Goat farming suits a small or landless family because the start-up cost is low and does (female goats) can have twins, but the money is in healthy kids sold at the right age, not in the number of animals. On the assumptions worked out below, 10 does plus a buck kept on stall-feeding and grazing leave roughly ₹24,000-₹78,000 a year depending on the sale price of kids, before counting family labour and the cost of the animals and shed.
This guide covers breed choice (Sirohi, Beetal, Barbari, Jamunapari, Osmanabadi, Black Bengal and Boer crosses), housing and feeding norms, the ICAR-IVRI health calendar, unit economics and the current subsidy picture. See also our goat farming page.
Choosing a breed
Pick a breed that is already doing well in your district; local breeds are adapted to local feed and disease. Figures below are reported breed characteristics, and farm averages are usually lower.
| Breed | Main use | Reported traits | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sirohi | Meat | Adult male about 50 kg, female about 22-23 kg; mostly single births (about 91% singles, 8.5% twins) | Semi-arid Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra; hardy, good for grazing systems |
| Barbari | Meat, some milk | Male about 38 kg, female about 22-23 kg; twins common (about 64% twins, 13% triplets in farmer flocks); daily milk about 1-1.5 kg | Stall-feeding and small spaces around Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab |
| Beetal | Milk and meat | Large body; adult does give up to 4 litres a day at best according to ICAR-CIRG | Punjab, Haryana; needs better feeding |
| Jamunapari | Milk and meat | Male 65-80 kg, female 45-60 kg; daily milk about 2-2.5 kg | UP, MP; needs good feed, long-eared tall goat |
| Osmanabadi | Meat | Male about 32-36 kg, female about 30-32 kg; twinning common, average litter about 1.6 | Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana |
| Black Bengal | Meat, skin | Small (about 12-15 kg adult); most prolific Indian breed with 2-4 kids at a time | Eastern India, high humidity |
Boer crosses gain weight faster but need better feed and health care; they should be kept only if you have a market for heavier animals and access to a vet. Start with healthy, dewormed, vaccinated young does of 10-12 months from a known flock, plus a buck from a different flock to avoid inbreeding.
Housing
Use a raised, slatted or well-drained floor if you can, with a semi-closed shed running east-west. A government reference project for a 100+5 unit gives a maximum length of 100 ft, a width of 15-20 ft, a central height of 3 m and a side height of 2 m, with separate pens for bucks, dry, pregnant and lactating does and kids. Floor space per animal, from Pashudhan Praharee:
| Animal | Covered floor space |
|---|---|
| Adult goat | 1-1.5 m² (about 11-16 sq ft) |
| Lactating doe | 1.5-2 m² |
| Adult male / buck | 2 m² |
| Kids 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 months | 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 m² respectively |
Keep the floor dry, allow a small open run, protect from wind and heavy rain, and never overcrowd: pneumonia and diarrhoea in kids are the biggest causes of loss.
Feeding
- An adult goat can eat about 5-7 kg of green fodder a day; aim for about 60-70% green, 20-30% dry fodder and 5-10% concentrate, with legumes (cowpea, lucerne) and tree leaves such as subabul, neem and ber.
- Extension norms: 100-250 g concentrate per adult goat a day; pregnant does in the last trimester 7 kg green fodder plus 250-300 g concentrate to prevent pregnancy toxaemia; lactating does 400 g concentrate or 10 kg good green fodder; breeding bucks 300-400 g.
- Kids: colostrum within the first hour, creep feed with about 22% protein from 1 month, weaning at about 3 months. Give 5-6 litres of clean water a day to adult goats and more for lactating does.
- Give salt (about 2% of the grain ration) and an area-specific mineral mixture, and feed in 3-4 portions.
Health calendar (ICAR-IVRI)
| Disease or task | First dose / timing | Repeat |
|---|---|---|
| PPR (goat plague) | 3 months | Not needed for 3 years |
| FMD | 3 months, booster 3-4 weeks later | Every 6-12 months |
| Goat pox (goats only) | 3-5 months, booster 3-4 weeks later | Annually |
| Enterotoxaemia (ET) | 3-5 months, booster 3-4 weeks later | Annually |
| HS | 3-5 months, booster 3-4 weeks later | Annually |
| Deworming | From 3 months; before monsoon (May-June) | Twice a year where waterlogging is common; rotate the drug |
| Dipping for ticks and lice | Before summer and before winter | Twice a year; avoid in the rains |
| Coccidiosis drench for kids | 1-3 months (amprolium for 5 days) | As advised by a vet |
ICAR-IVRI advises deworming 7-14 days before vaccination. Dose rates must follow your vet or the product label.
