Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Vietnam-Australia Goat Improvement Program
(Card Program 009/VIE05 2006-2009) Workshop Training Manual

Technologies for improving goat housing and hygiene
in the central provinces of Vietnam PGS Dr. Dinh van Binh
Dr. Nguyen Thi Mui
MSc Khuc Thi Hue

Ha Tay, November 21, 2008 PART I

Housing technology in goat production


3.1. House frame

Support pillar made of wood Two-roof house structure

• House frame is made of wood or bamboo. It is the best way if the frame is made of wood
because it is the big stand for the cage.
• The support pillar can be made of wood or brick with 50-70 cm height, the top should be
covered with solid wooden girders.

3.2. House roofing

Roofs are made of white corrugated
iron
Roofs are made of fibro cement

• The roof is from the ground enough to avoid wind, and slopping for good drainage, and at
least 60 cm from the wall to keep away from sunshine and rain.
• Roof is made of bamboo, wood, or corrugated iron, or fibro cement.

3.3. House walls House wall covered by B40 net House wall made of bamboo/wood
Squares made of bamboo for keeping baby

Pit for manure at the back of cage Drain for compost

• At the back of the cage should be drains or holes for composting. This is a good way of
preventing pollution in the house and from disease infection
• Goat manure should be compost for at least 1 month before manuring the trees
• In front of the house underneath should be the fence for keeping goats from going inside
or to the back

Fence in front of the cage underneath

3.6. House floor
This is the important part of the goat cage
• The floor should be made of wood with size of 2.5 x 3 cm, assembled into lines with a
space of 1-1,5 cm in between that is large enough for manure, but goat leg to drop down.

Floor made of bamboo Floor made of wood

• If the floor is made of bamboo, the bamboo sticks are required to be straight so that goat
leg can not be dropped in the space between bamboo sticks, and bamboo splints should
be directed above, which will not in turns create stagnant water and manure on the floor.
• Goat cage floor should be flat and at 50-70 cm away from the ground Floor is about 0.5m from the ground

3.7. Feeding trough
• Feeding trough of green and raw feed should be made in front and outside the cage.
Holes should be made for goats to leave their heads to eat feeds. These holes should be at
40-60 cm from the ground, at the size of 25-30 cm.
• Feeding troughs should be made of wood or bamboo or plastic with the size of 30 x 50 x

Breeding billy goats 1.0 – 1.2 1.4 – 1.6
Goats of 07-12 months old 0.6 – 0.8 0.8 – 1.0
Below 6-month old goats 0.3 – 0.5 0.4 – 0.6

PART 2

Process of raising and taking care of goats at different ages

1. Taking care of goats by their mother

1.1. From birth to the age of 15 day old
After delivered from their mother, baby goats are cleaned and placenta be cut, they are

C. Before feeding, nipple
should be kept clean or sterilized
From the 15th days on, baby goats should be fed with other digestive feeds like bran,
corn powder, Soya bean powder, green leaves.
A 24- 45 day old goats should be fed with 30-35g of feed, and a 46-90 day old goats
should be fed with 50-100g of pure feed. Animal feed will be added until the baby goat can eat
indepently. Baby goats needs feeding with clean waters.

3.4.Notes

Feeds and water must be supplemented for
stall-fed kids
In the period of from birth to 90 day old age, it is required not to gaze baby goats with his/her
mother, to avoid being exhausted from running after the mother or being caught by dangerous
animals. At this period, it required to keep baby goats in cages and provide green feed and water.

2. Take care of reserve goats
It is better to select high-productive she goats and nanny goats after weaning:
• Take care of reserve goats by good regulations. Goats should not be fed with feeds rich in
energy like corns, cassava, mixed feed, but fed with green and raw feed (2-5 kilogram per
day), equivalent to 65-75% dry materials.
• As for new feed, by products should be added step by step with digestion capacity of 0,1-
0,5kg per head.
• Provide enough clean water for goats, create good conditions for goats to exercise 3-4
hours a day. Clean cage floor, ground, trough daily.
• Baby Billy goats should be taken good care. After 3 month old, the goat should be keep
separately. When the goat is 11-12 months old, it is able to copulate.
• At the first stage of taking care of reserve goats, the goats are easy to be infected such
diseases as diarrhea, bloating stomas. Thus, feed sources are required to be hygienic, and
suitable solutions should be given out.

4cm from the belly by sharp sterilized knife. It is important not to allow the mother to eat the
placenta.
In case of difficult delivery and 4 hours after delivery placenta not going out, it is
required to ask veterinary staffs.
After delivery, mother goats are required to be fed with 0.5% salty water or 5-10% sugar
water. Everyday, mother goats are fed with fresh, green and high quality feed by identified helps.
However, mother goats should not be fed with too much pure feed to avoid bloating.
Clean udder and vulva of mother goats. In case of red swelled udders, it required to apply
hot compress to avoid obstructed lactiferous duct.
3.3. Milking goats
If good care is taken of goats, they will give a high production of milk. Therefore, it is
required to provide the following assistance:
• Mother goats should be fed with more green and fresh feed and pure mixed feed with a
content of protein of 15-17%, Premix, mineral, and salt. In addition, some feeds like jack
fruit leaves, mixed bran good for milk should be supplemented
• A goat with a daily milk productivity of more than 2 liters should be provided with
enough pure feed of 400 g per liter of milk at the first and the second month, and it
should be milked twice daily.
• Provide as much water as possible (about 3-5 liter per head) in troughs inside cages and
grounds. Often supplement mineral prefix of 0.5 kilogram for goats per month during the
time of milking. The mineral premix can be mixed with pure feed or be made in blocks
on the cage walls, or put in bamboo pipe for goats to lick
• Create good conditions for goats to exercise or run around the ground 3-5 hours
everyday. Rub and delouse goats
• Keep tracks of mother goats in the first second months after delivery. The weight of
mother goats in the period of time decline by 5-7%, but it will improve since the middle
second month. If the mother goats are not taken good care, they will give bad production.
• As for high- yield goats, it is easy for them to get mastitis. Thus, it is required to keep
tracks of goats, their udders, colors and flavor of milk. In case of unusual circumstance,
there should be some methods of warming or massage udders by salty and warm water,
1. Clean hands and nipples before milking 2. Hold the nipple 3. Hold tightly by other fingers
by thumb and fore finger

