Goat breeding: goat breeding

Goats appeared in human life for a very long time and were used by man in different "roles". They were domesticated in the Middle East about 7 thousand years BC. The ancient ancestors of the domestic goat were wild bezoar goats, which to a greater extent lived on the territory of modern Greece and Asia Minor. Due to the rapid development of human nature, goats play a major role in agriculture.

Recently, the number of goat breeders has increased significantly. This is directly related to the huge demand for goat's milk, since it not only has a tremendous amount of useful substances, but also has a very mild and pleasant, aristocratic taste.

1. Selecting goats for breeding.

Goats are warm-blooded animals. The characteristics of the constitution and the external forms of the goat have a direct connection with the viability, longevity, and most importantly - its productivity.

That is why all parts of the body of a goat must be sufficiently developed, and the physique itself must be strong and stable. Wide and deep chest, straight back, bulging ribs, voluminous belly, strong hooves, straight and wide-set legs are the main parameters of a well-built milk goat.

The backbone of the goat must also be strong and well developed, and the body - long and barrel-shaped. Since the goat is a ruminant animal, after first experiencing the food, it soon begins to chew it a second time more carefully. Because of the excellent internal configuration (namely, three foreglades and one stomach), it absorbs almost all the nutrients eaten by plants.

Goats breed their young for 5 months. On average, up to three kids are born. In the next hour after childbirth, little goats will acquire the ability of independent movement.

The Megrelian and Zaanen breeds are considered the most popular dairy breeds of goats. Zaanenskaya goat breed is quite demanding on the conditions of detention and the quality of the diet. The maximum weight of a goat is 100 kg, and the average weight is 65-70 kg. The weight of the queens is slightly smaller and amounts to 50-55 kg

Also, this species differs in its high cost (in the event that the animal is pedigree). It is the Zaanen breed bred in Switzerland that is rightfully considered the most productive of the dairy goats. It was she who became the ancestor of many other breeds that could not be compared with her in terms of milk productivity.

On the basis of Zaanenskaya, another high-milk breed was bred - Russian goat. In most cases, Russian goats have a white color. Also found are red, piebald, black and gray colors.

The weight of an adult goat reaches 50 kg. Speaking of fruitfulness, then an average of 250 kids fall on 100 queens. With an 8-month lactation, 350 kg of milk is considered an average milk yield, and with excellent feeding and maintenance, the size of the milk yield reaches 500 kg.

Megrelian goat breed slightly different from the previous two. During the same lactation as the Russian goat, the average milk yield is 300 kg. However, milk yield per day can reach as much as 10 liters of milk, which is an excellent result.

In addition to dairy products, goats are one of the main sources of wool. So, among high-haired goats the Angora breed gained the greatest popularity.

The wool of this breed is distinguished by its long, which reaches 25 cm. And the highlight of this type is that this wool is almost uniform, thus, the net yield of wool will make up to 80% of the total cover.

But it is important to consider that these goats need to be bred only for the purpose of breeding wool, as they have a very low level of fertility - 1-2 kids for one offspring.The thinnest wool from this young goat can be obtained at the age of one year.

The Angora breed became the ancestor of a new species of goat - the Soviet wool, which is characterized by increased endurance. With proper care and nutrition, the Soviet goats are not inferior to the Angorans in terms of wool.

A special category of wool raw material is goat down, which is used as a material for products of special softness and lightness. Such goats, besides their main destination, are also raised for the sake of hides, milk and meat. Goat meat from downy breeds is not inferior in its parameters to mutton. The maximum weight of well-fed and adult down goat reaches 30 kg. To avoid the unpleasant smell of kids going for meat, they are castrated before they are one year old. Downhill goats with proper care and nutrition for one lactation can produce up to 300 kg of milk and bring 2 kids for offspring.

Naturally, within a small farm, the greatest benefit will be the cultivation of high-milk goats, rather than downy and woolen.

Choosing a milk goat, the first look must fall on the goat's udder. It should be voluminous, well developed, soft, without any hardening. The size of the nipples should be medium, for very long nipples are quite tight.The udder shape should be pear-shaped, having a good front and rear stock. Than this stock will be softer, more voluminous and more tender, the more productive is the uterus. Udder dairy goats different elasticity. When the goat is milked, thin folds form on the udder. In non-dairy animals, the udder is pasty and loose.

Also, the milkiness of a particular goat can be judged by milk wells and veins. Dairy veins originate in the udder and spread to the belly, where, in fact, milk wells are formed. The brighter and wider these wells and the veins themselves, the better.

Having a small farm is desirable to start young animals. The age of a goat is determined by the condition of its incisors. In the kids already in the year milk cutters tend to be replaced by stronger and larger, permanent teeth. So that the result of goat breeding is successful, it is necessary to choose a good goat-maker (1 goat per 50-60 - goats). It is advisable to know the pedigree of the goat-producer, because the fruitfulness and productivity of the offspring of animals directly depend on the father.

Sexual maturity in goats and goats occurs between the ages of 5 and 8 months, physiological - up to a year.Thus, it is possible to let the males in mating already at the age of half a year, however, it is better to wait for its growth to 1.5 years, since otherwise the offspring may be undersized and frail. The same goes for the goat.

