Why Keep Dairy Goats? is a practical livestock guide produced by FARM-Africa that teaches small-scale farmers how to successfully raise dairy goats for milk, meat, income generation, manure production, and household nutrition. The handbook is written as an educational training manual and covers every aspect of dairy goat management, including housing, feeding, breeding, kidding, milking, record keeping, and disease prevention.
The guide begins by explaining the benefits of keeping dairy goats. It highlights goat milk as a nutritious food source and discusses the economic advantages of goat production for small farms. The handbook notes that goats require less land, less feed, and lower startup costs than cattle while still providing milk, meat, manure, and offspring that can be sold for income. The document also includes a comparison of goat, cow, and human milk nutrient content.
A substantial portion of the guide focuses on practical goat management. Detailed sections explain how to construct goat housing, design feeding and watering systems, store fodder, manage breeding programs, care for pregnant does, raise kids, perform weaning, identify animals, trim hooves, and milk goats properly. The illustrations and diagrams throughout the handbook make it especially useful for beginning goat keepers. For example, pages 3 through 5 contain diagrams of goat housing layouts, feeding areas, feed troughs, and complete goat-house plans.
The latter half of the manual covers animal health and disease management. Common diseases discussed include coccidiosis, colibacillosis, mastitis, pneumonia, internal parasites, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), tick-borne diseases, babesiosis, heartwater, anaplasmosis, and enterotoxemia. The guide provides symptoms, prevention strategies, and treatment recommendations aimed at helping farmers recognize problems early and improve herd health.
Overall, the handbook serves as a comprehensive introduction to dairy goat husbandry and would be especially valuable for homesteaders, preparedness-minded individuals, small-scale livestock producers, and anyone interested in improving self-sufficiency through animal agriculture.
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