All praise and the deepest sense of gratitude belong to the Almighty ALLAH, the Merciful, the Almighty and the Merciful, but the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, who enabled me to successfully complete my research work and thesis for the degree of Master of Science (MS) in Physiology. The author is grateful to the faculty and staff of the Department of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) for their assistance during the study period. Keeping goats can improve the livelihoods of poor people and help the country achieve sustainable development goals.
In terms of perception, 88.5% of the farmers agreed that the demand for goats is high, 77% of the farmers said that goat rearing was easy and 76.5% of the farmers said that huge support was provided by the family members to goat breeding In terms of health management, 66.5% of farmers do regular worming and 60% of farmers vaccinated their goats against serious diseases such as PPR. The condition of the goats' faeces was found to be significantly loose in the goats that received pond water (p≤0.05).
I hope that the findings of this study will help farmers and various organizations to take appropriate measures to improve the welfare of the Black Bengal goat, especially in the small scale farming system.
Introduction
Animal welfare is a relatively new concern that is beginning to attract professional attention as a new scientific discipline in Bangladesh. In recent years, a domestic research and education program has been gradually developed to address animal welfare (Alam, 2008). Not only due to regulatory obligations, but also due to its impact on productivity, animal welfare is becoming increasingly important in the animal production industry.
There is no doubt that animal welfare has received increasing recognition in the veterinary field. Ensuring environmental and management conditions that favor animal welfare are not only expected by consumers and people in general, but are also linked to achieving appropriate levels of system performance and profitability. Animal welfare assessment is thus one of the pillars of productive, efficient and sustainable systems (Mattiello et al., 2008).
As animal welfare is a very new domain in Bangladesh, very few studies have been conducted in different species.
Review of Literature
- Goat
- Black Bengal Goat (BBG)
- Goat population and demography
- Goat rearing systems around the world
- Goat farming practices in Bangladesh
- Goat housing system
- Seasonality trend of goat production
- Socio-economic value of goat rearing
- Religious aspects of goat rearing
- Goat behavior
- Importance of animal welfare
- Animal welfare and productivity
- Body condition scoring (BCS)
- Factors of welfare reduction in goats
- Assessment of goat welfare
- Goat diseases
- Veterinary services
- Human-goat relationship
Goat farming is concentrated in Asia with 58.2% of the world's goat population, followed by Africa with 36.1% and finally in the regions of America and Europe with 3.4% and 1.5% respectively (Djebli et al., 2020). The goat grazes and browses in an area accessible by a length of rope. More importantly, more than 98% of Black Bengal goats are managed in the traditional village system of the country (Husain et al., 1998).
It is considered as the poor man's cow (Kashem et al., 2011), raised in a semi-intensive system by rural farmers, especially the poor women or children, as an integral part of the agricultural system. The size of the livestock sector's contribution to GDP is 2.6% in Bangladesh and 80% of the rural population raise indigenous animals. Therefore, sufficient available space, careful waste management and close monitoring of the microclimatic factors (in terms of temperature, relative humidity and air quality) are crucial aspects in sheep and goat housing (Sevi et al., 2009).
In general, the castration method is chosen taking into account the age of the animal and the size of the testicle (Nsoso et al., 2004). Gentling is a form of positive physical attention that serves to calm the animal and increase its affinity for a healthy bond between animal and human, which in turn can have a positive effect on body weight, behavior, quality and quantity milk produced, and on overall health. animal health (Hemsworth. et al., 2000). Gentling is a form of positive physical attention that serves to calm the animal and increase its affinity for a healthy bond between animal and human, which in turn can have a positive effect on body weight, behavior, quality and quantity milk produced, and on overall health. animal health (Hemsworth et al., 2000).
Materials and Methods
- Study area
- Study duration
- Selection of farms
- Development of a questionnaire
- Data collection
- General information
- Perception of the farmers
- Assessment of welfare of goat
- Data analysis
The questionnaire was then revised and modified before the actual data collection began. Socio-economic characteristics of farmers are important factors influencing production planning and decision-making. Data on the time and frequency of shed cleaning were collected by asking farmers directly.
For the score of the body condition, special focus was given in the crotch region of the buck. The hand can easily grasp the transverse process of the lumbar vertebrae which is very prominent. The hand can grasp the transverse process but the outline of the transverse process is difficult to see.
The spinous process of the lumbar vertebrae cannot be easily grasped because the layer of tissue covering the vertebrae is thick. It is impossible to grasp the spinous process of the lumbar vertebrae, which are wrapped in a thick layer of muscle and fat. The thickness of the muscles and fat is so great that reference marks on the spinous process are lost.
