About Us:
La Ribah Agro India Pvt Ltd is originated from one of the most fascinating industries called agricultural industry.La Ribah Agro India is the result of the group of the most bustling personnel by their intense knowledge and exposure into the agricultural field. La Ribah Agro India has assorted projects in the areas of farming as in Emu Farming, Goat Farming, Horse Farming, Rabbit Farming, Dairy Farming, Fishing and Fish Farming. Farming is also the most beneficial, ravishing and product oriented form of business. We export, import, Breed, develop and maintain by providing proper shelter, food and all the necessary things required for the farming of animals in a very natural and a mere way.
Mission:
The main goal of La Ribah Agro India is to implement and execute a broader vision of significant factors that will necessarily be accomplished. La Ribah has aimed as to where it has to reach and where it wants its customers and clients to reach and pledges that our business will continually adapt successfully to its competitive environment with all of our customers and clients. A Ribah Agro India is specific about its distinctive customers and clients where in we believe that the success of a firm is also a cause of the choice of its customers or clients.
Vision:
To
be the recognized center of excellence for financing and agricultural
solutions that would help our customers to improve. La Ribah has
discovered and implementing unique combination of the core values
which has been a ladder to success.
* Creativity
La
Ribah is a company with the passion to lead and innovate.
* Team Work:
Our Professionals believe that Team Work is more of “WE” and less “ME
Projects:
As mentioned earlier about the types of projects we have undertaken, here is a brief explanation about the projects
»Goat Framing:
La Ribah Agro India Private, specialize in breeding quality goats and healthy goats and believe in understanding the broad needs of our quality conscious customers. Goat farming is one of the main strengths of our company. La Ribah export goats and its products in large quantities to many countries. We use high end technologies to maintain the quality. Our goal is to provide the best quality to our customers and at the same time earning very high return on investment for a very long period. This isn’t just a concept or idea; this is an on-going project that is in full development.
Goats are even-toed, hoofed animals. They are cud-chewed animals with a four compartment stomach. They have hollow horns that are directed upward, backward and outward. Male Goats have beards and they are extremely agile animals with a very good sense of balance. Domesticated Goats frequently engage in jumping and climbing games with their herd-mates.
Goats live in groups called herds. A male goat is referred to as either BUCK or a BILLY Goat. A female Goat is called ADOE or NANNY. Baby Goats are referred as KIDs. Most breeds of goats give birth to a single kid, but twins or even triplets are common in some breeds. A kid can stand on its own within minutes of birth, and can move with the herd within a few days.
They are hardy animals that are suited to a wide range of conditions. They can be kept in the open for much of the year. Most important sheep product is meat, particularly lamb. Wool is a by-product and now forms less than 5 per cent of the income from sheep. Although , India is a world leader in the production of livestock, its market for meat and meat products is small compared with that of most developed nations - most of its livestock is reared for the production of milk, eggs and wool .
According to FAO the world production of Sheep meat was 8.63 million tones and Goat meat was 4.94 million tons in 2006. India ranked seventh in sheep and second in goat meat production. India’s export of sheep/goat meat was 5481.55 mt with the valued of Rs. 63.04 crores (USD Million 13.98) in 2006-07.
The major destinations for export of Indian sheep/goat meat are Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait
Goat meat has no religious inhibitions and is consumed by all the religions and races in the country. Goat milk is source of cheap protein for the poor people and has medicinal properties. Goats are also major sources of leather and leather products in the country.
Amongst the States, Rajasthan has the maximum number of Sheep and Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of cross bred sheep.
History:
Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans. The most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the Anatolian Zagros are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today. Another major genetic source of modern goats is the Bezoar goat; distributed from the mountainous regions of Asia Minor across the Middle East to Sind.
Neolithic farmers began to keep them for easy access to milk and meat, primarily, also for their dung, which was used as fuel and their bones, hair, and sinew for clothing, building, and tools. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iranian Kurdistan. Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga, Mami, Djeitun and Cayonu; dating the domestication of goats in western Asia at between 8000 and 9000 years ago. Domestic goats were generally kept in herds that wandered on hills or other grazing areas, often tended by goatherds who were frequently children or adolescents, similar to the more widely known shepherd. These methods of herding are still used today.
Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also been used to produce parchment.
General:
Sheep and goats are important species of livestock for India. They contribute greatly to the agrarian economy, especially in areas where crop and dairy farming are not economical, and play an important role in the livelihood of a large proportion of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.
The productivity of Indian sheep and goats is low, yet considering the nutritional and physical environmental conditions under which they are reared, it cannot be considered inefficient. Major reasons for this low productivity are inadequate grazing resources, disease problems and serious lack of organized efforts for genetic improvement. There is little selection of rams and bucks used for breeding, and much inter-mating among neighboring breeds takes place.
Indian sheep and goats breed throughout the year. There is usually no control on the breeding season, as the rams and bucks remain with the flocks, but occasionally breeding is restricted by typing the prepuce with a cotton tape, in order to ensure that the lambs are dropped during the favorable season, from the point of view of both nutrition and the physical environment.
India is one of the world’s major food producers but accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of international food trade. This indicates vast scope for both investors and exporters. Food exports in 1998 stood at US $5.8 billion whereas the world total was US $438 billion.
The Indian food industry’s sales turnover is Rs 140,000 crore (1 crore = 10 million) annually as at the start of year 2000.
The Indian palate is accustomed to traditional foods, mostly wheat and rice-based, rather than potato and corn-based western palate. In marketing perspective, this is considered an important factor for foreign marketers.
