Keeping a goat for beginners is not difficult. Goats have good immunity and easily adapt to a changeable climate. Breeding and keeping a goat is possible at their summer cottage. Goats are unpretentious in food, growing them at home is a profitable business. The main thing is to follow all the rules for care. There are about 200 varieties of goats in the world. According to productive characteristics, the breeds are divided into dairy, downy, woolly and mixed.
farmer-online.com
How to keep goats
Of all breeds, 50% of the demand is for dairy goats. This is due to the fact that dairy breeds are more habitual to breed and maintain. Dairy breeds have a lot of milk that can be sold and made a profit. After dairy varieties, farmers acquire meat breeds. Often you can buy young downy goats from producers for further breeding. This breed walks well on pastures on its own.
The content of the article:
Birth of kids
Goats have a high survival rate. After birth, after 30 days, the cubs can get their own food in the pasture. When the kid is just born, the farmer himself needs to remove the mucus and membrane from the respiratory tract. When the goat began to breathe and move, it must be shown to the female so that she licks it and takes it into the family.
Many breeders make a common mistake in caring for a cub. When a goat is born, farmers take the animal and keep it for some time in a heated dacha or plot. A goat after such a shelter will refuse to recognize and feed the baby. Therefore, you need to give a goat to lick. If disputes arise, it is necessary to ask the manufacturers how to proceed.
Immediately after birth, the cub needs to drink mother’s milk. The kid needs to gain strength and strengthen the immune system, and milk contains many useful trace elements. If you raise goats for income, then you should not let the kid go to the mother. In this case, the female will feed her baby for several months and the milk will go only to him. You can milk the goat yourself and give the cub a drink from a bowl.
Please note that for the proper maintenance of goats at home and proper feeding, a balanced diet is required. If you follow these recommendations, then the young will gain 3-5 kg every month.
The first 3 weeks, the main food will be mother’s milk. The baby should be fed 4 times a day. When the kid is 30 days old, you need to give 5 grams of salt and chalk. After another 60 days, it is necessary to give 10 grams already. Starting from the age of one month, the baby is fed concentrated food, 50 grams per day. By the age of 3 months, the goatling should consume 300 grams of nutritious food. A young kid should not be limited in food and water, he has a growing body that requires nutrition and vitamins. After 3 months, the cub is transferred to adult food. For a growing, young organism, walks on the street are required. It is right to take kids for a walk at any time of the year and even in winter.
Maintenance of females
Keeping goats at home is to maintain comfortable conditions for animals. First of all, you need to provide a warm and dry room. Building on a personal plot should be well thought out. The stall room should be equipped with ventilation and heating. The dimensions of the winter houses should be such that each individual is supposed to have a separate place. In winter houses, the light should be on for 10-12 hours. To do this, you can make artificial lighting, since daylight hours in winter are very short.
The weak point in animals is the hooves, they need to be regularly inspected and trimmed. After each grazing, check the integrity of the hooves. To make the animals comfortable, the floor in the house where goats are raised should be made of wood. For greater convenience, you can sprinkle the floor with a layer of sawdust or straw. Domestic goats do not like to sleep on the floor, so they should come up with beds made of warm material.
Keeping goats in the household means a general cleaning every week. Goats have a thick and thick coat, it must be combed 3 times a week with a stiff brush. Thus, the individual will not have lumps with crumpled hair on the skin. For hygiene, the hair near the udder should be shaved off. For a comfortable content of goats, they should be treated with a solution of soda. Such a measure is needed to get rid of parasites and infections. Breeding and keeping goats in the same room can be combined with pets, livestock or poultry. Goats cannot live only with chickens in the same territory. Chickens are the first reason goats become infected with parasites.
Hoof trimming
Trimming and cleaning the hooves is considered a mandatory procedure, because the hooves of an animal are like nails or hair that grow and require special care. With improper growth of hooves, they are bent and goats cannot fully step on their feet and walk on a soft surface. This deformity can lead to joint disease. If you do not engage in hooves, then individuals may develop growths.
