MAMAT'S GOAT-BREEDING DREAM COMES TRUE, THANKS TO YOUTUBE

BUKIT MERTAJAM, June 22 (Bernama) -- A daily routine from 8 am and wallowing in foul-smelling livestock excrement doesn’t sound like a sunshine home after retirement but for this retiree, it is a long cherished dream come true, thanks to the Internet. 

Mamat Ismail, 65, said at the initial stage, he learned the A-B-Cs through video-hosting platform YouTube on goat-breeding, including how to keep the animal healthy because he had absolutely no idea whatsoever.

“From the beginning, I only learned from YouTube, because of my deep interest in raising goats, so I really explored YouTube to see how other breeders do it. The only challenge now is that the price of bran and animal feed has risen sharply since last year.

“At the initial stage, I tried several times to give injections and deworming medicine to the goats myself, but failed as five to six goats died... so since then I sought advice and the services of the State Department of Agriculture and the Veterinary Services Department because they know better,” said the father of five.

Mamat said that although raising livestock is normal in the Bukit Indera Muda area, here it is done on a small scale as a side income. Not only are his goats well received by the surrounding residents, he said his dairy products are also in high demand.

“I only started breeding goats six years ago when I was approaching retirement age. I had been interested from a young age, but work in the construction sector kept me from my ambition until I retired. 

“At the initial stage with a capital of RM40,000, I kept only 40 Jamnapari (Indian domestic goat with convex parrot-like face) and Saanen (Swiss dairy) goats and until now the number of livestock has increased to 70. Selling goats alone will not give good returns hence I persevered until now,” he told Bernama here.

He said Saanen dairy goats can produce up to three litres of milk per day and he will send it to Kuala Lumpur because of high demand there.

“Even though the price of bran (rice, oat husks) has increased, I make sure the goats get enough food besides other nutrients,” he said.

In the meantime, according to Mamat, he has a customer’s order of 14 goats this year as sacrifice for Hari Raya Aidiladha on June 29, but says numbers have decreased compared to higher demand previously.

”In previous years, orders were more than 20 goats for sacrifice,” said Mamat, who runs his goat farm singlehandedly.

Mamat, who receives staunch support from his wife Mardziah Abdul Rahman, 64, and children, hopes young people will venture into livestock breeding by seeking guidance from relevant departments.

He said goat farming can actually generate good income and decrease dependence on imports.

-- BERNAMA