Scott, good to hear that the next section of manuals is on its way.
I'm trying to get someone good at graphic designing to help you out, hopefully someone will join us soon.
Guys, anyone knows someone with needed skills willing to give Scott a hand?
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you're well. Apologies for my absence lately, but I'm pleased to say that I have one further section of the manual for you all. Please have a look and provide your feedback. Hopefully more to come soon, subject to any time constraints, but I intend to free up much more time for this year.
Hy scott,
Thanks for the feeding chart it's excellent.this will be danding off to the trainer as material,the feeding issues constitute one of acuite probleme in live stock in the region.
During our last chat with sonja we discuss for along time surrounding this topick.
I'm very pleased to hear that you like it. Please let me know if the French is correct, or if it can be simplified.
I will go into more detail with the Supplementary Feeding part in a separate document. This is quite an important topic, with the selection of different plants being crucial for a balance nutritional intake for the goats.
Scott, thanks a lot, it looks great!
Esther is interested to help you with the manuals and will contact you soon.
Everyone, Roger (the local volunteer specialized in agriculture) went to Burundi to buy goats, and will try to get more info about how they care for the goats, where they keep them etc.
Also, Guillaume is still in Kinshasa (personal reasons) and yesterday he met there Mr. Sylvian Kimour Kalubi, the director of Terre de la Paix, which is active in promoting solar cooking in the Democratic Republic of Congo http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Sylvain_Kimour_Kalubi
They discussed possibility to demonstrate solar cookers and their usage to Walungu community, which includes water pesteurisation.
Hope to hear soon about their meeting.
Besides, these days Guillaume will meet Trinto to get to know more about work of Fondamu and to discuss about the partnership.
A big applause for our Local Representative and his tireless work! He is really trying to get as much as possible from his time in Kinshasa :o)
Following from our chat on Saturday evening, I propose that the following items be the focus of manual development at the present time. We can then move on to animal health care, followed by Milk production later.
The items that are marked with an asterisk* are probably the easiest to act out and photograph, but feel free to experiment and tackle other topics if you like.
Bear in mind that you don't need to have perfect circumstances and materials. I will rely most heavily upon your actions captured in your photos rather than the materials that you use. Obviously though, if you can get materials that are similar to what would be used in Walungu, so much the better.
Nutrition & Feeding
-Water
o Source, collection, filtration, purification, storage *.
-Feed
o Grazing/Foraging;
o Supplementary Feeding;
• Suitable plant varieties;
• Preparing mixed plant feed*;
• Harvesting for Hay & Silage;
• Preparing Hay & Silage;
• calculating rations for does, bucks, and kids (See Appendix 1 of “Goat Keeping in the Tropics”,
and Farmers Dairy Goat Production Handbook, Section 3.3)
o Minerals – Preparation of Salt Lick* and/or Urea-Molasses Block* (Salt lick may have urea added instead of separate blocks)- See Appendix 3 of “Goat Keeping in the Tropics”.
Please feel free to add to this list if you think that there's anything missing.
The plan is to have the goats grazing and foraging for the bulk of the day, followed by supplementary feed of various plant material such as Maize, Sweet Potato vines, Napier Grass, and prepared Silage. Additionally, the goats will need a "Salt Lick" to supply essential minerals. Supplementary feed will need to be increased during the drier months, where there will be less food available for grazing. This is where advance planning will be required by the locals through the preparation of silage (fermented grass and other leaves) during the wet season where such plant material is more plentiful. Silage has a greater nutritive value than dried fodder.
Because the focus will be on dairy production, it is important that the Does are well fed and provided with sufficient nutrition to allow optimum milk production beyond the needs of their kids.
Much more detail can be found in our reference manuals, which are located in the resources section. Of particular benefit are the following:
-Farmers Dairy Goat Production Handbook;
-Goatkeeping In The Tropics;
and the following manual that is being used for training in the field:
That's alright. I think it covers the most essential areas at this stage. If you want to meet up online to discuss anything as we progress, please let me know.
I've just looked through a website on Maize farming, which details what is called "Push-Pull" technology.
In short, the principle is that a shrub called Desmodium is planted in between the rows of Maize. This repels common maize pests such as stemborer from damaging the crop and the growth of striga weed which causes a massive reduction in crop yield.
Surrounding these two crops, Napier Grass is planted. The Maize stemborer moths are actually attracted to the Napier grass to lay eggs. When the eggs hatch and the larvae drill into the napier stems, the plant excretes a sap/glue material, which then traps and kills them, thus breaking the reproductive cycle.
This is good for the production of maize for human consumption, AND the maize leaves, desmodium and Napier grass are all ideal feed material for goats!
