Czech goats have a special grace and calmness. This meat and dairy breed has become a favorite and promising for many goat breeders. Animals are unpretentious in care, give healthy milk, dietary meat, are highly valued for wool and skin. On the territory of the Russian Federation, Czech goats have been bred for more than a year, especially in agriculture in the Pskov, Voronezh, and Sverdlovsk regions, in the Altai and Primorsky Territories, in Khakassia.
History of the origin of the breed
Czech goats are known under the names Brown Shorthaired Goat, Czech Shorthair or Brown. Animals first appeared in the second half of the twentieth century. Alpine and German brown goats are considered their ancestors. In the modern world, there are about 400 head, which are bred on private or commercial farms, have become the main source of income for many goat farmers.
Breed standards and appearance
The goat is short-haired, has a thick undercoat and a strong physique. The color of the skin depends on the region of cultivation and genetics – from milk chocolate to dark brown. A dark stripe runs along the line of the ridge, so this breed is definitely not to be confused. Bohemian goats have small, splayed ears, a triangular and elongated muzzle, and a short tail. Only black males have a beard. A distinctive feature of Czechs from other breeds is the dark triangles behind the ears.
Most individuals are polled (without horns). Outwardly, they resemble dogs, in behavior they are just as smart, quick-witted and friendly. There are Czech goats with horns, but these are not more than 20%. If we continue the comparison with dogs, these pets also remember their nicknames, react when they are pronounced, know simple commands and follow them.
The weight of an adult goat reaches 75-80 kg, females – no more than 55 kg. At the withers, the male is up to 85 cm, chest girth is 90-110 cm. The growth of an adult goat does not exceed 75 cm, chest girth is up to 100 cm. Outwardly, you can easily distinguish a male from a female: he is larger, has a more muscular body. The filled udder of a goat resembles a soft bag; when emptied, it shrinks into a fold.
Productivity of Czech goats
It is advantageous to keep animals in large and small-scale agriculture. For most of the year, goats provide nutritious milk, dietary meat, valuable hides and droppings, which are used as a rich fertilizer. Breeders do not spend much on keeping Czechs, so the direction is promising.
Meat
Czech goats have lean meat, which is actively used in dietetics. When a goat is slaughtered for 6 months, the output is 20 kg of fresh meat, a one-year-old individual – up to 45 kg. As the animal grows older, these figures increase.
Breeders more often slaughter goats at the age of 1,5 years, which is explained by high meat productivity.
The meat of the Bohemian goat tastes like veal, but is slightly darker in color. The layer of white fat is insignificant. The meat is tender and soft, but fibrous. To increase meat productivity, the animal is well fed before slaughter. Goat meat has a specific smell that many do not like. To get rid of it, males are castrated. Before cooking, the meat is soaked in spices and marinade for several hours.
Milk
The lactation period in females lasts 280-300 days a year. Such indicators of milk yield increase the popularity and demand for Czech goats in agriculture. In a year, you can get 1 kg of milk with a fat content of 000%. With good care, this figure increases to 3,5 kg. Milk contains 2% protein, 000% lactose. The daily milk yield of an adult goat varies from 3 to 5 liters.
Bohemian goat milk has a rich creamy taste, pleasant aroma. From it you can make sour cream, cheese, butter, cheese. Dairy products are well absorbed in the body, do not cause allergies, do not disturb digestion. This hypoallergenic product is part of baby food, it is useful for the child’s immunity.
Litter
This organic fertilizer is rich in nitrogen and is widely used in agriculture. For 1 year, the Czech goat gives 500 kg of litter (with free grazing), 1000 kg (when living in a stall).
Fresh manure cannot be used in a concentrated form, otherwise you can ruin the crop (burn the roots of plants).
To make the fertilizer suitable for agriculture, the manure needs 6 months in the compost pit. Organic waste is added there. Ready fertilizer is used in the spring – before plowing.
Advantages and disadvantages
When choosing goats for breeding, breeders take into account the advantages and disadvantages of each breed. Czech goats are especially in demand, and here are the criteria:
- unpretentiousness in food;
- stable immunity with proper care and feeding;
- high rate of milk production;
- rapid growth (at 7 months weight up to 25 kg);
- lack of persistent odor in males (appears only during mating);
- long period of lactation;
- high fertility;
- affordable price.
The breed of Czech goats has its drawbacks, but they are in the minority:
- poor tolerance to low temperatures;
- risk of attack by blood-sucking insects due to short hair;
- heat intolerance;
- decrease in milk yield in the summer.
Features of maintenance and cultivation
Czech goats are hardy and prolific if properly fed and maintained. There are several features of care:
- Living conditions. Make sure that each animal has a separate bed on a raised platform or a warm floor in the barn. Keep males and females separate, otherwise the offspring will be unplanned. Clean the room regularly, as there is a risk of germs breeding.
- Feeding. Since the animals are unpretentious in food, feed them with harvested hay in winter, and green grass in summer. To increase milk yield in winter, enrich the daily ration of the Czech goat with compound feed, food waste, and fresh vegetables. In the summer, regularly graze animals, because from green grass they get the maximum amount of vitamins and valuable trace elements for strong immunity.
