Advantages of Rearing Dairy Goats In Kenya

There are many advantages that can be realized from keeping the dairy goats. These include

1. The initial capital investment is less compared to cattle
2. Are well adapted to tropical harsh conditions (feed and water shortages, heat stress, rough terrain and tropical diseases)
3. Goats are hardy and can still survive on scavenging
4. Small in size hence easily managed by women, children and the elderly
5. Easily sold
6. High reproductive rate. Their gestation period is only five months as compared to nine in cattle
7. Twinning rate is high
8. Require relatively less space for their structures
9. Have shorter generation interval
10. High growth rate hence mature early
11. Longer lactation period than sheep hence stay longer in production
12. Utilizes a wide variety of feed hence easy to manage their feeding program
13. They breed through all the seasons (not seasonal breeders)
14. Their products have medicinal values (milk and meat)
15. Reduced risk of loss. It is easy to replace a goat that it is to replace a cow

Other Products from dairy goat industry

• Castrates
• culls
• breeding stock and
• Hides and Skins.
• manure

By-products

• Include; Hooves, manure, bones, horns, blood

Opportunities

• Availability of goat rearing space.
• High demand for goat’s milk.
• Availability of goat’s semen at CAIS.
• High nutritional and medicinal value of goat’s milk.
• Highly trained personnel are available.
• Credit facilities available.