When transporting livestock, it is essential that they are managed in a way that reduces stress and minimises any risks to animal welfare.

Producers must understand their roles and responsibilities when transporting livestock.

Transporting goats

Marketing of goats will require transportation of them from the farm to a marketing facility. It may also be necessary to bring in goats from elsewhere at some stage. It is useful to consider what can be done to ensure that the goats travel quietly and safely without encountering any injuries or becoming ill.

The vehicle must have:

•Sides high enough to prevent jumping.

•Shelter from rain and wind as goats are sensitive to cold (shade cloth on the sides will help).

•A floor that prevents slipping.

•Partitions to control movement of animals (if it is a large vehicle).

•No sharp edges, gaps or loose items that can cause injuries.

•Sufficient ventilation while providing protection against bad weather conditions.

•The driver must drive smoothly so that goats do not fall down in the vehicle.

Density of goats in the vehicle:

•Do not overcrowd goats – each goat must have at least 0,4 m² space (1 m x 0,5 m).

•Do not have too few or they will be thrown around the vehicle. It may be better to restrain a single animal in a sack (but not for more than four hours at a time).

Long distance travel:

•Allow all goats to have access to water and food until loading.

•A single trip must not exceed 36 hours (this means leaving at 5 am on one day and arriving at the destination by 5 pm the following day).

•For longer trips, goats should be rested at least every 24 hours. The rest involves removing them from the vehicle for a 12-hour period and providing them with feed and water.

•Goats should be administered with Multivax P once a farmer knows the goats will travel, to boost their immunity before they leave.

•On the day of transport, the goats should receive a dose of long-acting tetracycline. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, being used to reduce the risk of adverse events.

How to use veld

Good veld management can significantly increase the carrying capacity of a farm. Managing veld well and keeping it in good condition also reduces rainwater runoff and retains groundwater.

The principles of vel management

Carrying capacity

The carrying capacity of veld is the number of livestock it can carry, which is based on the amount of food that it produces. High rainfall areas with good vegetation cover and good types of grasses produce the most grass and can feed the most animals. Some grasses are said to be “unpalatable” because animals do not eat them. Sometimes it is because they have a bad taste, sometimes it is because they are too tough to bite off and animal’s teeth will wear on them.

Examples of these grasses are the Ngongoni (Aristida junciformis) and uMtshiki species (such as Sporobolus africanus and Eragrostis plana).

Since goats graze as well as browse, you need to consider the amount of grass and trees available. Trees that have leaves below 1,5 metres are available to the goats – otherwise you will have to cut the branches for the goats. You also need to consider whether the trees are palatable for goats (in other words, will goats eat them?) and whether they lose their leaves during winter. There are ways to calculate how many goats and other animals can be kept on a given area of land. If you keep more than this number of animals, they will not do well, and you will also damage the veld.

Sourveld versus sweetveld

Sourveld occurs in cooler, high lying, high rainfall areas that receive frost. In autumn, the quality of the grass declines as it reabsorbs nutrients into the root system (to prepare it to survive harsh conditions). In spring the grass plants produce new leaves that are highly nutritious. In winter it is necessary to supplement the sourveld with protein. This can be supplied in the form of a urea lick that allows the animals to utilise the poor-quality grass that is available.

Recovery of this veld from over utilisation is very slow. The composition of sourveld is generally comprised of short grass species. Sweetveld retains its quality throughout the year. It is generally found in warmer, drier areas. It generally produces less grass than sourveld because of the lower rainfall, but it is good food all year. Less grass often means that the carrying capacity of sweetveld is lower than that of sourveld. This veld is very easy to damage with over-utilisation and can also be prone to bush encroachment.

Resting veld

Vegetation benefits from a full season’s rest at intervals. A rest is needed for a full season so that the grass plants can replenish their root reserves. Each time a grass plant is grazed, it withdraws nutrients from its roots to allow it to produce new leaves. If the plant keeps being re-grazed without having  a chance to replenish its root reserves, it will lose its vigour and in the end, it will die or it will be pulled out by a grazing animal. When trees are browsed too much, a browse line is created (Figure 1).

This is not beneficial to browsers as it does not leave any leaf matter for further consumption and therefore a correct stocking rate needs to be maintained in order to prevent this. Animals will need to be withdrawn until this is corrected.

Overgrazing

This is what happens when you have too many animals in a given area – it may occur during particular years that receive low rainfall. Sometimes people say that the area is “over-stocked”. It results in the grass being grazed too short continuously so that the grass either dies – leaving bare patches – or is replaced by unpalatable species that the animals won’t eat. Small trees can also be affected by being heavily and continuously grazed.

What does this mean for the way you manage your goats?

If you have your own area where you can limit the number of animals grazing there, find out how many animals it can feed and try not to exceed this unless you can afford to buy extra feed for them.

Goats walk long distances looking for food if it is scarce. If you fence them into an area that does not have enough food, they are unable to go and look for additional food. Make sure that your goats also have access to clean water on a daily basis. In communal areas it may be possible to make joint decisions to keep all animals out of a selected area for the summer period to allow the grass to grow and seed and replenish its roots. This requires that all livestock owners agree to cooperate. In areas where the trees are tall you may decide to cut branches to feed goats. This may need permission from the traditional leadership.

The information in this article is credited to Mdukatshani, Heifer International South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development who published the Goat Production Handbook in 2015.