Goat’s hooves
It is recommended to trim the hooves with the beginning of spring, as the animal is preparing for summer walks. Goats do not like hoof trimming, so it is important for farmers to tune in a positive way. Hoof trimming should be done with a special hook, which is used to trim and clean the hooves of horses. If such a tool is not at hand, then you can use large and sharp scissors, pruners or tongs. Any tool before trimming the hooves must be disinfected from the remnants of dirt. Before the trimming procedure, the hooves must be soaked in a solution of copper sulfate. When you trim the hooves, the animal must be firmly fixed so as not to get injured. If possible, you need to ask the help of several people. To cut the hooves evenly requires physical strength, as they are quite hard.
Growing goats in pastures and in stalls
During the summer period, adult goats are raised on pastures. Beginning farmers believe that at this time of year, goat care is reduced to a minimum. Such an opinion is erroneous. Breeding and keeping goats in pastures has certain nuances. In order for goats to receive proper care, they must be provided with the following conditions:
- There must be trees in the pasture. This will protect the animals from the scorching sun. If there are no trees, then a canopy should be made that provides shelter from rain or sun. The fabric for the canopy should be dense and not wet.
- There should be a source of water near the pasture. If you have a goat in order to get the maximum milking and the goat is thirsty, then such a milking individual will not give good milking.
- If you live in an area where wild animals live, then the goats in the pasture are left unattended and may be attacked. After grazing, check the integrity of the herd.
The stall growing of a goat is convenient in winter, as the animal does not freeze. Stalls should be equipped for a comfortable stay. The size of each stall should be at least 2 meters so that the goats are not crowded.
goat house
In the house, the humidity of the air should not exceed 75%. Suitable temperature for goats is 5-10 degrees. The room must be spacious, at least 2 meters high. If the female is with offspring, then they require 2,5 meters. For the construction of a paddock, a place must be chosen on a hill, as in winter, melting snow or floods can flood the premises. It is better to exit the house to the east side. In this way, the goats will receive the optimal dose of sunlight. Erect the building at a distance of 100 meters from the master’s house so that the specific smell does not interfere.
To avoid excessive dampness, a goat house should be built on a solid foundation. Stones can be upholstered with boards and bedding can be fixed. Choose your bedding material of your choice, but keep to a minimum of 5 kg of material per square meter. A room made of wood is suitable for goats, but such boards quickly rot due to moisture, so rotten logs need to be changed in a timely manner. In the house you need to think over a convenient feeder and drinker. It is best to make several compartments for food so that the animals do not crowd around one bowl.
Maintenance of males
It is better to keep goats in small farms. It is unprofitable for novice farmers to keep them, so the goat is simply invited to mate. If you decide that you need to acquire a goat, you should take into account some of the nuances.
Goats are grown in a separate house, as the male has a specific smell, and goat milk absorbs all flavors. To get pure milk, the goat must be isolated from the goats. You need to acquire goats before fertilizing females. For mating to be successful, the goat must not be overweight or have other health problems. Obesity leads to infertility.
Any novice farmer can handle keeping goats
The diet of the male should be carefully controlled and not allowed to overeat without reason. In the daily diet, you need to include more green fodder. Compound feed can be used in moderation. In the goat’s daily menu, include minerals and vitamins, because the health and number of future offspring directly depend on this. The goat must be carefully monitored, and not remembered only during the insemination period. The goat’s coat should be combed and trimmed periodically. To monitor the state of health, animals must be taken to the veterinarian. An adult male covers up to 50 females and has a 100% fertilization guarantee. If reproduction is done at an unplanned time, then hormones will have to be stimulated, they cause sexual desire for some time.
In the rest of the care, there is no difference in how to maintain and grow male and female individuals. Starting farmers can keep goats at home on a small farm site. It is recommended to give animals care, treat them with delicious food and communicate with them as with your friends. In gratitude for such loving care, the animals will delight with high performance.
