Management practices of goats (Capra hircus) in Catarman, Camiguin, Philippines

Goat farming is one of the sources of livelihood in Catarman, Camiguin. However, the management practices of goat farming need to be evaluated. Hence, this study aimed to assess the feeding, housing, and health management practices of goats in the municipality of Catarman. A total of 121 farmers were interviewed utilizing a structured questionnaire in the fourteen (14) barangays of Catarman, Camiguin. Descriptive statistics (frequency count, percentage distribution, ranking were used to analyze the data. Results showed that more than 50% were aged 36-55 years, majority were male (80 or 66.12%), mostly had reached secondary level (72 or 59.51%) and 104 or 85.95% were dependent in farming with an average of 1-5 heads of goats. Out of the 564 goat population, mostly were female kids (117 or 20.74%), and almost half (44.32%) were native breeds. The housing facilities were mainly made of bamboo slats, 49 (40.50%). Tethering, 88 (72.73%) through rotational grazing was the common practice with native species of grasses and considered a problem by 114 (94.21%) farmers. Health management of goats showed 44 (36.36%) farmers practiced deworming, 19 (15.70%) applied vaccines, 20 (16.53%) managed to supplement vitamins, 16 (13.22%) provided antibiotics and 22 (18.88%) with no supplementation and disease control. Based on the findings of the study, goat raisers in Catarman, Camiguin, need appropriate training with greater emphasis on the feeding, housing and health management in an effort to enhance their knowledge and skills on these farm management practices. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES)