Alimentary System of Native Goat Breeds of Pakistan

*Arbab Sikandar and Amar Nasir*

### **Abstract**

Goat in Pakistan has been raised both for getting meat and milk with a total production of 748 tons of mutton and 965 tons of milk. In Pakistan, goat meat is the most preferred protein source among muttons. Goats possess a healthy alimentary canal and are mostly offered low-cost grazing land-grown roughage. A chain of tubular organs/tissues and allied glands are observed in the goat alimentary system. A healthy digestive system transforms the available nutrients after digestion and absorption into better growth performance. Only few reports available in literature focusing different local raising goat breeds, its feeding behavior, and the morphological structures of their guts. In this chapter, we tried to draw attention to the embryological development of the goat, the nutrition, and the gross/microscopic anatomy and physiology of gut, which is comprised of oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas. The histology of the mucosal structures is focused for better understanding because this tunic is in contact with the ingested food particles and is playing a key role in the process of digestion and absorption. Furthermore, health and clinical issues that can occur with goat alimentary systems are also highlighted in this chapter.

**Keywords:** microscopic anatomy, physiology, management, gastrointestinal system, small ruminants

### **1. Introduction**

Pakistan has 35 goat breeds (mostly of medium size) with a total population of 78.2 million. Goats belong to Bovidae family and their scientific name is *Capra hircus* are the most crucial contributor to the national GDP in the form of milk, meat, and skin production and also this small ruminant is a livelihood source for people of wide geographical areas of Pakistan [1, 2]. Skin/hides are also very valuable for the leather industry but are unfortunately a neglected by-product of goat slaughtering [3]. According to the country's economic survey, Pakistan has produced 30,946 million goat skins annually. This foremost economic movement adopted of rearing goats chiefly by the people living in rural areas of the arid and semiarid areas of the country. The families rearing the animals in captives in their households are mainly illiterate or have primary level schooling with a below poverty level lifestyle. This mean has a considerable positive influence in reducing poverty and creating employment in the country and it is believed that small ruminant livestock farming is pondered as an

economic and social growth engine, particularly in the rural areas. This animal reaches puberty age within 5–9 months, its length of the Estrus cycle is almost 21 days but is influenced by buck where the total duration of Estrus is 24 to 40 hours. The government of Pakistan has recently approved several projects to boost the existing growth practices of animal husbandry and created new plans by offering free animals to the poor and deserving families of the country [3, 4]. This offering of "poor man cow" put some bright insights into the life standards of the landless farmers/laborers [5]. Dairy goat owners in Pakistan often confront several challenges like adaptation issues to the new environment when there is sparse provision of quality feeds especially during harsh environment, nevertheless, there is growing demand of goat milk locally which is assumed to be comparable to the human milk maintained confident expectations for the raising of dairy goats in Pakistan [6–8]. Most of them shifted from the begging profession toward self-sustained rearing animals as their primary occupation [9]. The animals are mostly kept in open houses and are being reared on browsing by the family members while some of the households' exercise to offer the available grains as supplements. Some of the families are now traditional of having large-size flocks and they carry their animals from area to area to graze their animals [10]. The whole family is shifting from one area to another along with the animals on the availability of grazing pastures and seasons. Use local remedies to treat the animals of suffered in the harsh seasons as they adopt partial standard management practices.

It has been observed that flock and family size is contributing depressingly while training and education of the family putting in positively to implementation index of fruitful management practices. Due to low literacy, lack of technology, the pitiable/ high-cost veterinary services and extension infrastructure, un-accessibility of grazing land, the obtaining of value animals are the vital constraint. The prim indicator of the farm is mortality rate and it is observed that the mortality animal is predominantly due to diseases affecting the alimentary system where goats with kids and adults are nearly likewise affected [11, 12]. It is suggested that a state-level knowledge and inspiration of the people toward management development may also be accorded to the people. Lack of awareness about better management may possibly be attributed to the reality that the majority are illiterates and they do not have access to the latest information in the print media and also scientific lectures impart less on them. It is anticipated that government should arrange awareness *via* audio-visual aids and frequent visits of the veterinary experts, aligning marketing system and support system that will further improve the animal production practices and the farmer will get good rewards for their hard work [13].

The ruminants in Pakistan are alienated into browsers and grazers. It has been reported that the browsers have considerable foregut functions, whereas the grazers mainly depend on abomasum, caecum, and intestines. Due to this anatomical difference, grazers can digest high-quality feed, whereas browsers can digest the fibrous parts of the plant. The digestive system is composed of many tubes-like organs and the associated glands [14]. Its prime role is to cut down the ingested food into smaller parts which can be absorbed into the circulation and used for the maintenance of the organism [15]. Considerable unique morphological structures of the tubular system, including oral cavity, stomach, and intestine, play important roles in digestive physiology. For example, the teeth of goats are made to grind roughages, and the stomach particularly the fore-stomach makes possible the microbial digestion of rough fibrous food [16]. There are numerous accessory/supportive glands, such as salivary gland, liver, and pancreas, located aside from the GIT tube but are connected with the duct system. Their ducts go through the walls of tube-like organ and pour their secretary

*Alimentary System of Native Goat Breeds of Pakistan DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111936*

products into lumina. The morphological study is of utmost necessary to precisely understand the function, nutrition, and pathology of the alimentary system; therefore, the current report is aimed to enlighten the anatomy and histology of the GIT since it is intricately involved with the conversion of food by enzymatic digestion into useful products in form of milk, meat, and skin [17, 18].
