Complete Guide on How to Fatten Sheep and Goats

August 31, 2024 Agric4Profits

This fattening of sheep and goats guide provides essential insights into the intensive feeding process that helps farmers achieve the desired weight and fat content in sheep and goats, catering to local market demands.

This guide outlines a straightforward, profitable approach suitable for both large-scale operations and small farmers, emphasizing the importance of proper animal selection, diet management, and health care.

Fattening or finishing involves feeding sheep and goats intensively in feedlots until they reach a suitable weight with enough fat. This process is aimed at meeting the demand in local markets for animals with good fat content. Operating large feedlots by export slaughterhouses and independent farmers is becoming more feasible.

The primary purpose of these feedlots is to gather large numbers of sheep and goats, often from different breeds and backgrounds, and produce animals that meet acceptable standards. This guide provides advice for both these operations and small farmers who want to fatten a few sheep and goats.

Advantages of Fattening Sheep and Goats

Complete Guide on How to Fatten Sheep and Goats

Fattening offers several benefits, especially in Ethiopia:

1. It is simple and easy for small farmers to implement, and the results are quickly visible, which boosts confidence in the method. Other techniques, like feeding to improve reproductive performance, may not show immediate benefits.

2. The results are visible in a short time, unlike other animal production activities.

3. Fattening generates cash income, which is highly valued by farmers.

4. Fattening is usually profitable, as the value per kilogram of live weight increases with the animal’s weight and condition.

Fattening Systems for Sheep and Goats

In Ethiopia, intensive feeding of sheep and goats before slaughter can be divided into two systems:

1. Traditional Systems

This system relies mainly on grazing natural or planted pastures, with some supplementation. Animals take a long time to reach market weight and condition, and their weight and condition can vary greatly depending on feed availability. This system can be improved to supply animals of acceptable condition to slaughterhouses for export.

2. Agro-industrial Byproduct-Based Fattening

This system, practiced worldwide, uses agro-industrial byproducts for fattening. It is suitable in areas where such byproducts are available. For example, in parts of Adamawa, fattening is possible using byproducts from sugar processing, such as molasses, and corn (grain and residue).

Protein sources like oilseed cakes can be bought from nearby processing plants, and forage legumes can be grown locally. Brewery byproducts are also used.

Here is an example of rations where byproducts form the feed base:

Ration I: Straw (ad lib), Molasses (350g), Oilseed cake (125g), Urea (10g).

Ration II: Straw (ad lib), Molasses (250g), Oilseed cake (100g).

Ration III: Straw (ad lib), Molasses (200g), Brewer’s dried grain (200g).

How to Fatten Sheep and Goats

When selecting sheep and goats for intensive fattening, consider the following:

1. Condition: Choose healthy animals with no visible physical defects and a medium body condition (body condition scores of 2.25-3.0).

2. Skeletal Frame: Look for animals with a large skeletal frame and good body condition.

3. Castration: Castration affects the fattening process.

4. Breed: Select breeds that have the most potential for growth and fattening. Early maturing breeds start depositing fat earlier and can be ready for market at a lower weight.

5. Sex: Females mature earlier than males. Males may do well in feedlots but may fight. Females also do well but often have lower growth rates.

6. Weight: The starting weight of the animals determines the feeding duration and types and amounts of feed needed. Lighter animals (15-20 kg) can consume more roughage, while heavier lambs (>25 kg) need more concentrates and a shorter feeding period.

7. Age: Animals can be placed on intensive feeding at any age, usually after weaning. Avoid animals that are too old. Ensure the teeth are sound as this affects feed utilization. It is best to select sheep/goats between 2 and 4 years old for fattening.

Management of Finishing Sheep and Goats

Start the fattening program only after securing the necessary feed supplies. Underfeeding and incorrect timing are common causes of failure. The goal is to convert as much feed to body tissue as possible, so minimize the animals’ movement during the fattening period by limiting their exercise.

The first two weeks after the animals arrive are critical. They may be stressed, hungry, and thirsty after traveling long distances. Follow these guidelines during this time:

1. Rest the animals for a few hours in a dry, clean, sheltered area with access to fresh water. Then, offer grass hay or mixed grass-legume hay.

2. Provide salt by hand for the first two weeks, then offer trace mineral salt in a separate feeder. Afterward, mix these supplements into the complete diet, but continue offering salt ad libitum (free choice).

3. Ensure feed is always available, including at night. If no feed is left in the morning, increase the supply for the next day.

