1.Parasites and pasture
One of the best outcomes of parasite control program is the reduction of number of parasites that the goats are exposed to. This can be accomplished by managing pastures in a way that will reduce parasitic load. There are several ways to do this:
- Use control grazing practices to optimize pasture production. This is a better practice than continuous grazing on the same pasture because goats will return to the same area where their favourite plants are growing. Those areas will then become heavily infected by gastrointestinal parasite larvae.
- Always put goats with the highest nutritional requirements on the best quality pastures. Good nutrition allows a more effective immune response to fight gastrointestinal parasites
- Take a hay crop. This type of pasture can be incorporated into a dose-and-move program in which goats are grazed on one pasture in the early grazing season and then moved to another goat pasture which was used for first cutting of hay. another move before the end of the grazing season will probably provide the best parasite control
2.Control grazing and strip grazing.
The basic principle of control grazing is to allow goats to graze for a limited time, leaving a leafy stable, and then to move them to another pasture , paddock or sub-paddock. Smaller paddocks are more uniformly grazed and surplus paddock can be harvested for hay.
Under control grazing , the legumes and native grasses may reappear in the pasture, and it is said that the pasture community becomes more diverse. Control grazing can be used to improve the pasture ,extend the grazing season and enable the producer to provide a higher quality forage at a lower cost with fewer purchased input
Strip grazing can be easily superimposed on control grazing in large paddocks by placing movable electric fences ahead and behind goats, giving them sufficient forage for two to three days. It is very effective and results into high pasture utilization because goats will not graze soiled forage well .
3.Burning
This should be done once in a year especially when the forage crops are over-mature and fibrous. This is to encourage regrowth of grasses and legumes
- 4. Fencing
This is the partitioning of the pastures into sections called paddocks to facilitate rotational grazing
- Application of fertilizers
Application of fertilizers in pastures ensures rapid and succulent growth of pastures because of increase in the fertility of the soil.
.6. Weed control
Weeds should be removed regularly from pastures to prevent competition with forage plants for nutrients and space
- Irrigation
Pastures farm should be irrigated especially during the dry season to ensure the availability of fresh and succulent grasses all the year round
- Adequate stocking
The correct number of animals should be place on a pasture to graze. Over grazing should be prevented.
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