4. Hold the nipple by the whole hand 5. Hold tightly by the whole hands

twice a week by cleaning and combing goat body.
It is required to have a book tracking the effects of breeding for productivity management
When the effect of breeding can only reach below 60%, and the age of the breeds is more
than 6 years, the breeds should be rejected. Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

Vietnam-Australia Goat Improvement Project
(CARD Project 009/VIE05 2006-2009)

Workshop Training Manual

Goat selection, breeding and management in the
Central provinces

Asst. Prof., Ph.D Dinh Van Binh
Engineer: Trinh Xuan Thanh Ha Tay, Nov. 21, 2008 2
Part 1
Goat selection and management


According to FAO, more than 90% of goats in the world are raised in developing countries,
which may represent a significant income.

Goat raising has been contributing to the poor’s economic development, especially in the
mountainous areas, where other animal like cows or pigs are hard to raise. Goats play an
important part in hunger ellimination and poverty eradication; many households get out of
poverty thank to goats.

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3. Advantages and disadvantages of goat raising

3.1 Advantages
• Goat raising needs less initial capital than cow raising (the price of 20-25 million VND
for a cow is equal to the amount needed for 10-15 Bach Thao dairy goats, or 25-30 meat
grass goats).
• Goat is more prolific than cow. After 4 years, a nanny-goat gives birth to 23 kids with
500 kg of meat and 2,500 kg of milk, in comparision with a cow delivering only 1 calf
with 350 kg of meat and 2,000 kg of milk. Moreover, goat is easily adaptive, even in
severe environmental conditions.
• Goat is smaller than cow; still a good dairy goat can produce milk of 3-3.5 liters/day,
providing a suitable raising procedure. In term of milk output/100 kgP ratio, Barbari goat
has the highest figure of 3.41, Bach Thao goat reaches 2.4, and Ba Vi local cow records a
mere figure of 2.1. Goat’s feed is abundant, multiple, easy to find; total amount of
feedstuff for goats is smaller than that for cows or buffaloes.

way to spread around. It is important to notice that goat raising is traditionally based on

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natural grassland, to take full advantage of natural resources, idle employment and
dormant capital; goat raising is yet conceived as a main source of income and wealth.

II. breeds of goat in vietnam

1. Dual-purpose goat
1.1. Bach Thao goat
 Normal weight: 45-50kg (female) and 60-
70kg (male)
 Fertility rate: 1.8 young/brood  Milk output: 1.5-3 liter/day
 Milk cycle: 150-160 days 1.2. Babari goat
- Male: 50-55kg
- Female: 35-40 kg
Milk output: 1.2-2.2 liter/day
Milk cycle: 150-155 days
- Fertility rate
Young/brood: 1.5; brood/year: 1.5
Survival rate until weaning: 85-95%
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2. Dairy goats in Vietnam

2.1. Saanen goat
- Male: 75-85kg
- Female: 65-70kg
- Young/brood:1.5 ; brood/year: 1.3
Milk out put: 3,2-4,5 liter/days
Milk cycle: 200-240 days
Total milk output: 700-1000 liter
2.2. Alpine goat
- Female:50-55 kg
- Male: 65-80kg - Female:50-55 kg
- Fertility rate
Young/brood: 1,5; brood/year:1,3
- Milk out put: 2.8-3.5 liter/day
Milk cycle: 180-220 days



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4. Hybrid goats in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong Boer x Bach Thao Saanen x Bach Thao

Boer x Bach Thao Saanen x Bach Thao III. Selection

Breeder is selected by:
1. Appearance
2. Productivity
3. Combination of appearance and productivity
- Rating
- Other methods

1. Male selection for breeding

1.1. Selection by the previous generation

A good male breeder is very important, because it may contribute up to 50% of its heredity to the
next generation.

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1.3. Selection by the next generation

Evaluating the male breeder by its offspring

2. Female breeder selection
 Selection by the previous generation (grandparents, parents)
 Selection by the quality of the breeder:
- Appearance
- Productivity and adaptability

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- Selection by the next generation
Æ In case of goat, due to its high fertility rate, short reproductive cycle and large herd, people
often choose the breeder by its attributes.
Selection criteria:
1. Broad, firm and slightly long head, vivacious face
2. Neck is long, soft, firm and tapering toward head
3. Straight back
4. Rib is round and slanting backward
5. There is a furrow before pelvis, representing a good digestive system
6. Broad hip, equal and large breasts with obvious milk sinew.
7. Straight and well-proportioned forelegs; straight hindlegs
8. Long and strong jaw
9. Good genital
10. Meet with criteria of weight and fertility
11. Suitable age; overage nanny-goat should not be chosen as breeder.

Goats suitable for breeding