Abstract :
Organic goat production contributes to the alleviation of poverty of producers who rely
on marginal land for their livelihoods, while meeting the increasing demand for organic
products globally. Nutritional strategies that are naturally occurring, low cost and easy to
apply can improve the productive performance of goats and render organic production
profitable and successful. Adequate protein intake enhances immunity and improves both
resistance and resilience of the host to endoparasites and diseases. Organic goat production
relies on high forage systems, therefore, understanding plant biomass accumulation,
eating behavior, seasonal fluctuation in nutrient supply, and environmental interaction can
lead to a more sustainable organic production while maintaining diverse plant landscapes.
Legumes are desirable for organic goat production because they contain high protein and
are suitable for browsing. Secondary plant compounds at a concentration below level of
toxicity can be leveraged for disease prevention, control and treatment, and fill the vacuum
of chemotherapy in organic goat production. In combination with other naturally occurring
materials, they have the potential to improve nutrient digestion and utilization in goats.
Goats are versatile in harvesting plant materials and able to survive under adverse foraging
conditions. Tolerance of goats toward the bitterness of secondary plant compounds can
play an anthelmintic role and make goats more suitable for high-forage organic production
systems than other ruminant species. Rapid fetal growth associated with the physical fill
of forage limits feed intake during late pregnancy and therefore presents a challenge for
nutritional balance in goats under high-forage organic production systems. Understanding
regulation of feed intake and fiber digestion and utilization can lead to nutritional balance
minimizing metabolic disorders associated with pregnancy, parturition and lactation. The
use of bioactive plants, traditional herbal or ethnoveterinary medicine may present economical
and sustainable alternative if greater understanding of the mechanism, interaction
with other nutrients, and level of toxicity can be achieved. Chinese herbal medicine, many
of them with antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic properties merit further studies and
verifications and can be promising in organic goat production