The USDA report says initially consumer-ready food products may have to be tailored to include Indian spices and traditional ingredients. In addition to traditional tastes, there are other social factors which affect consumption in India. Hindus account for approximately 80 per cent of India’s population, and while only 25 or 30 per cent are strict vegetarians, beef slaughter is prohibited in all but two states (Kerala and West Bengal) and consumption of other meats is limited. Incidentally, India is the only country where the US-based MacDonalds sells its burgers without any beef content and even offers purely vegetarian burgers.
India’s middle class segment will hold the key to success or failure of the processed food market in India. Of the country’s total population of one billion, the middle class segments account for about 350-370 million. Though a majority of families in this segment have non-working housewives or can afford hired domestic help and thus prepare foods of their taste in their own kitchens, the profile of the middle class is changing steadily and hired domestic help is becoming costlier. This is conducive to an expansion in demand for ready-to-eat Indian-style foods.
India’s food processing sector covers fruit and vegetables; meat and poultry; milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, fisheries, plantation, grain processing and other consumer product groups like confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, Soya-based products, mineral water, high protein foods etc.
One of the potential processed food products is meat and poultry products. India ranks first in world cattle population, 50 per cent of buffalo population and one-sixth of total goat population of the world. Buffalo meat is surplus in India. There is vast scope to set up modern slaughter facilities and cold store chains in meat and poultry processing sector. India’s current level of meat and meat-based exports is around Rs 8,000 million. In last six years foreign investment in this segment stood at Rs 5,000 million which is more than 50 per cent of the total investment made in this sector.
Types of Goat Breeds
There are nearly 102 breeds of goats in the world, of which 20 breeds are in India.
Few common breeds are,
Sojat Goats, Jamunapari Goats, Sirohi Goats, Barbari Goats, Karoli Goats, Totapari Goats, Malabari Goats, Black Bengal Goats, White Bengal Goats, Desi Goats, Tellichery Goats, Boer Goats, Sanganeri Goats, Saanen Goats, Kiko Goats, Togenburg Goats etc
According to the purpose, following are the important breeds.
Milk and Meat (dual purpose) – Osmanabadi, Barberi, Jamnapari, Sangamneri, Mehasa & Zalwadi, Beetal , Ajmeri & Kachhi .
Meat – Assam, Kali Bengali, Brown Bengali and Marwari.
Wool – Angora, Gaddhi and Pashmina .
Jamunapari
Fairly tall animal
Has a strongly arched Roman nose and long pendulous ears which are about 12 inches long in adult Jamunapari.
Buck weighs about 65-85 kgs and does weighs about 45-60 kgs
One kid per kidding
Six months kid weighs about 15 kg
Milk production is about 2-2.5 lit/day.
Tellichery
Goat are in white, brown and black colors
Kidding size is 2-3 kids
Buck weighs about 40-50 kgs and does weighs about 30 kgs
Boer
Rearing for meat all over the world
Has a fast growth rate
Buck weighs about 110-135 kgs and does weighs about 90-100 kgs
Kids weighs about 20-30 kgs at 90 days of age
The breed comes from South Africa. They have a light coloured body and a distinctive red head.
Right now, these are most expensive goats with some paying over $50,000 for one Boer buck and over $10,000 for pure-bred does. There are also crossbreds with larger dairy goats. In the picture above, only the goat with the red head in the middle is a purebred and the remainders are crossbreeds.
In our experience, Boer goats with serious confirmation faults, such as extra teats, are considered more valuable than very high quality dairy goats.
Kiko Goats
The main characteristic of the Kiko goat is its hardiness and its ability to achieve substantial weight gains when run under natural conditions without supplementary feeding. In New Zealand it has been called the “go anywhere, eat anything” goat signifying its ability to thrive under less than ideal conditions. The Kiko is large framed, generally white (although many Kikos carry genes for color and colored Kikos are capable of registration) with a coat that ranges from slick in summer to flowing hair when run in mountain country in winter. Mature males display substantial characteristic horns and are of a bold disposition. Mature females are ample, feminine and generally have good udder placement and attachment. The Kiko is a consummate browser and will range extensively when run in open country. The Kiko is not affected by substantial climatic variation and is equally at home in sub alpine mountain country and arid brushland. Perhaps the defining characteristic of the breed is the rate of growth. The kids are born of average size but with considerable vigor. From birth to weaning the Kiko displays a rate of growth at least equivalent of any other purpose bred meat goat breed but this is achieved without the management and feed inputs generally required for satisfactory meat production in other breeds.
Pygmy Goats
Pygmy Goats are raised primarily for show. Like dairy goats, they are good companions, and they go to shows & fairs.
The Pygmy goat originated in Africa. As its name implies, it's smaller than diary goats, but it produces a respectable amount of milk for its weight. Most people raise them for show and fun instead of meat or milk.
Some children like to raise Pygmy goats because they are easy to raise and handle and they are affectionate, cute, loveable and playful. Pygmy goats are year-round breeders so kids may be available at any time of the year. A litter usually consists of 1-3 goats. The Pygmy Goat bleat is similar to that of other goats.
Nigerian Dwarf Goats
The Nigerian Dwarf is a miniature goat of West African Origin. The most commonly asked question about Dwarf goats is: What is the difference between these and Pygmy goats? Although they have similar origins, they are separate and distinct breeds. Pygmies are bred to be "cobby" and heavy boned. Dwarves are bred to have the length of body and structure, in proportion, of a dairy goat.
Dwarf goats come in many colours. Main colour families are black, chocolate and gold. Random white markings are common, as are spots and other colour combinations such as red, white, gold and black.
Colour is one of the BIG factors that makes breeding Dwarves so popular. You never can be sure what colour the babies will be until they are born; even then you can't be sure because many times their colour will change.