Goat house equipment
In order for an animal to give a good milk yield and offspring, to bring income to the breeder, it is necessary to equip a goat house in accordance with all the rules. Follow these prerequisites:
- Prepare a bright and spacious room for the goats (4 sq. M per 1 animal).
- Make a barn out of wood and cover it with straw, insulate it with mineral wool from the outside.
- Make the floors concrete to make it easier to clean off the litter. Line them with straw to keep them warm.
- Bring windows to the south, set at a level of 1,5 meters from the floor.
- Eliminate dampness and drafts, otherwise the animal will get sick and the milk yield will decrease.
- Install a ventilation system in the shed so that fresh air circulates in the room.
- Consider a lighting system, for example, for a room of 20 sq. m enough light bulbs 120-150 watts.
- Install drinkers. A goat should always have access to clean water. Fix the bowl in one position so that the animal does not turn it around.
- Build a wooden platform, as goats love to rest in their stalls on high ground.
- Divide the room into separate pens to isolate males and females.
- Equip the walking yard on the south side, clean it well after each grazing of Czechs.
Czech goats are heat-loving animals, but they do not tolerate extreme heat, dampness, get sick from drafts and low ambient temperatures. The permissible humidity index in the barn is no more than 75%. The optimum temperature is 15-16 degrees Celsius in summer and at least 5 degrees in winter.
If there is no space to set up a walking yard, the goat can graze on the front lawn. To do this, stock up on a metal peg and a rope (chain) 3-5 m long. When the animal has eaten all the grass in one place, transfer it to another. Also drive a stake into the ground and leave the Czech for grazing.
Food
Roughage includes hay, straw, thin branches, young shoots, dry leaves. The daily diet of the Czech goat requires from 1 to 3 kg of such ingredients. Concentrated feeds include barley, oats, bran, corn. Adults are given up to 1 kg of such additives per day, young animals have enough and 500 g. In order not to disturb the goat’s digestion, crush the grain before feeding, dilute the concentrate with water, grind the cake.
When feeding goats, do not spill grain on the floor. In the barn, it is required to install special feeders, otherwise dangerous microbes enter the body along with food. The same applies to feeding Czechs on the street. Do not scatter grain on the ground; there should be a portable feeder made of wood, hard plastic or metal. Wash it after every feeding.
adult goats
Feeding the animal depends on the time of year, sex and the final goals of the goat breeder in relation to a particular individual. The following types of feed should be present in the daily diet:
- Dry. More suitable for winter diet. This is hay made from field grass and legumes, which a goat should eat from 1 to 2,5 kg per day. Each time, give a fresh portion, because stagnant food smells bad, loses its appetizing appearance. Dry food also includes barley straw and oats.
- Green. More suitable for the summer period, it is economically beneficial for goat breeders. Choose pastures where ryegrass, fescue, timothy grow. The daily diet of goats should also include legumes, such as peas, alfalfa, lupins.
- dietary, mineral. Give supplements and mineral mixtures to goats all year round. Legumes and cereals, wheat bran, beet cellulose, and mineral mixtures are especially useful.
- Succulent. More suitable for lactation, promotes milk production. These are vegetables with a high moisture content. In moderate portions, give the Czechs the stems of shrubs, as well as boiled potatoes, fodder beets.
kids
After birth, the kids get up on their feet already for 2 days. Up to 12 weeks, the litter feeds on milk 4 times a day. As they grow older (by 4-5 months), hay is introduced into the daily menu. Mandatory presence of 4-6 g of salt per day. By 7-8 months, the kids are allowed to feed, boiled oatmeal, chalk, chopped vegetables. A teenager of 8 months per day should eat 1 kg of succulent feed, 1,5 kg of hay and 200 g of feed. From early childhood, kids graze with adult animals, for the first time – in warm weather.
For more information on how and what to feed kids, read this article on our website.
When choosing a Czech goat diet, remember the dangerous ingredients:
- Hay with mold. Dry food deteriorates if its storage and the technology of harvesting for the winter are violated. The goat develops colic, digestion is disturbed, and emergency veterinary care is needed.
- Harmful plants. Among them are representatives of the Rhododendron family. These are edible plants, but after a meal, the goat will vomit and have diarrhea. If you do not provide timely assistance to the animal, it may die. Therefore, make sure that there are no such plants in the grazing areas of Czech goats.
Basic rules for drinking
Czech goats eat 3-4 times a day at regular intervals. Responsibly treat not only the feeding of animals, but also their drinking. The quality and quantity of milk yield, the health of Czechs depends on these indicators. Valuable recommendations from experienced goat breeders:
- In hot weather, there should always be clean water in the drinking bowls in the barn. Goats drink it in unlimited quantities.
- The number of drinkers should correspond to the number of heads in the barn.
- In winter, goats drink in the morning and in the evening, the portion of water is not limited (until the animal gets drunk). On average, each Czech needs 5 to 8 liters of fluid per day.