Thanks a lot for this info.
At the beginning when we were talking about cows we talked about napier grass, since it is good food for cows and also fast growing plant. As I remember, Guillaume didn't know about it, but we don't know its name in French. Maybe he will recognize it on the photo, but also I think it's good to show it to Roger who helps the people with cultivating, maybe he knows of it. Let's see what they say. It will be great for increasing crop yield if they don't use it now.
I'm copying here some more info and resources posted somewhere else on nabuur
"-Goats producing milk need : clover, alfalfa, legume, hay and any root vegetables like turnips, carrots, beets, parsnips.
- Any strongly flavored feeds like turnips and silage should be given after milking so that the milk will not taste of it.
- Keep rock salt before goats at all times and mix a small quantity in grain mixture
- Goats do not really need any special kind of housing though they do need to be protected from the elements. I have included a list of resources that show a few examples.
Gestation usually lasts around 5 to 5 and a half months.
A kid goat nurses for around two months.
Goats need a plentiful supply of clean water – more than a gallon a day
- www.dairygoatjournal.comhis
Site has information about the various methods of making cheese from goat milk. It also has other goat rearing information.
- www.thegoatguy.com – if you have specific questions about goat rearing, the writer might be able to help.
The site looks at the business of goat farming, considerations, costs and has a link to another site where you can plug in your resources and come up with an analysis."
Alfalfa is the best forage for all livestock. It is a legume. Some locations cannot grow it due to limited water. There are varieties for both warm and cold climates.
Hi everyone,
The shed is expected to be ready in a week or so.
Scott, good to hear that the next section of manuals is on its way.
I'm trying to get someone good at graphic designing to help you out, hopefully someone will join us soon.
Guys, anyone knows someone with needed skills willing to give Scott a hand?
take care,
Sonja
Hi everyone,
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you're well. Apologies for my absence lately, but I'm pleased to say that I have one further section of the manual for you all. Please have a look and provide your feedback. Hopefully more to come soon, subject to any time constraints, but I intend to free up much more time for this year.
I look forward to your comments.
Cheers,
Scott
Hy scott,
Thanks for the feeding chart it's excellent.this will be danding off to the trainer as material,the feeding issues constitute one of acuite probleme in live stock in the region.
During our last chat with sonja we discuss for along time surrounding this topick.
I here wish you too happy new year.
Guillaume
Hi Guillaume,
I'm very pleased to hear that you like it. Please let me know if the French is correct, or if it can be simplified.
I will go into more detail with the Supplementary Feeding part in a separate document. This is quite an important topic, with the selection of different plants being crucial for a balance nutritional intake for the goats.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott, thanks a lot, it looks great!
Esther is interested to help you with the manuals and will contact you soon.
Everyone, Roger (the local volunteer specialized in agriculture) went to Burundi to buy goats, and will try to get more info about how they care for the goats, where they keep them etc.
Also, Guillaume is still in Kinshasa (personal reasons) and yesterday he met there Mr. Sylvian Kimour Kalubi, the director of Terre de la Paix, which is active in promoting solar cooking in the Democratic Republic of Congo http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Sylvain_Kimour_Kalubi
They discussed possibility to demonstrate solar cookers and their usage to Walungu community, which includes water pesteurisation.
Hope to hear soon about their meeting.
Besides, these days Guillaume will meet Trinto to get to know more about work of Fondamu and to discuss about the partnership.
A big applause for our Local Representative and his tireless work! He is really trying to get as much as possible from his time in Kinshasa :o)
Sonja
Hi scott,
Finaly You have became french speakers,I ensure that your french became fluent,wordsand messge are clear .
Guillaume
Hi Esther and Sonja,
Following from our chat on Saturday evening, I propose that the following items be the focus of manual development at the present time. We can then move on to animal health care, followed by Milk production later.
The items that are marked with an asterisk* are probably the easiest to act out and photograph, but feel free to experiment and tackle other topics if you like.
Bear in mind that you don't need to have perfect circumstances and materials. I will rely most heavily upon your actions captured in your photos rather than the materials that you use. Obviously though, if you can get materials that are similar to what would be used in Walungu, so much the better.
Nutrition & Feeding
-Water
o Source, collection, filtration, purification, storage *.
-Feed
o Grazing/Foraging;
o Supplementary Feeding;
• Suitable plant varieties;
• Preparing mixed plant feed*;
• Harvesting for Hay & Silage;
• Preparing Hay & Silage;
• calculating rations for does, bucks, and kids (See Appendix 1 of “Goat Keeping in the Tropics”,
and Farmers Dairy Goat Production Handbook, Section 3.3)
o Minerals – Preparation of Salt Lick* and/or Urea-Molasses Block* (Salt lick may have urea added instead of separate blocks)- See Appendix 3 of “Goat Keeping in the Tropics”.