Dwarf goats are gentle and loveable. Even breeding bucks are handled easily. They make wonderful pets and great animal projects for young children.
Breeders of other types of goats find that their Dwarves blend in with the rest of their herd well and do not need special quarters, just proper fencing to contain them because of their small size.
Dairy Goats
Dairy Goats are raised for goat milk. They also make good companions and can be shown at fairs.
There are six types of dairy goats recognized by most Dairy Goat Associations. They are Nubians, LaManchas, Alpines, Oberhaslis, Togenburgs, and Saanens.
Nubians
Nubians have very long, floppy ears and they can be any colour. They have a convex nose and are one of the larger breeds of goats. Their milk tends to be higher in protein and butter fat than other breeds. They tend to be a little bit more stubborn than other dairy goats and make a distinctive sound.
LaManchas
LaManchas have ears that are so small that it looks like they don't have ears and they can also be any colour. They have a straight nose and are a small breed. The LaMancha sound is typical of other goats. They are more calm and gentle than other breeds.
Alpines
Alpines can be almost any colour except solid white and light brown with white markings (this is the toggenburg colour); their face should be dished or straight. They have erect ears and are a medium-large breed. They are popular with dairies due the amount of milk they produce.
Oberhaslis
Oberhaslis have very specific colour standards. They are a bay colour, known as Chamoise, with a black dorsal strip, udder and belly, and black below the knees. They should also have a nearly black head. Another acceptable colour would be all black but this is only acceptable for does. They have erect ears and are a medium-small breed.
Togenburgs
Toggenburgs also have very specific colour requirements. They are light brown and have white ears and white lower legs. The side of the tail and two stripes down the face must also be white. They have erect ears and have the smallest height requirements of all the breeds. They grow a shaggier coat than other dairy goat breeds. They also are popular with dairies. They tend to be a little wilder and higher strung than other breeds.
Saanens
Saanens are usually pure white. They usually have a large udder capacity and are popular with dairies due to the quantity of milk they produce.
Cashmere Goats
Cashmere goats are a type, not a breed. Most goat breeds can produce cashmere down (the wool of the goat) in varied quantities and may be called cashmere goats. There is no such thing as a "pure-bred" cashmere goat.
Demand for cashmere, the fine underdown from cashmere goats that has long been preferred by royalty, has always exceeded supply. Garments made of cashmere are prized for their unique feel. Cashmere is very soft, warm and long wearing. It feels much softer to the skin than wool, and while not as strong, cashmere outwears wool. The fleece consists of the very fine, crimpy down and the usually longer, outside, coarse, straight guard hairs.
Prospective "cashmere-supplying goats" can be selected from either dairy goat or meat goat sources. Cashmere down growth begins on about the longest day of the year and stops about the shortest day. (Shortly after down growth stops it will be shed naturally if not combed or sheared.) Best time for goat selection is in the latter part of growth-stopping period; down quality can be easily assessed. The guard hair is parted to determine whether there is down underneath.
Goats come in many colours and combinations of colours, but solid coloured goats are much preferred. Cashmere down is white, brown, or grey in solid coloured goats. The less desirable down from mixed coloured goats is classed either as white with colour or mixed colour.
Mountain Goats
The mountain goat is a blunt, squarish-looking animal with a rather short body and humped shoulders. The narrow head has a black muzzle, sharp pointed ears and a double beard of long hair on the chin and throat. The white coat has a soft, woolly, thick undercoat. Long coarse guard hairs, up to seven inches long, form heavy mats over the shoulders and hips giving a humped appearance. As the days become longer and the weather warmer, they begin to shed their heavy winter coat, beginning with the neck region, in late April. By the end of July, shedding has progressed to the tail and the short summer coat has often turned a yellow colour. In some countries certain bands of mountain goats have a red coloration due to the red volcanic soil in which they roll.
The slender, black shiny horns rise in a smooth backward curve to a length of ten to twelve inches. The record length was from a female goat whose horns measured 12-4/8 inches. Horns are not shed each year and develop annual growth rings which indicate the age of the animal.
Black hooves also give accent to the white coat and are equipped with cushioned skid-proof pads for grip and traction on steep rocky surfaces.
The female mountain goat or "nannie" is about 15 percent smaller than the male or "billy" but in appearance is much the same. Her horns are more slender than the male's and rise without curving for 2/3 their length, often curving abruptly backwards at the tips.
Selection of goats for breeding:
Does
Having kidding size of 2- 3 kids
Mature at 6- 9 months
Bucks
Tall with broad chest and slender body.
matures at age of 9- 12 months
Selecting kids with good body weight at 6 months of age
selecting from dam of 2- 3 kidding size
Reproduction
In some climates, goats are able to breed at any time of the year. In temperate climates and among the Swiss breeds, the breeding season commences as the day length shortens, and ends in early spring. Any breed come into heat every 21 days for 2 to 48 hrs. A doe in heat typically flags her tail often, stays near the buck if one is present, becomes more vocal, and may also show a decrease in appetite and milk production for the duration of the heat. Bucks (intact males) of Swiss and northern breeds come into rut in the fall as with the doe's heat cycles. Rut is characterized by a decrease in appetite and obsessive interest in the does.
In addition to natural mating, artificial insemination has gained popularity among goat breeders, as it allows easy access to a wide variety of bloodlines.
Suckling Gestation length is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, with single and triplet births also common. Less frequent are quadruplet, quintuplet, and even sextuplet kids. Birthing, known as kidding, generally occurs uneventfully. Right before kidding the doe will have a sunken area around the tail and hip. Also she will have heavy breathing, a worried look, become restless and show great display of affection for her keeper. The mother often eats the placenta, which gives her much needed nutrients, helps stanch her bleeding, and parallels the behavior of wild herbivores such as deer to reduce the lure of the birth scent for predators.