The loose skin of the neck was grasped and gently pulled outside the body. The time between release of the grip and normalization of the skin was recorded. The goats were observed to check for the presence of nasal discharge and, if present, the color of the discharge was observed.
The Dag score is the marker of cleanliness and digestive health of goats. It was measured by focusing on the hair coat on the back, postures and body movement.
Results
- General demographic information
- Goat feeding
- Goat housing
- Health management of goat
- Goat behavior
- Interrelationship among various factors of goat welfare with management
It shows that, the farmer's purpose of agriculture was the main source of income, hobby and sunnah on farms respectively 47%, 45% and 6%. Out of 200 farmers, 140 farmers agreed that goat farming was easy, 177 farmers were that the demand for goats was high, 113 farmers raised goats as insurance, 131 farmers strongly agreed that the cost of feed was high, 104 farmers declined agree they were great. support from their family members, and 164 farmers agreed that goat farming was profitable. During grazing, 45.5% of the farms let their goats roam freely, while 26.5% of the farms tie their goats and the rest of the farms use both ways depending on the situation.
The rest of the houses were built in the perch style, where the ground height was below 3 feet in 25% of the farms. It shows that goats were victims of malicious behavior by family, neighbors and others in 3%, 8% and 6% of farms respectively. Acceptance of the owner approach was observed in 95.36% of the goats, while the observer approach was accepted by 69.39% of the goats.
Farmers who received training on goat husbandry vaccinated and dewormed their goats more often compared to others. Show that, if the floor of the house was within 3 feet of ground level, the respiratory problems in goats would increase. Shows that hoof overgrowth has been found to be higher in male goats compared to female goats.
It shows that, ectoparasitic infection in goats has led to alopecia in goats and result of poor body condition of goats. It indicates that the male goat has shown negative interaction with the other goat, the owners and an unknown person compared to the female goat. Table: 4.16 shows that the comparison between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar district with respect to farmers received training on goat rearing, PPR vaccination, Deworming and drinking water for goats.
Discussion
Ali et al., (2011) and Hossain et al., (2006) found that high feed cost and shortage of livestock feed were the major problems faced by farmers in raising livestock. Survey data shows that most farmers raise goats in semi-intensive systems (90%), while others raise 10% in intensive systems (Table 4.1). According to Islam et al., (2009), most farmers (80.5%) raised goats in the semi-intensive system, but few farmers (7.3%) used confinement system, while 12.2% of farmers used a free range system. .
Most of the farm's automatic feeder was dirty, with feed cleaner using water in most of the farms. Table: 4.3 shows that most farmers only supplied wheat bran in 58% of the farms, compound feed in 25% of the farms and 17% of the farms did not supply anything. Most of the goat houses were built in the perch method (85%) and 15% of the height of the goat house in the ground.
Most farmers (90%) cleaned the floor weekly and cleaned the shed every fortnight. Regular cleaning of goat sheds confirms the fact that faecal dirt was not visible in most goats. Skin lesions on any part of the animal's body are indicators of the animal's well-being, especially in relation to its environment.
Shaikat et al., (2013) reported that goats of Chattogram suffered from emaciation and unsatisfactory product performance due to malnutrition, diseases and farmer unconsciousness. Parasitism is one of the main reasons for limiting livestock production in most of the tropical and subtropical countries of the world. Islam et al., (2016) reported that the proportional prevalence was found higher in goats (25.7%) regardless of study locations.
Predisposing factors such as poor management and hygiene, teat injuries and defective milking machines are known to hasten the entry of infectious agents and the progression of the disease (Majic et al., 1993). However, in this study, fear of humans was not reported in the majority of goats. This likely implies that farmers are not cruel to their goats and that healthier goats are calm (Muri et al., 2016).
Conclusion
Recommendations
Estimation of variance components and prediction of breeding value for some economically important traits of the Black Bengal goat. A review of the animal needs index (ANI) for the assessment of animal welfare in housing systems for Austrian products and owner legislation. Studies on the disease and mortality pattern of goats under farm conditions and some factors influencing the rates of Black Bengal kids.
Selection of Black Bengal goats based on a measure of reproductive performance of their progeny under semi-intensive rearing system. Reproductive performance of Black Bengal goat under semi-intensive and extensive conditions in rural areas in Bangladesh. Sustainable genetic improvement of economic traits of Black Bengal goats through selective and crossbreeding.
A Study on the Productive Performance and Genetic Potential of Black Bengal Goats, Ph.D, Thesis, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Sustainable genetic improvement of economic trait of Black Bengal goats through selective and crossbreeding. 2009 Comparative study between semi-intensive and grazing production system on the performance of Black Bengal goat.
Disease incidence, morbidity and mortality of Black Bengal goats under different management systems in Bangladesh.
