Another good management skill to know,when you have goat(s) in milking mode,never keep the buck close by or the milk will take on a unpleasant flavour,one should keep all breeding sire(s)  at some distance from the does but within eye sight of each other.

Proud Independant:
mikey

Urea is also given to goats,one must be careful with urea,give no more than 10%,urea acts as a bypass protein.

Desmodium Rensonii               20-22% crude proetein
Gliricidia,kakawate,Madre de Cacoa       20% crude protein
ipip-ipil                                18-20% crude protein
Flemingia                             14.4-18% crude protein(may also act as a bypass protein)
Samanea saman (acacia)  can be used to replace bran
Note:we prefer to put the urea in the goats drinking water,personal choice only.
Proud Independant:
mikey

Mr Hog,good man.I was checking the website of a major breeder/producer from Manila north area,their asking price for f1, 50% boer percentage,6000.00-7000.00 peso each,75% boer percentage approx,12000.00 pesos each,and up from there.

Proud Independant
mikey

In order to help our industry and collect stats,would be great if other producer(s) list their liveweight prices they get from the region in which they farm.
mikey

Ear tags,the easy way to identify your goat(s) is not always practical for some of us that have no access to the tags,I have heard of some farmers putting a rope around the goats neck and tying a different coloured string,or tape to identify their goats.This is a simple and practical way to help better manage one(s) operation.Just an idea.Hope this helps.
Proud Independant Region 7
mikey

P.S. do not be shy,share your ideas with us.United we stand,divided we fall.

The old saying: a man who never took a chance,had a chance.Research is  important before any decision should be finalized,another saying,buyer beware,if it is too good to be true,probably right.AS producers we have to make important decisions concerning the future of our investments,having an edge helps in the short term.Farming worldwide wide is under pressure.Farms are becoming larger, a business more than just a farm.Producers must be able to change with market conditions,or be left out in the cold.
Proud Independant Region 7
mikey

Slyfox,right on.we do need to unite,the hog producers of the Philippines need to get our message out that the hight cost(s) of operating our farms is killing us.Having a forum like this to brain storm ideas is a good start,putting pressure on the Philippine Govt. is another,long term plans would be the exporting of our product,the major problem here is the rateing of the processing plant,AAA the best followed by AA,hog processing plants here in North America kill thousands of hogs per shift.The cost(s) of equipement for processing is expensive,may be good quality used equipement is a option.
Proud Independant Region 7
mikey

One of the main problems I see as a hog producer in the Philippines is,the high cost of production,mainly the feed cost involved.Every year the cost of feed will rise,that is almost a given,the cost of production rises but the price per kilo liveweight stays about the same or lower,getting harder and harder to squeeze out some profit(s) from ones operation.With the major proscessors importing from abroad,new hog operations starting up everyday,there is always the slight chance of over supply.I have seen this happen in North America,over supply,the price drops and inventories of stock lower,the weaker producers leave,the stronger ones find a way to hang on until the market picks up again.The big fish eat the little fish.I think the key is to be able to lower ones feed cost(s) some how.

mikey  Region 7

Or make it worst for him.
mikey

Madam Dadai Rubia stressed to me that a key to a successful goat operation is Record keeping on your herd(s).This makes good sense,how can a person remember all that is needed about his herd from memory.Keeping records on your goats makes for better management of your operation,one is able to get all the background information needed to make decisions on that goat or goat(s),the sire and dam,age, hoof trimming, last time dewormed,date bred,date kidding,how many kid(s),single,twin.triple.There are times that a person will want to see the history of that goat they may wish to buy from you,someone looking for a breeder,will be interested on the background of the goat(s) bloodlines.
Proud Independant
mikey

Over Crowding:
This is from personal experience:goats do poorly when stressed in confinded spaces,goats need approx, 20 square feet each.I prefer 25 square feet each and in their own pen,our pens are 5x5 each ,25 square feet each pen.crowded goats will stop eating if the inside temperature reaches 30c in the barn.Remember a goat will eat at night if you leave a light on for them,they can eat a fair amount through the night.

Always seperate the pregnant goats from the non pregnant goats,more goats loose their babies this way (fighting).Always better to keep the buck(s) separate in their own pen or house.Always bring the doe in heat to the buck for breeding.

Hoof trimming,goats do from time to time need their hoofs trimmed,important to maintain good health.

According to farmers in the Philippines,all these methods help to reduce,if not control parasite loads in their animals,espicially goats.For one thing,leaves from shrubs and trees are often free from infective larae,since they grow too high and are too dry for the larvae survival.Moreover,leaves of the plants listed above are known to have anthelmintic properties.
Proud Independant
mikey

One common goat problem is External Parasites,this is a make at home formula I found on the net.
dissolve in 1 litre of water 1.25 grams Neguvon,0.3 litre of cooking oil and 1/2 teaspoon soap powder and mix well,soak a clean cloth in the mixture and rub it all over the goat(s) body.Would be nice if other producers would share information on this problem with us.

Proud Independant
mikey

One of the signs of a worm problem is diarrhea.

Sometimes but not always green diarrhea means a food change,a good rule to follow is change slowly.
Doc Nemo will be able to help us out more with this problem.

This is a basic list of feeds one can feed their goat(s),Doc Nemo may be able to help us and add more,One problem I have found about the names of some of the plants is they are called by different names in different parts of the country.
MBRLC -claim that this mixture works as a concentrate for them:
ipil-ipil,ricebran,copra (dried coconut meal),   high energy

Forage-high fibre:
ipip ipil,rensonii,flemingia,kakawate,banana leaves,boiling bananas and their skins,napier grass(elephant grass),guinea grass(panicum)centro(centrosema).Katurai leaves can be fed to nursing mothers and their young,to help in milk production.
corn,soybeans,have found goats love molasses,if you are having problems getting your goat(s) to eat certain foods,add some molasses.

Minerals
salt,lime

Vitamins: main ones are A,D,E
vitamin A-leafy green vegetables,fruits,flowers,juices,tubers that are red or yellow in colour.
vitamin D-most of us make vitamin d from being outside in the sun,during the rainy season this is more difficult,oily fish from the ocean,fish oil,lime from crushed oyster shell also contains calicum
vitamin E-generally oilseeds,canola,soybean,corn,safflower,cottonseed,olive oil,also may be copra meal,whole grains,green leafy vegetables.

This is only the basics:hope Doc Nemo and other producers will help and post some more information for us.

Proud Independant Producer Region 7
mikey