Freshening (coming into milk production) occurs at kidding. Milk production varies with the breed, age, quality, and diet of the doe; dairy goats generally produce between 660 to 1,800 L (1,500 and 4,000 lb) of milk per 305 day lactation. On average, a good quality dairy doe will give at least 6 lb (2.7 l) of milk per day while she is in milk. A first time milker may produce less, than or as much as 16 lb (7.3 l), or more of milk in exceptional cases. After the 305 day lactation, the doe will "dry off", typically after she has been bred. Occasionally, goats that have not been bred and are continuously milked will continue lactation beyond the typical 305 days. Meat, fibre, and pet breeds are not usually milked and simply produce enough for the kids until weaning. Male lactation is also known to occur in goats.
Meat
The taste of goat kid meat is similar to that of spring lamb meat; in fact, in the English-speaking islands of the Caribbean, and in some parts of Asia, particularly Pakistan and India, the word “mutton” is used to describe both goat and lamb meat. However, some compare the taste of goat meat to veal or venison, depending on the age and condition of the goat. Its flavor is said to be primarily linked to the presence of 4-methyloctanoic and 4-methylnonanoic acid. It can be prepared in a variety of ways including stewed, baked, grilled, barbecued, minced, canned, fried, curried, or made into sausage. Due to its low fat content, the meat can toughen at high temperatures without additional moisture. One of the most popular goats grown for meat is the South African Boer, introduced into the United States in the early 1990s. The New Zealand Kiko is also considered a meat breed, as is the myotonic or "fainting goat", a breed originating in Tennessee.
Milk, butter and cheese
A goat being milked on an organic farm, goats produce approximately 2% of the world's total annual milk supply. Some goats are bred specifically for milk. If the strong-smelling buck is not separated from the does, his scent will affect the milk.
Doe milk naturally has smell, well-emulsified fat globules, which means the cream remains suspended in the milk, instead of rising to the top, as in raw cow milk; therefore, it is not homogenized. Indeed, if the milk is going to be used to make cheese, it will not be homogenized as this changes the structure of the milk impacting the culture's ability to coagulate the milk and the final quality and yield of cheese, 3.5 percent butterfat. A doe may be expected to reach her heaviest production during her third or fourth lactation.
Doe milk is commonly processed into cheese, butter, ice cream, yoghurt, cajeta and other products. Goat cheese is known as chèvre in France, after the French word for "goat". Some varieties include Rocamadour and Montrachet. Goat butter is white because goats produce milk with the yellow beta-carotene converted to a colorless form of vitamin.
Goat milk is similar to cow milk; in its basic composition. Goat milk is naturally homogenized and is more easily and rapidly digested. The average size of goat milk fat globules is about 2 micrometers, as compared to 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 micrometers for cow milk fat. The process of milking is begin about one minute after preparation of the doe as the milk let down hormone is actively working and the doe is ready to be milked. The consumption of goats milk is encouraged and to find a way of increasing the shelf life of both milk and milk products through processing.
The methods of milk processing which are the same for goat’s milk. Transgenic goats were generated by standard pronuclear microinjection with a DNA construct consisting of 23 kb of the promoter and 3' regulatory elements of the bovine aS1-casein gene coupled to the 540-bp cDNA for human lysozyme(HLZ.) Most goat milk cheeses are manufactured from raw goat milk with or without thermal treatment.
The person who drinks the amino acid sequence in the goats’ milk will be able to develop immunity to the protein that coats the Vibrio cholerae bacteria. The Goat's Milk Protein Hydrolysate is a very good skin moisturizing agent with revitalizing properties.
The preservation of goat cheese milk by the lactoperoxidase (LP) Treatment system is used to improve the microbiological quality. Lactic acid bacteria as been determined from home made katyk and products of goat’s milk.
Understanding the behavior of the milk proteins during processing has been facilitated by techniques that enable the proteins in milk to be identified, quantitatively analyzed, and fractionated into pure components.
A duplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Technique, with 2 pairs of primers recognizing sequences of mitochondrial D-loop region, was developed to identify cows’ milk in the milk of goats. Characterizing cow milk in pasteurized goat milk is done by discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique. A larger proportion of the world populations are consuming goat milk. Goat’s milk has now become one of Britain's fastest growing dairy products owing to its health benefits. The production of goat-milk products in Australia is valued at approximately $1 million/year.
Fresh goat milk receives from $0.60 to $0.80/L from specialty cheese and yoghurt manufacturers.
STALL-FED GOATS is ideally fit into the intensive integrated farming system (IIFS). The small animals are the most efficient converters of farm and crop residues into excellent organic manure.
Goats relish the stalks and residues of most of the nutritious cereals, and they do well particularly when mixed with green fodder such as grasses and subabul. Special goat-feeds is formulated using farm-grown millets and oilcakes. The rich goat manure is ideal for fertilizing fishponds and all other crops. It is also a good base material for vermi-composting.
The floor space is used per adult animal is about one square metre. A properly fed and managed milch goat will yield at least as much milk (on average two litres per day) as low yielding desi cows. The she-goat will deliver 2-4 kids at each parturition after a short gestation period of 150 days.
A few exotic goats such as Saanen, Toggenburg, Angora, Anglo-Nubian, British Alpine, French Alpine have been found to be well adapted to Indian conditions, and they are crossed with superior Indian breeds to get good progeny. The popular Indian breeds are Jamnapari, Surti, Tellicherry, Beetal, Malabari, Barbari and Gujarati.