If the goal of goat breeding lies in wool and downy beginnings, then there are other features of the choice of the animal. Down and wool goats should be inspected at the end of winter - early spring (before the beginning of the haircut and fair) or in autumn, when the necessary kids have already grown enough. The productivity of these breeds is directly dependent on the density of downy fibers, their length, degree of hairiness of the entire animal, the amount of thin down in the thick wool. In order to determine the total mass or density of fluff, you need to make several grips with your hand on the barrel, thigh and blades of the animal. For pedigreed goats, the down content should be above 40%, and the fiber length is more than 5.5 cm. The down color depends on the goat breed itself. The larger the animal, the better.A good result is considered if the length of the annual growth of animal hair is more than 20 cm.

2. Power.

The diet of goats is practically no different from the diet of ruminant herbivores. Thus, the main elements of food will be: juicy, coarse and concentrated feed. Feed the goats need 3-4 times a day. The most important thing in a goat's diet is grass. This herb has all the vitamins necessary for the body. Be sure to add to the diet, but to a much lesser extent, roughage: hay, straw, twigs.

In addition to these feeds, goats should be given cereals, oilcake, bran. Speaking as a percentage, in the summer and spring grass is up to 80%, the rest is spruce feed, hay, and mixed feed. In winter, the daily diet changes the other way around. So, the basis of the diet are rough feed (straw, hay, twigs) - 50%, cake and bran - 10%, the rest is grass.

Also very importanto use mineral dressing (meat and bone meal, salt, chalk), which improves immunity and productivity, and goat health in general.

An important place in the diet of goats is drink. On average, it is necessary to water goats twice a day - from the very beginning, graze and after lunch. Cold water goats can not drink.In summer you can give slightly cooled water, but not cold. In winter, they themselves will not drink it. Therefore, you will need to stock up on good drinkers. In addition, goats watered herbal tea. Thus, brewing currant leaves, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, viburnum, etc. in boiling water, and then cooling it to room temperature, an excellent synthesis of all useful vitamins in one drink is obtained. In one day, an adult goat can drink up to 10 liters of such tea.

A healthy goat should be well-fed, with a well-developed udder, but not in any way not fat. That is what will indicate that proper nutrition and good care is maintained.

3. A place for grazing.

In summer and spring, when it is warm outside, it is advisable to graze goats on a variety of pastures, for grass is the main element of the food of this period. Naturally, the best for grazing goats are mountain pastures.

Absolutely not suitable for grazing wetlands, due to high humidity, since it is she who can cause problems in goats with legs and stomach. Also on cool autumn and spring days, it is advisable to let goats graze in pasture only after the dew has completely dried.

4. The room.

Goats are quite picky animals.Nevertheless, seriously speaking, they need to be very well taken care of and maintained in good conditions. There is a certain list of requirements for premises for goats: the presence of clean air with a temperature in summer is not higher than 18 degrees, in winter is not lower than 6 degrees; the stable should not be located in proximity to the cesspools and latrines that pollute the air; due to the strong sensitivity of goats to moisture, the room must be dry and meet the natural standards of cleanliness; humidity should not exceed 75%. These basic elements of room trimming are prerequisites for a good food outcome.

In winter, it is necessary to maintain warmth in such a room. Consequently, all the windows and gaps are sealed, the walls are insulated. At this time of the year, manure is harvested less frequently than in summer to keep it warm.

In general, the place where the crib is going to be located should be well lit by natural sunlight, be dry and with clean air. In the room itself should be a sufficient number of windows. Due to the accumulation of manure, the door in the barn should be with a threshold. An obligatory element of the building should be a slightly raised floor to drain the fluid. It is advisable to make also the grooves for the drain, which will go out even into the manure storage itself.

A desirable material for the building itself is wood. Concrete or brick will be cold and damp, while the wood will remain warm.

It is important not to forget about ventilation. A flue pipe for weathering damaged air and airing the room, as well as small pipes in the walls (below), for the supply of clean and fresh air.

Each goat should stand in its own stall, in which there is either a separate or a common feeder (depending on the location of the stalls). So, each goat has its own small "room" in the general barn. A goat should also not be tied to a manger too short, as it needs free movement and a calm and free location on the floor. The goat must have its own and separate stall away from the goats, as well as the little goats, which must be kept free.

5. Care.

One of the most important elements of keeping goats in a barn is the place where the goat itself is located and asleep: bedding. It should always be plentiful and dry, otherwise the goat itself will litter itself, carrying hay from creches under its feet.. The litter is chosen depending on the material of the floor: wooden floor - straw bedding, if the stone, concrete - peat bedding (but the peat should be under the straw). You can also use dry leaves of fern, sawdust, which perfectly absorb moisture.

Frequent removal of manure is recommended, as it can cause various diseases in animals. In addition to the daily cleaning of manure, it is advisable to do a thorough and thorough cleaning of the entire barn twice a month.

Goats should not be placed with other animals in the same barn to avoid a variety of practical inconveniences, possible diseases. Foot care should be ideal to avoid a very painful disease of the feet and feet. So, you need to clean the hoof gap daily, keep the goat in the middle of dryness, so as not to get a hoof crack and a horn. Goats need a huge amount of freedom, therefore, they need daily movement in the air. Caring for goats should always be affectionate and gentle, as with a child: the worse and rougher the attitude, the worse and tighter their housing, the more obstinate and meaner they become.