animals.