A small herd is kept in a small shed with good cross ventilation. A deep-litter system with paddy husk and groundnut shell as bedding material is used for raising goats. The biological activity in the litter keeps the housing warm in winter and cool in summer. The bedding material is changed for every six months.
The bedding is turned periodically to remove the foul odour in the pen. The bedding material collects all the dung and urine efficiently and it is found to be enriched organic manure. An adult goat will add about a tonne of rich manure to the farm every year. Though the goats are robust animals and are resistant to many diseases, they need are vaccinated against foot and mouth disease, rinderpest and tetanus regularly. The animals are dewormed at least twice a year to keep in good stead.
Goat farming with stall-feeding is managed in small yards just like poultry, and it will prove to be an economical and rewarding enterprise for the small, marginal and landless farmers.
Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in India , whose meat (chevon) is one of the choicest meats and has huge domestic demand. Due to its good economic prospects, goat rearing under intensive and semi-intensive system for commercial production has been gaining momentum for the past couple of years.
Benefits of Goats:
Goat’s milk is very nutritious, easy to digest and can be used to make many different kinds of cheese. Goat meat is very low in fat and cholesterol.
Goat's milk is a very good source of calcium and the amino acid tryptophan. It is also a good source of protein, phosphorous, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and potassium. Perhaps the greatest benefit of goat's milk, however, is that some people who cannot tolerate cow's milk are able to drink goat's milk without any problems. It is not clear from scientific research studies exactly why some people can better tolerate goat's milk.
Goat's milk is a good source of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Since a cup of goat's milk contains 498.7 mg of potassium and only 121.5 mg of sodium, goat's milk may help to prevent high blood pressure and protect against atherosclerosis.
Goat's milk is a very good source of riboflavin, a B vitamin important for energy production. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) plays at least two important roles in the body's energy production.
Unlike cow's milk there is no need to homogenize goat's milk. While the fat globules in cow's milk tend to separate to the surface, the globules in goat's milk are much smaller and will remain suspended in solution. When individuals have sensitivity to cow's milk, goat's milk can sometimes be used as an alternative.
Goat's milk is a good source of low-cost high-quality protein, providing 8.7 grams of protein (17.4% of the daily value for protein) in one cup versus cow's milk, which provides 8.1 grams or 16.3% of the DV for protein.
Goat's milk contains around ten grams of fat per eight ounces compared to 8 to 9 grams in whole cow's milk, and it's much easier to find low fat and non-fat varieties of cow's milk than it is to purchase low fat goat's milk. Unlike cow's milk, goat's milk does not contain agglutinin. As a result, the fat globules in goat's milk do not cluster together, making them easier to digest.
Goat meat is the meat most often consumed on a regular basis, about 80% of the people in the world consume meat. We get many other products from Goats besides meat, milk and fiber for clothing.
Hides of goats are used as rugs and the skin is used for fine leather.
Other products like Gelatin, fertilizers, surgical supplies, medicines, soaps, ceramics, pet foods, horn and bone handles, luggage, foot wear and etc,.
»Emu Farming:
Primary commitment of La Ribah Agro India Private Limited is to provide quality with cost effective prices. To achieve the highest standards of quality, we undertake every single measure at all level of the process to obtain best. A very healthy environment is provided to the Emu birds so that they remain healthy. Our farm is fully covered with greeneries to have natural conditions. Every single product is carefully checked and only after proper inspection, they are dispatched to the market or buyers. We have a well qualified veterinary Doctor and trained professionals who have years of experience behind them. We have incubator and hatchery equipments for rearing the birds. This ensures 100% returns on our investment.
Emu-birds are members of the ratite family along with ostrich, rhea, cassowary and kiwi. The genus and species names of the emu are Dromaius novaehollandiae. Emu are prehistoric birds that originated about 80 million years ago in Australia. The soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds reach up to 2 meters (6.6 ft) in height. They have strong legs and run very fast and can run up to speeds of 30 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) and they are also very good swimmers. Wings are only 1/10th, the length of its body. The Emu is common over most of mainland Australia, although it avoids heavily populated areas, dense forest, and arid areas. They are opportunistically nomadic and may travel long distances to find food; they feed on a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go weeks without food. Emus will sit in water and are also able to swim. Normally Emu's lives up to 40 years.
The Emu subspecies that previously inhabited Tasmania became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788; and the distribution of the mainland subspecies has been influenced by human activities. Once common on the east coast, Emu are now uncommon; by contrast, the development of agriculture and the provision of water for stock in the interior of the continent have increased the range of the Emu in arid regions. Emus are farmed for their meat, oil, and leather.
There are reports the Emu was first sighted by European explorers in 1696 when they made a brief visit to the coast of Western Australia. It was thought to have been spotted on the east coast of Australia before 1788 when the first European settlement occurred. It was first described under the name of the New Holland Cassowary in Arthur Phillip's Voyage to Botany Bay, published in 1789.The species was named by ornithologist John Latham on a specimen from the Sydney, Australia area, which was referred to as New Holland at the time. He collaborated on Phillip's book and provided the first descriptions of and names for many Australian bird species; its name is Latin for "fast-footed New Hollander". The etymology of the common name Emu is uncertain, but is thought to have come from an Arabic word for large bird that was later used by Portuguese explorers to describe the related Cassowary in Australia and New Guinea. Another theory is that it comes from the word "ema", which is used in Portuguese to denote a large bird akin to an ostrich or crane. In Victoria, some terms for the Emu were Barrimal in the Dja Dja Wurrung language, myoure in Gunai, and courn in Jardwadjali. It was known as murawung or birabayin to the local Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney basin.