Cost and return: 10 does + 1 buck
Assumptions (estimates for illustration, adjust for your area): 1.5 kids per doe weaned a year, so 15 kids, less 10% kid mortality = about 13-14 sold; concentrate ₹30 per kg; grazing and own fodder supply most green feed; family provides the labour.
- Adult concentrate: 11 goats × 200 g × 365 days × ₹30 = about ₹24,000.
- Kid concentrate after weaning: 100 g a day for about 180 days, about 18 kg = ₹540 each × 13.5 = about ₹7,300.
- Purchased dry fodder and tree leaves ₹10,000; minerals and salt ₹2,000; vaccines, dewormers and medicine ₹5,000. Total about ₹48,400 a year.
- Income: 13.5 kids sold at 8-10 months, plus about ₹5,000 from a cull animal and manure.
| Sale price per kid | Income | Net a year |
|---|---|---|
| ₹5,000 | about ₹72,500 | about ₹24,000 |
| ₹7,000 | about ₹99,500 | about ₹51,000 |
| ₹9,000 | about ₹1,26,500 | about ₹78,000 |
Capital is extra: does at about ₹8,000-₹12,000 each (assumption, varies widely by breed and season) plus a shed costing perhaps ₹60,000-₹1 lakh, so payback is about 2-3 years. Kid prices rise before festivals such as Eid, so plan your breeding to have animals ready then, and sell by weight or by body condition at the haat rather than at distress sale. Goat milk is an extra revenue stream for Beetal and Jamunapari keepers near cities; FSSAI has published standards for goat, sheep and camel milk, but the buyer base is thin in most districts.
Subsidy and credit (October 2026)
The National Livestock Mission's entrepreneurship component gives a 50% capital subsidy on breeding farms, with the cap scaled to the unit size, as listed in a PIB reply of February 2025:
| Sheep/goat breeding unit (females + males) | Maximum capital subsidy |
|---|---|
| 100 + 5 | ₹10 lakh |
| 200 + 10 | ₹20 lakh |
| 300 + 15 | ₹30 lakh |
| 400 + 20 | ₹40 lakh |
| 500 + 25 | ₹50 lakh |
The minimum is 100 females and 5 males, so a 10-doe backyard unit does not qualify. Eligible applicants are individuals, FPOs, SHGs, JLGs, FCOs and Section 8 companies, with applications made through the NLM portal and a bank loan; subsidy is released in two equal instalments after verification. The National Livestock Mission was allocated ₹808 crore in the Union Budget 2026-27 and a separate ₹500 crore Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development was announced for credit-linked subsidies, but No published guidelines for the new period were available as of October 2026, so check with the district animal husbandry office before counting on a subsidy.
A Kisan Credit Card can finance working capital; the subvented KCC limit is ₹5 lakh per a March 2026 PIB release (a later Finance Ministry reply still cites ₹3 lakh, so confirm with your bank) with collateral-free credit up to ₹2 lakh (PIB, March 2026). See KCC details and the subsidy finder for state schemes. Many websites mention a NABARD goat subsidy; a current NABARD capital subsidy for goat units could not be verified, so confirm with the bank before relying on one.
Start small
- Visit a KVK or a CIRG or state veterinary university goat farm before buying.
- Start with 5-10 does and one buck; grow from your own kids.
- Keep records of birth dates, weights and sales for each animal.
- Have a vet contact and keep PPR, ET and FMD vaccines on schedule.
Sources
- PIB - National Livestock Mission (4 Feb 2025)
- Union Budget 2026-27 Notes on Demands for Grants - Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- ICAR-IVRI - Vaccination and annual health calendar for sheep and goat
- ICAR-CIRG Makhdoom - Beetal goat unit
- Pashudhan Praharee - Feeding management in goats
- Pashudhan Praharee - Housing management of goats
- Commercial goat farming (100+5) reference project
- FAO - Sheep and goat breeds of India
- PIB - Kisan Credit Card (11 March 2026)