Please feel free to add to this list if you think that there's anything missing.
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott,
do you know what sort of food they're going to use for the goats at the farm?
Marlies
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your list!! Give me some time, say about 2 to 3 weeks, to take the photos :)
Hi Marlies,
The plan is to have the goats grazing and foraging for the bulk of the day, followed by supplementary feed of various plant material such as Maize, Sweet Potato vines, Napier Grass, and prepared Silage. Additionally, the goats will need a "Salt Lick" to supply essential minerals. Supplementary feed will need to be increased during the drier months, where there will be less food available for grazing. This is where advance planning will be required by the locals through the preparation of silage (fermented grass and other leaves) during the wet season where such plant material is more plentiful. Silage has a greater nutritive value than dried fodder.
Because the focus will be on dairy production, it is important that the Does are well fed and provided with sufficient nutrition to allow optimum milk production beyond the needs of their kids.
Much more detail can be found in our reference manuals, which are located in the resources section. Of particular benefit are the following:
-Farmers Dairy Goat Production Handbook;
-Goatkeeping In The Tropics;
and the following manual that is being used for training in the field:
-Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care
(http://www.arc.agric.za/home.asp?pid=3946)
Best wishes,
Scott
Hi Esther,
That's alright. I think it covers the most essential areas at this stage. If you want to meet up online to discuss anything as we progress, please let me know.
I've just looked through a website on Maize farming, which details what is called "Push-Pull" technology.
In short, the principle is that a shrub called Desmodium is planted in between the rows of Maize. This repels common maize pests such as stemborer from damaging the crop and the growth of striga weed which causes a massive reduction in crop yield.
Surrounding these two crops, Napier Grass is planted. The Maize stemborer moths are actually attracted to the Napier grass to lay eggs. When the eggs hatch and the larvae drill into the napier stems, the plant excretes a sap/glue material, which then traps and kills them, thus breaking the reproductive cycle.
This is good for the production of maize for human consumption, AND the maize leaves, desmodium and Napier grass are all ideal feed material for goats!
Have a look at the website below for more info.
http://www.push-pull.net/
http://www.push-pull.net/Control.htm
Guillaume, is this practice being used in Walungu at the moment?
Regards,
Scott
Hi Scott,
Thanks a lot for this info.
At the beginning when we were talking about cows we talked about napier grass, since it is good food for cows and also fast growing plant. As I remember, Guillaume didn't know about it, but we don't know its name in French. Maybe he will recognize it on the photo, but also I think it's good to show it to Roger who helps the people with cultivating, maybe he knows of it. Let's see what they say. It will be great for increasing crop yield if they don't use it now.
Sonja
Hi everyone,
I'm copying here some more info and resources posted somewhere else on nabuur
"-Goats producing milk need : clover, alfalfa, legume, hay and any root vegetables like turnips, carrots, beets, parsnips.
- Any strongly flavored feeds like turnips and silage should be given after milking so that the milk will not taste of it.
- Keep rock salt before goats at all times and mix a small quantity in grain mixture
- Goats do not really need any special kind of housing though they do need to be protected from the elements. I have included a list of resources that show a few examples.
Gestation usually lasts around 5 to 5 and a half months.
A kid goat nurses for around two months.
Goats need a plentiful supply of clean water – more than a gallon a day
Online Resources
- www.smallstock.info/reference/farm-Africa/Dairygoat.pdf
It is a very comprehensive handbook, a pdf, on rearing, caring, breeding and treating diseases goats might get.
- http://fiascofarm.com/goats/breeding.htm#breeding
This is more of a specific question website dealing with concerns you might have with goat rearing – problems and possible solutions.
- www.betterbarnyard.com/resources
This website has links to resources regarding goat raising.
- www.dairygoatjournal.comhis
Site has information about the various methods of making cheese from goat milk. It also has other goat rearing information.
- www.thegoatguy.com – if you have specific questions about goat rearing, the writer might be able to help.
- Making your own goat Housing – http://goatseeker.com/guides/
- www.goatworld.com/articles/goatslife/goatfarming.shtml
The site has detailed ideas and thoughts about ways to farm goats, to different feeds and housing.
- http://thebeken.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/can-you-make-money-goat-farming...
The site looks at the business of goat farming, considerations, costs and has a link to another site where you can plug in your resources and come up with an analysis."
Sonja
Alfalfa is the best forage for all livestock. It is a legume. Some locations cannot grow it due to limited water. There are varieties for both warm and cold climates.
Ken H