In his original 1816 description of the Emu, Vieillot used two generic names; first Dromiceius, then Dromaius a few pages later. It has been a point of contention ever since which is correct; the latter is more correctly formed, but the convention in taxonomy is that the first name given stands, unless it is clearly a typographical error. Most modern publications, including those of the Australian government, use Dromaius, with Dromiceius mentioned as an alternative spelling.
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class:
Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Dromaiidae
Genus:
Dromaius
Species: Dromaius novaehollandiae
Classification
The Emu was classified in the family with their closest relatives the cassowaries in the family Casuariidae in the ratite order Struthioniformes. However an alternate classification has been recently adopted splitting the Casuariidae into their own order Casuariformes.
Three different Dromaius species were common in Australia before European settlement, and one species is known from fossils. The small Emus — Dromaius baudinianus and D. ater — both became extinct shortly after; however, the Emu, D. novaehollandiae, remains common. The population varies from decade to decade, largely dependent on rainfall; it is estimated that the Emu population is 625,000–725,000, with 100,000–200,000 in Western Australia and the remainder mostly in New South Wales and Queensland. D. novaehollandiae diemenensis, a subspecies known as the Tasmanian Emu, became extinct around 1865. Emus were introduced to Maria Island off Tasmania and Kangaroo Island near South Australia during the 20th century. The Kangaroo Island birds have established a breeding population there. The Maria Island population became extinct in the mid-1990s.
Emus have only three toes in a tridactyl arrangement; this adaptation for running is seen in other bird species, such as bustards and quails. The Ostrich has only two toes.
Emus are large birds. The largest can reach up to 150 to 190 centimeters (59–75 in) in height, 1 to 1.3 meters (3.3–4.3 ft) at the shoulder. Emus weigh between 18 and 48 kilograms (40 and 106 lb). Females are usually larger than males by a small amount, but substantially wider across the rump.
They have small vestigial wings that are around 20 centimeters (7.9 in) long and have a small claw at the tip of this wing. The Emu flaps its wings when it is running and it is believed that they stabilize the bird when it is moving. It has a long neck and legs. Their ability to run at high speeds, 48 km/h (30 mph), is due to their highly specialised pelvic limb musculature. Their feet have only three toes and a similarly reduced number of bones and associated foot muscles; they are the only birds with gastronomies muscles in the back of the lower legs. The pelvic limb muscles of emus have a similar contribution to total body mass as the flight muscles of flying birds. When walking, the Emu takes steps of around 100 centimeters (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 centimeters (9.02 ft). The Emu's legs are devoid of feathers and underneath its feet are thick, cushioned pads. Like the Cassowary, the Emu has a nail on its toe akin to the blade of a knife, which is its major defensive attribute. This is used in combat to inflict wounds on opponents by kicking. The toe and claw are a total of 15 centimeters (5.9 in). They have a soft bill, adapted for grazing.
The Emu has good eyesight and hearing, which allows it to detect nearby threats. Its legs are among the strongest of any animals, powerful enough to tear down metal wire fences.
The neck of the Emu is pale blue and shows through its sparse feathers. They have brown to grey-brown plumage of shaggy appearance; the shafts and the tips of the feathers are black. Solar radiation is absorbed by the tips, and the loose-packed inner plumage insulates the skin. The resultant heat is prevented from flowing to the skin by the insulation provided by the coat, allowing the bird to be active during the heat of the day. A unique feature of the Emu feather is its double rachis emerging from a single shaft. Both of the rachis have the same length, and the texture is variable; the near the quill it is rather furry, but the external ends resemble grass. The sexes are similar in appearance, although the male's penis can become visible when it defecates. The plumage varies in color due to environmental factors, giving the bird a natural camouflage. Feathers of Emus in more arid area with red soil have a similarly-tinted plumage but are darker in animals residing in damp conditions.
The eyes of an Emu are protected by nictitating membranes. These are translucent, secondary eyelids that move from the end of the eye closest to the beak to cover the other side. This is used by the Emu as a protective visor to protect its eyes from dust that is prevalent in windy and arid deserts. The Emu also has a tracheal pouch, which becomes more prominent during the mating season. It is often used during courting, and it has speculated that it is used for communication on a day-to-day basis. The pouch is more than 30 centimeters (12 in), is spacious and the wall in very thin. The width of the opening is only 8 centimeters (3.1 in). The quantity of air that goes through the pouch, as determined by the Emu deciding to open or close it, affects the pitch of an Emu's call. Females typically cry more loudly than males.
On very hot days, emus pant to maintain their body temperature, their lungs work as evaporative coolers and, unlike some other species, the resulting low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood do not appear to cause alkalosis. For normal breathing in cooler weather, they have large, multifold nasal passages. Cool air warms as it passes through into the lungs, extracting heat from the nasal region. On exhalation, the Emu's cold nasal turbinate’s condensed moisture back out of the air and absorb it for reuse. As with other ratites, the Emu has great homoeothermic ability, and can maintain this status from -5 to 45 degrees. The thermo neutral zone of Emus lies between 10–15 degrees and 30 degrees.
As with other ratites, the Emu has a relatively low rate of metabolism compared to other types of birds, but the rate depends on activity, especially due to resulting changes to thermodynamics. At -5 degrees, the metabolism rate of an Emu while sitting down is around 60% of the value for one that is standing, as the lack of feathers under its stomach leads to a higher rate of heat loss when it is standing up and exposing the underbelly.
Their calls consist of loud booming, drumming, and grunting sounds that can be heard up to 2 kilometers (1.2 meters) away. The booming sound is created in an inflatable neck sac that is 30 cm (12 inch) long and thin-walled. The different sounds produced can be used to distinguish males and females. The loud booming caused by inflation of the cervical sac corresponds to females, while loud grunts are limited to male Emus.
