BRUGOAT Farming and Trading Sdn Bhd is a goat and sheep breeding company located in Sungai Liang, Lot 3388, Simpang 1150, Kampong Gana in the Belait District.
The company, which began operations in December 2015, is managed by Hajah Rohzemah binti Haji Ismail, Ong Chek Thiam, Ong Chee Siong, Ong Chee Mang and Philip Ong Chee Leong.
The farm has 3,235 Boer goats and Dorper sheep imported from Australia, with 626 male goats and sheep – with average body weight of 25 to 50 kilogrammes – set aside as preparation for Aqiqah and Korban.
Its main objective is to increase the local production of goat and sheep meat as well as to serve as a local supplier of live Boer goats and Dorper sheep.
The company is the first to breed Dorper sheep intensively in Brunei and intends to introduce fresh Dorper meat to the local market. It employs an experienced goat and sheep veterinarian and 40 farm workers.
The farm has eight goat sheds (six are used as the main production sheds, the other two are smaller in size).
Each shed can accommodate 400 to 500 goats depending on the length of the stall. Regarding breeding of the Boer goats and Dorper sheep, the farm observed that within the Brunei environment, the livestock commonly produce sets of twins, a much less likely occurrence when bred in their country of origin in Australia.
Twin birth care is however more complicated and requires adequate nutrition and more specialised care when nursing the animals.
Where necessary, additional milk is provided for the mother and young to prevent maternal health deterioration and help reduce infant mortality.
Dorper sheep naturally have thick fleece or wool which needs to be sheared regularly to control their body temperature and maintain their hygiene.
Within the farm, the main management activities include separating the animals according to age, sex, reproductive stage (pregnant ewes and does), as well as readying livestock for customer viewing and sale.
For feeding, the goats and sheep are fed fodder grass such as Napier grass as well as supplemented with pellet concentrate and silage (fodder compacted and stored in airtight conditions to induce anaerobic fermentation, which breaks down the feed into a more nutritional and palatable state).
The farm practises good husbandry management to ensure the overall health and normal growth of the goats and sheep.