The farm has a 3 types of goats the Mubende goat, Hybrid goats – mixtures of Boer goats and African goats and the Boer;
Mubende goats are found mainly in the central region, with a concentration in the Masaka area in the south. The colour of this goat is predominantly black although a mixture of brown and black is not uncommon. Average liveweight for adult entire males is 35.7 kg, castrates 36.0 kg and females 31.5 kg: individual male castrates may weigh up to 42.0 kg.
The Boer goat is a breed of goat that was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s for meat production. Their name is derived from the Afrikaans (Dutch) word “boer”, meaning farmer. Cross-breeding indigenous goats with exotic breeds of meat and dairy goats has been practiced but breeding practices are often not planned and coordinated. It has a very stocky body, strong muscles and bones. It usually has a white body with brown spots, with a high twins kidding rate. It is valuable for its meat, milk and skin production.
Goats have important roles in the traditional, cultural, social and economic sectors of the Ugandan small farmer. The most important role, however, is the provision of meat. In some regions of Uganda, goat meat ranks only second to beef in quantity, but in terms of palatability and delicacy, it is most times preferred to beef, so much so that most times goat meat is a favourite food on special occasions such as the celebration of funeral rites, Christmas day, Easter day, wedding ceremonies and thanksgiving ceremonies for the birth of a new baby.
The most important role of goats is the provision of meat and because of its small size, a goat is often slaughtered in honour of a special guest, a visiting relative or a friend. The carcass is easy to store and can readily be preserved by smoking and drying. In Lango and Acholi (northern Uganda), goats are often slaughtered to provide meat for consumption during communal work. Roast goat is liked by many people because it is tender, juicy and soft. In Bunyoro, goat meat is sometimes mixed with herbs when preparing traditional medicines.
Small East African goats from the eastern region show a higher dressing-out percentage than from other regions. In a recent abattoir study goats slaughtered were between one and half and three years old and their composition was 53.6 per cent females, 34.9 per cent castrates and 11.5 per cent entire males.