Ecology and Behavior
Emus live in most habitats across Australia, although they are most common in areas of sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland, and least common in populated and very arid areas, except during wet periods. Emus predominately travel in pairs, and while they can form enormous flocks, this is an atypical social behavior that arises from the common need to move towards food sources. Emus have been shown to travel long distances to reach abundant feeding areas. In Western Australia, Emu movements follow a distinct seasonal pattern - north in summer and south in winter. On the east coast their wanderings do not appear to follow a pattern. Emus are also able to swim when necessary, although they rarely do so unless the area is flooded or they need to cross a river. Though an Emu will be cautious when approaching civilization, Emus are well known for approaching small groups of humans in the wild when prompted by food, in fact, even if the food is not offered to them, they can be rather persistent in helping themselves.
They are also known to be curious animals, and are known to approach humans if they see movement of a limb or a piece of clothing. They are also known to follow and observe humans in the wild. Sometimes they also poke other animals and then run away after drawing a reaction, as though they are playing a game. An Emu spends much of its time preening its plumage with its beak.
Emus sleep during the night, and begin to settle down at sunset, although it does not sleep continuously throughout the night. It can awake and arise up to eight times per night in order to feed or defecate. Before going into a deep sleep, the emu squats on its tarsus and begins to enter a drowsy state. However, it is alert enough to react to visual or aural stimuli and return to an awakened state. During this time, the neck descends closer to the body and the eyelids begin to lower. If there are no aural of visual disturbances, it will go into a deep form of sleep after 20 minutes. During this time the body is lowered until it is touching the ground and its legs are folded. The feathers direct any rain downwards along the mound-like body into the ground, and it has been surmised that the sleeping position is a type of camouflage similar to a small hill. The neck is brought down very low and the beck turned down so that the whole neck becomes S-shaped and folding onto itself. An Emu will typically awake from the deep sleep one every 90–120 minutes and stand in a tarsal position to eat or defecate. This lasts for 10–20 minutes and the cycle is repeated 4–6 times during most nights. Overall, an Emu sleeps for around seven hours every day. Young Emus are known to sleep with their neck flat and stretching forward along the ground surface.
Diet
Emus forage in a diurnal pattern. They eat a variety of native and introduced plant species; the type of plants eaten depends on seasonal availability. They also eat insects, including grasshoppers and crickets, lady birds, soldier and saltbush caterpillars, Bo gong and cotton-boll moth larvae and ants. This forms a large part of its protein requirements and intake. In Western Australia, food preferences have been observed in travelling Emus: they eat seeds from Acacia aneura until it rains, after which they eat fresh grass shoots and caterpillars; in winter they feed on the leaves and pods of Cassia[verification needed]; in spring, they feed on grasshoppers and the fruit of Santalum acuminatum: a sort of quandong. They are also known to eat wheat crops, and any fruit or other crops that it can access, easily climbing over high fences if required. Emus serve as an important agent for the dispersal of large viable seeds, which contributes to floral biodiversity. One undesirable effect of this occurred in Queensland in the 1930s and 1940s when Emus ate cactus in the outback there. They defecated the seeds in various places as they moved around, spreading the unwanted plant. This led of constant hunting campaigns to stop the cactus from being spread.
Emus also require pebbles and stones to assist in the digestion of the plant material. Individual stones may weigh 45 g (1.6 oz) and they may have as much as 745 g (1.64 lb) in their gizzard at one time. They also eat charcoal, however scientists still have not ascertained why. Emus in captivity are also known to eat shards of glass, marbles, car keys, jewellery and nuts and bolts.
Emus drink at infrequent intervals, but ingest large amounts when they do so. They typically inspect the water body in groups for a period before kneeling down at the edge of the water and drinking. They are observed to prefer kneeling on solid earth while drinking, rather than in rocks or mud, presumably due to a fear of sinking. They often drink continuously for 10 minutes, unless disturbed by danger, in which case they interrupt themselves to deal with the threat before resuming. Due to the arid environment, they often go one or two days without finding a source of water and drinking. They typically drink once per day or night, but can do so several times daily if supply is abundant. In the wild, they often share water sources with kangaroos, birds and wild camels and donkeys that were let loose by European settlers. Emus are suspicious of these other species and tend to wait in bushes and wait for other types of animals to leave; they choose to drink separately to the other animals. If an Emu sense abnormal circumstances or a threat, it drinks while standing.
Breeding
Emu Egg
Emus form breeding pairs during the summer months of December and January, and may remain together for about five months. During this time they wander around in an area a few miles in diameter. It is believed they guard or find territory during this time. Both males and females increase in weight during this time and the female is slightly heavier at between 45 and 58 kg. This weight is lost during the incubation period, the males losing around 9 kg. Mating occurs in the cooler months of May and June, and the exact timing is determined by the climate, as the birds nest during the coldest part of the year. During the breeding season, males experience hormonal changes, including an increase in luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels, and their testicles double in size.
It is the females that court the males, and during the mating season, they become physically more attractive. The female's plumage darkens slightly and the small patches of bare, hairless skin just below the eyes and near the beaks turn turquoise-blue, although this is a subtle change. The female strides around confidently, often circling the male, and pulls its neck back while puffing out her feathers and crying out a low, monosyllabic sound that has been compared to human drums. This calling occurs when the males are not in view and more than 50 meters (160 ft) away and when the male's attention has been gained, the female can circle in a radius of 10–40 m. As the female circles its prospective mate, it continues to look towards him by turning its neck, while keeping its rump facing him. During this time, the female's cervical air sac may remain inflated as it calls outs. The passive male retains the same color hair, although the bare patches of skin also turn a light blue. The female has more black hairs on its head but gender differentiation can be difficult for humans. If the male shows interest in the parading female, he will move closer; the female continues to tantalize its target by shuffling further away and continuing to circle him as before.
