Flock ownership pattern of goats in Idah local government area of Kogi State, Nigeria

Questionnaires were used to obtain data on goat ownership from farmers, determine socio-economic characteristics of owners, identify management system, identify sources of stock and reasons for keeping goats in Idah Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State, Nigeria. One hundred (100) goat owners randomly selected from the council wards in the LGA were interviewed using questionnaires. Ninety-two (92) questionnaires were recovered from the field. Data collected included demographic information on the respondents, management practices, herd size, choice of management system, sources of feed and stock, and preference for a particular species. 58.7% of the respondents were male while 41.3% female. 46.8% were married, 9.8% widowed, 29.3% single and 14.1% divorced. Most of the goat owners were between 20-30 years old (26.8%), 22.9% 31-40 years old, 10.9 51-60 years old. 8.7% had primary level education, 18.5% secondary school education and 37% tertiary education. Majority of the respondents (43.6%) had herd sizes between 1-10, with 83.7% of the goats being male and 75.1% female. Management system was mostly extensive (59.8%). Patterns of housing for goats are the open space (53.3%), low cost (18.3%) and open type with run space (23.3%). Choice of housing and management system is dueto low cost. Sources of feed for goats varied from crop residues (30.4%), purchase (10.9%), cut and carry (28.3%) and a combination of crop residue and cut and purchase (30.4%). 40.2%obtained their stock through purchase. It is concluded that goat rearing is practiced by all age groups and gender, most of whom were literate. Management system was mostly extensive due to its convenience in terms of labour and capital requirements.