Performance of Goat Farms in Region 10

Abstract

Goat always has a place in most of the farming systems in the country. It may play a minor role, but their importance in the rural life had long been recognized so that the condition in which they are raised must be assessed. A study was conducted to evaluate the performance of backyard and commercial farms in Region 10. Provinces included were Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, and Misamis Occidental. Site identification was based on goat population. The following were gathered from 34 backyard and five commercial farms: average doe per farm, kidding index, kidding size, kidding interval, type of birth, the sex ratio of kids, birth status of kids, average daily gain and mortality. The average number of doe per farm for the backyard is seven (7) and 34 for commercial. There are a lower kidding index and kid size as against the national average both for backyard and commercial. Kidding intervals in the backyard are shorter than the national average, but the commercial is longer by 13.63 days than the national. Birth type for backyard is dominated by single tone followed by twins and triplets. The commercial has a similar trend on birth types. The backyard had a higher percentage of kids born alive (99%) than commercial (96.55%) Kids in the Region have better growth performance than the national average both in backyard and commercial. Mortality among kids in the backyard below one month is higher while in the commercial highest mortality was in kids 1-3 months old. Results of the evaluation of goat farm performance showed that the major problems in goat raising in the region are poor kid performance, poor dam performance, and high mortality. However, a lot of technological options which are products of previous researches are already available and can be delivered to goat raisers.