Females are more aggressive than males during the courting period, often fighting one another for access to mates. Fights among females accounted for more than half of the violent incidents in one mating season study. If a female tried to woo a male that already had a partner, the incumbent female will try and repel the competitor by walking towards her challenger and staring in a stern way. If the male showed interest in the second female by erecting his feathers and swaying from side to side, the incumbent female will attack the challenger, usually resulting in a back down by the new female. Some female-female competitions can last up to five hours, especially when the target male is single and neither female has the advantage of incumbency. In these cases, the animals typically intensify their mating calls and displays, which increase in extravagance. This is often accompanied by chasing and kicking by the competing females.
Males lose their appetite and construct a rough nest in a semi-sheltered hollow on the ground from bark, grass, sticks, and leaves. The nest almost a flat surface rather than a segment of a sphere, and although in cold conditions the nest is taller, up to 7 cm tall, and more spherical to provide more insulation. When other material is lacking, it can also use spinifex grass bushes more than a meter across, despite the prickly nature. The nest can be placed in open ground or near scrubs and rocks; although thick grass is usually present if the emu takes the former option. The nests are usually placed in an area where the emu has a clear view of the surrounds and can detect predators.
If a male is interested, he will stretch his neck and erect his feathers and bend over and peck at the ground. He will then sidle up to the female, swaying his body and neck from side to side, and rubbing his breast against his partner's rump, usually without calling out. The female would accept by sitting down and raising her rump.
The pair mates every day or two, and every second or third day the female lays one of an average of 11 (and as many as 20) very large, thick-shelled, dark-green eggs. The shell is around 1 mm thick also indigenous Australians say that northern eggs are thinner. The number of eggs varies with rainfall. The eggs are on average 134 by 89 millimeters (5.3 × 3.5 in) and weigh between 700 and 900 grams (1.5 and 2.0 lb), which is roughly equivalent to 10–12 chicken eggs in volume and weight. The first verified occurrence of genetically identical avian twins was demonstrated in the Emu. The egg surface is granulated and pale green. During the incubation period, the egg turns dark green, although if the egg never hatches, it will turn white from the bleaching effect of the sun.
The male becomes broody after his mate starts laying eggs, and begins to incubate the eggs before the laying period is complete. From this time on, he does not eat, drink, or defecate, and stands only to turn the eggs, which he does about 10 times a day. Sometimes he will walk away at night; he chooses such a time as most predators of emu eggs are not nocturnal. Over eight weeks of incubation, he will lose a third of his weight and will survive only on stored body-fat and on any morning dew that he can reach from the nest. As with many other Australian birds, such as the Superb Fairy-wren, infidelity is the norm for Emus, despite the initial pair-bond: once the male starts brooding, the female mates with other males and may lay in multiple clutches; thus, as many as half the chicks in a brood may be fathered by others, or by neither parent as Emus also exhibit brood parasitism. Some females stay and defend the nest until the chicks start hatching, but most leave the nesting area completely to nest again; in a good season, a female Emu may nest three times. If the parents stay together during the incubation period, they will take turns standing guard over the eggs while the other drinks and feeds within earshot. If it perceives a threat during this period, it will lie down on top of the nest and try to blend in with the similar-looking surrounds, and suddenly stand up and confront and scare the other party if it comes close.
Incubation takes 56 days, and the male stops incubating the eggs shortly before they hatch. The male also increases the temperature of the nest during the eight-week period. Although the eggs are laid sequentially with days of separation, they tend to hatch within two days within one another, as the eggs that were laid later were subject to higher temperatures and developed more quickly. During the process, the precocial emu chicks need to develop a capacity for thermoregulation. During incubation, the embryos are ectothermic but need to develop endothermic behavior by the time it is hatched.
Newly hatched chicks are active and can leave the nest within a few days. They stand about 12 centimeters (5 inch) tall, weigh 5 kg (18 oz), and have distinctive brown and cream stripes for camouflage, which fade after three months or so. The male stays with the growing chicks for up to 7 months, defending them and teaching them how to find food. Chicks grow very quickly and are full-grown in 5–6 months; they may remain with their family group for another six months or so before they split up to breed in their second season. During their early life, the young Emus are defended by their father, who adopts a belligerent and standoffish stance towards other Emus, even including the mother. The father does to by ruffling his feathers, emitting sharp grunts, and kicking his legs to shoo off other animals. He can also bend his knees to shield his smaller children. At night, he envelops his young with his feathers. As the young Emus cannot travel far, the parents must choose an area with plentiful food in which to breed. In the wild, Emus live between 10 to 20 years; captive birds can live longer than those in the wild.
A year old emu is around five and half to six feet in height, its weight is 30-40 kg. Fully grown emu weighs 50-60 kg. When it grows it changes its color thrice. In the beginning as it comes out of the egg up to 3 months there are stripes on its body. After 4 months it looks chocolate brown, After 1 year it again starts changing its color. The feathers on the neck fall off. Then its neck looks bluish green and feathers exhibit a variety of colors.
There is no distinction between a male and a female. Generally 18-month-old female is capable of reproduction; however in some emus this period can extend up to 2 years. As per available national data on an average during breeding period, female emu lays up to 32 eggs. The breeding period is 6 months, from October to March. Emu’s eggs are dark green in color. Compared to egg of a hen they are 10-12 times bigger. Female emu may lay eggs after every 3 days. But sometimes it lays eggs after 3 or 5 days.
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