4. Gradually adjust the animals to the fattening concentrate diet over two weeks by feeding the concentrate after they have consumed enough roughage to provide bulk. Increase concentrate intake every two days while providing free access to roughage.

5. Sort the animals by weight, size, or sex and feed them in uniform groups. Larger animals tend to bully smaller ones, keeping them away from the feed.

6. Cull non-performing animals early, as some do not adapt to intensive feeding regardless of breed, sex, or age.

7. Feed for 90 to 120 days, depending on the desired animal condition and the type of ration fed. Export markets may require just conditioning without the amount of fat desired by the local market, so sell animals for export when they reach the desired condition.

8. Always provide water. Inadequate water supply will affect their performance.

9. Provide shelters that protect them from adverse environments. The shelter can be built from locally available materials such as bamboo or mud with a thatched roof. The space required is about 2 m² per animal.

The shelter should be open on one side, with walls up to 1.2 meters on the other three sides and a gap of 0.5-0.8 meters between the walls and roof for ventilation without drafts. Keep the premises dry, as muddy feedlots drastically reduce feed efficiency. Include flooring elevated by about 15 degrees to facilitate cleaning and drainage.

10. Feeding racks (for silage, water, minerals, and concentrate) should be accessible to both goats and caretakers, preferably in the front of the aisle. Provide a feeding space of 20 linear centimeters per animal.

Socio-Economic Considerations

Purchase sheep and goats for fattening when prices are low and sell them when demand is high to maximize profits. Buy feeds when prices are low and store them to increase the profit margin.

Health of Fattening Sheep and Goats

It is best to use your own animals for fattening. If not, buy from your village first, and the market should be your last option. The incidence of diseases, particularly pestes des petits ruminants (PPR), is high when animals from different sources gather in local markets.

Drench the animals for internal parasites and treat them for external parasites with broad-spectrum anthelmintics and acaricides before starting the feeding operation.

Feeding Finishing Sheep and Goats

Finishing can be done with rations containing different proportions of roughages and concentrates, depending on the available feeds, desired feeding duration, and types of animals to be finished. Higher proportions of concentrates shorten the fattening period.

1. Concentrates: High-energy concentrates like shelled corn, sorghum, and wheat are fed for energy. Liquid feedstuffs, such as molasses, can also be used. Alternative energy sources like fodder beet and sweet potato can be fed, but they generally perform less well than grains and grain byproducts. High-protein concentrate sources include cottonseed cake, sunflower cake, brewer’s grains, and distiller’s grains.

2. Roughages: A wide variety of roughages can be fed. The amount depends on the objective. The rations used for fattening are categorized into three stages: starter, intermediate, and finishing.

3. Starter: Contains higher levels of roughage (14% crude protein). It is hand-fed to control feed consumption and identify sick animals. This ration is generally fed for one week or two weeks if animals have traveled long distances.

4. Intermediate: Gradually change to a lower roughage ration with 13% crude protein, hand-fed for one week.

5. Finishing Ration: Gradually switch to a finishing ration with even less roughage, starting with 13% protein and decreasing to 12% when the animals have successfully adjusted. Finishing rations are self-fed. Heavy lambs must be finished more rapidly with a high concentrate ration, while lighter lambs can be fed more roughage.

Sample Feeding Programs for Finishing Sheep and Goats in Feedlots

Diet I (%): Ground corn (52%), Ground corn cobs (20%), Oilseed cake (11%), Dried legume hay (10%), Liquid molasses (5%), Dicalcium phosphate (1%), Trace mineral salt (1%).

Diet II (%): Ground corn (62%), Ground corn cobs (10%), Oilseed cake (11%), Dried legume hay (10%), Liquid molasses (5%), Dicalcium phosphate (1%), Trace mineral salt (1%).

Diet III (%): Ground corn (72%), Chopped grass hay (23%), Oilseed cake (11%), Dried legume hay (10%), Liquid molasses (5%), Dicalcium phosphate (1%), Trace mineral salt (1%).

In summary, fattening sheep and goats in feedlots involves intensive feeding to achieve desirable weight and fat content, mainly for local markets. This practice is simple, profitable, and quick, making it suitable for both large and small farmers.

Success depends on proper animal selection, diet management, and health care. Two main systems are used in Ethiopia: traditional grazing with supplements and byproduct-based fattening. Maximizing profits involves strategic buying and feeding.