Goat Production and Health Management

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Breeds. 3. Improvement through breeding and genetics. 4. Goat anatomy and physiology. 5. Management. 6. Feeds and feeding. 7. Reproduction. 8. Meat production. 9. Milk production. 10. Leather, skin and hair. 11. Diseases. 12. Economics and marketing. Appendices. Glossary. Index. Goats have a bright future as a domestic animal because of its continued usefulness and generation of new information to maintain this species in a more sustainable and profitable manner. Goat farming requires less capital to start and maintain than cattle or buffalo farming. Goat also has a higher reproductive rate as compared to cattle or buffaloes. Goat can sustain itself on marginal lands where other species of livestock may not even survive. The book has put emphasis on goat production in India but lot of information from world over is mentioned. Goats have been a major part of the research and development programmes aimed at poverty alleviation via the use of small ruminants. Research is of little use if its results are not disseminated and this book is part of the strategy for the dissemination and promotion of the research results to ensure that poor and under-resourced farmers benefit. The publication is expected to provide a useful reference source for all those who are interested in goats. (jacket).…