Bengaluru: Meet techie who rears 40 sheep

30-year-old Yogesh Gowda, a Bengaluru-based techie, has a secret in his backyard: around 40 sheep, which he rears as a passion.

A Bengaluru-based techie, Yogesh Gowda, rears cows and sheep in his backyard as a hobby. The 30-year-old wakes up around 5.30 a.m. every day to feed his 40-odd sheep.

Bengaluru based techie rears around 40 sheep in his backyard as a hobby. (Image for Representation) (Photo: Shankar Narayan/ Hindustan Times)

The report said that Gowda, a software engineer, first started rearing cows and dedicated a portion of his house to keep them. He named his house in the Uttarahalli area as ‘Hasu Mane’, which means the house of cows. Gowda is said to have started the venture with eight cows around seven years ago, and reportedly started rearing sheep around four years after.

Gowda reportedly managed to supply around 100 litres of milk everyday to the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) soon, while also working a 9 to 5 job at an IT firm in Bengaluru.

He said that he sold his cows after his mother got infected with COVID-19 during the second wave, so he could focus on sheep rearing, although it is said to be unconventional to do in a city.

The report added that Gowda now runs a successful business with his sheep, selling them directly, which he says is one of the main reasons for them fetching a good price.

Investing in their case, Gowda reportedly added wooden pellets on the floor of the sheep shed to make sure that cleanliness is maintained, and said that he uses the stall-feeding system with them. He also ensures to maintain a zero wastage environment, sending the sheep manure every day to his uncle’s farm where it is used as a fertiliser.

He told The Hindu, “This has helped me keep the house clean. Since the past seven years, I have not given my neighbours any room for complaint.”

He reportedly feeds his sheep sugarcane waste and raw banana peels apart from the usual livestock feed of boosa and maize. He approached a nearby juice centre for the sugarcane waste and a nearby a chip factory for the raw banana peels.

Gowda has three native breeds of sheep, called Mouli, Kenguri and Natimari. He said that he breeds one batch every nine months, and takes a break for a month. Saying that it is his dream is to have a farm, he has reportedly bought a some land in Ramanagaram where his dream farm will be ready in about a year.