A promising dairy goat for the Philippines

by Zac Sarian A new goat breed that was introduced barely two years ago promises to be an ideal dairy breed under the tropical conditions in the Philippines. This is the breed called Oberhasli, which has been observed to be more resistant to the hot climate in the country because of its dark red haircoat. This breed was brought in under a program of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) aimed at augmenting the genetic base of the present breeds in the country. a, GREENER PASTURE Beautiful, young, island-born Oberhaslis are groomed for breeding. GREENER PASTURE Beautiful, young, island-born Oberhaslis are groomed for breeding. At the Alaminos Goat Farm in Laguna, the top Oberhasli milker named Colby 464, had yielded an average of 4.5 liters of milk daily for the whole month of March this year. Since April up to now, it has been averaging 3.48 kilos daily. Colby is now in its second lactation. Its milk yield is considered very high for a small animal. Colby’s first daughter named OberLaR 172 is also doing very well. It is now in its first lactation and has been giving an average of 2.3 kilos of milk daily. This milk yield is considered exceptional for a first timer. Rene Almeda, who operates Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) together with his sons Art and Toti, believes that Oberhasli is perfect for milk production under the hot climate of the Philippines. He has observed that right after the first Oberhasli goats arrived, they were able to immediately adapt themselves to the local weather. The Oberhasli buck at the Alaminos Goat farm; The Oberhasli buck at the Alaminos Goat farm; Goats love to eat the Indigofera, a legume that contains a lot of protein Goats love to eat the Indigofera, a legume that contains a lot of protein They easily adapted to the feeding system at AGF which is grazing them as well as feeding them with cut grass from their so-called Alaminos Salad Garden for goats. Under this system, the goats are fed with freshly cut grass from a field planted to selected forage crops like Indigofera, signal grass, mulberry, centrosema, and others. The latest addition is the highly-touted Pakchong 1 napier developed in Thailand. The Almedas are the recipients of what is called loan-in-kind that is also paid in kind. In July 2012, the Bureau of Animal Industry delivered to Alaminos Goat Farm 18 Oberhasli doelings and one buck under the so-called AGRIPBeS program. The acronym stands for “Accelerating the Genetic Resource Improvement Program for Beet Cattle and Small Ruminants.” AGRIPBeS was initiated by the BAI, funded by proceeds from the USPL 480 program of the US-AID. Out of the 18 does that the Almedas received, they have selected the top performers to form part of the foundation stock for their own Oberhasli Dairy Breed Improvement program. On their own, they also imported an expensive progeny of a champion buck from the United States to beef up their Oberhasli herd. Rene Almeda (center) is joined by visitors near the pelletizing machine Rene Almeda (center) is joined by visitors near the pelletizing machine In a planned breeding program, the top performing Colby 464 and its daughter, OberLar 172, will be bred to their prized import known by its long name OberBoerd Lead The Way. This is the designated herd sire for the top performing Oberhaslis at the AGF, according to Rene. Rene is very confident that by 2015, Alaminos Goat Farm will have established a strong foundation of well-bred, high-milking Oberhaslis. GOOD NUTRITION. Rene Almeda believes that aside from superior genetics, the key to successful dairy goat production is proper nutrition. Other goat raisers are taking a good look at the progress of the Alaminos Salad Garden feeding program with Indigofera as the main tree legume, Rene said. He explained that starting the newly weaned kids with fresh cuttings of Indigofera gives the weanlings an early start. AGF has also come up with pelletted goat’s ration with 30 percent shredded Indigofera. This results in healthy young kids with smooth and shiny hair coat, according to Rene. He further notes that when the kids are fed with Indigofera-based pellets, they don’t get diarrhea. And there has been no mortality among the kids fed with their pellet formulation. Pelleted ration has a very significant advantage. For one, the nutrients are uniformly available in the feed. If the feed is not pelleted, the goat may choose what it wants to eat among the feed materials supplied and it might not be able to get the balanced nutrition it needs. In the case of pellets, the right proportions are intact. Aside from the improved performance of the kids on pelleted feeds, there is also a big savings on the cost of feeds. Rene estimates that by adding 30 percent shredded Indigofera to the pellets, the cost of feed is reduced by at least 20 percent. At the Alaminos Goat Farm in the last two years, mortality was at an all-time low for the newly weaned kids. Diarrhea, which was a common problem for the young animals that are introduced to concentrates for the first time, is now a thing of the past. The addition of shredded Indigofera to the pellets solved it completely, according to Almeda. There you are. You might want to raise Oberhasli goats, too.