Small ruminants, goat and sheep make a significant contribution to the rural income and employment, especially in arid, semi-arid and hilly regions of India where crop farming is difficult and where naturally available feed resources are scarce. They are the major meat producers. Goats have shown faster population growth than sheep. The annual growth rate rates of 3.5% for goats and 2.0%for sheep are higher than for buffaloes and cattle.

India has 20 breeds of goats (Osmanabadi, Malabari, Beetal, Barbari, Jamunapari, Black Bangal, Angora, Chegu, etc.)and 40 breeds of sheep (Deccani, Nellore, Manday, Madrass red, Muzaffarnagari, Marwari, Gaddi, etc.). In Black Bangal breed twinning and triplets are common. Chegu is a famous Pashmina goat in Kashmir. Exoitc breeds are Saanen, Alpine, Anglo-Nubian, etc. Exotic breeds of sheep used for crossbreeding of local sheep to improve mutton production potential were Dorset and Suffolk, and for wool production were Merino, etc. FAO estimates 1994 indicate 4 and 20% of the sheep and goat population of the world, respectively.

Comparative feeding behaviour and digestive physiology in goats and sheep are presented in Table. With moderate to high quality forages, digestion in goats, sheep and cattle is similar, but goates are more capabilthan sheep for using cell-wall rich and nitrogen poor forages. Goates retain the feed foe longer time in the digestive tract, have a higher concentration blood urea. In harsh condition, goats consume less water and more day matter than sheep.