- The optimum water temperature varies from 6 to 10 degrees, you can not violate this indicator.
- In winter, water for goats is slightly salted, in summer there is a special salt next to the drinking bowl. In the absence of this component, animals become lethargic, eat poorly, and milk less.
- After drinking, the remaining liquid is poured out of the drinkers. It is advisable to change the water up to 2-3 times a day.
- It is necessary to carefully clean off the green algae on the walls of the drinking bowl.
Care of hair
Czech goats are a short-haired breed that also needs careful grooming. Brush the animals daily. To remove dirt, dust and excess hair, use special rubber brushes, as for grooming horses. During washing, the water should be warm.
For the treatment and prevention of parasites, treat the animal’s hair with special products (the range is extensive in veterinary pharmacies). If the Czech goat has fleas, additionally treat the barn with copper sulphate. In this case, use antiparasitic agents daily until the bloodsuckers finally disappear.
Hoof care
After each grazing, clean the dirt from the soles of the animal, otherwise the sensitive skin becomes inflamed. Trim your hooves twice a year.
Sequencing:
- Soak the animal’s hooves in a solution of copper sulfate.
- Clean them of accumulated dirt.
- Cut the hooves from toe to heel.
- Make sure the cut is the same.
- Do similar manipulations with the rest of the hooves.
Breeding
Goats of the Czech breed are considered sexually mature by 4-6 months, goats – at the age of one and a half years. At 7-8 months, females can bring the first offspring, but the weight of the kids is much less than that of one-year-old Czechs. Breeders happen sexually mature individuals at 2 years of age with a weight of 40-45 kg. The offspring are strong and hardy.
The mating of Czech goats is seasonal, more often in August-December. It is recommended to breed animals no more than once a year. Females carry offspring from 1 to 21 weeks. In order for the offspring to be healthy, in addition to grains and compound feed, up to 23 kg of fresh vegetables are added to the diet once a week. It is better not to feed pregnant goats with large grains of wheat, but coniferous branches, compound feed, and oats can be included in the diet.
Offspring appear in the spring. More often, there are 1-2 kids in the litter, which get on their feet within 1 hour after birth and actively run around their mother.
Crossbreeding with other breeds
A purebred Czech goat, when crossed, improves the quality of the offspring of outbred females. Such experiments have their consequences. The milk of mestizos is worse in all respects than purebred individuals, the fat layer is thicker. If the goal of the goat breeder is a high income, then a good profit is obtained from the offspring of “pure blood”.
In agriculture, goats of different breeds are often crossed. For example, when mating the Czech and Saanen breeds, the offspring are strong, frost-resistant, and give high milk productivity. Animals are short-haired with a thick undercoat, have a creamy hue, for one litter they bring up to 3 kids.
Experienced goat breeders say that you should not cross Czech goats with outbred goats. Practice shows that in the second and third generations of such mestizos, the quality and quantity of milk is significantly reduced. It is better to bet on the mating of purebred individuals.
Frequent illnesses
Goats rarely get sick, but if the rules of care and feeding are violated, emergency veterinary care may still be required. Below are the most common goat diseases:
- Acute tympania. The reason is feeding the goat a lot of foods that cause fermentation. Symptoms are bloated belly, lack of chewing gum and appetite. If treatment is not started on time, the goat may die.
- Gastroenteritis. The reason is a sharp change in the diet of young animals. Symptoms – constipation, followed by diarrhea, lack of appetite, high fever, impaired breathing. In addition to correcting the nutrition of the goat, antibiotics are prescribed.
- Pneumonia. Causes – transferred stress, overheating or hypothermia, errors in the daily diet. Symptoms – high fever, wheezing in the lungs, disturbed pulse, lack of appetite. Treatment is with injectable antibiotics.
- Avitaminosis. Causes – lack of vitamins A, B, C, E in the body. Symptoms – growth retardation, impaired coordination of movements, lack of appetite. Drug treatment is not required if the daily diet of the Czech goat is balanced.
- Mastitis. The reasons are violation of milking technology, udder injury, poor animal care. Symptoms – pus and flakes in the milk, hardening of the mammary glands. Without antibiotics, the goat’s condition worsens.
To avoid diseases of Czech goats, take care of effective preventive measures in a timely manner:
- Keep your sheds dry and clean, and keep your pet goats fed properly.
- When choosing feed and mineral supplements, consider the age of the goats, the characteristics of the life period.
- Timely carry out preventive vaccinations for young animals, go to the veterinarian for an examination for tuberculosis, brecellosis.
- Regularly clean and trim the hooves, otherwise there is a high probability of introducing a dangerous infection.
- At the first symptoms of the disease, do not self-medicate, urgently call the veterinarian at home.
Feedback
Marina, 47 years old, farmer, Kaliningrad region. Czech goats are my favorite. Animals are unpretentious in food, give tasty milk and a lot – 5 liters per day. They understand everything, quickly remembered their nicknames and even respond to them. They are quiet in behavior, they do not conflict in the barnyard. I don’t even tie them to the pasture, they come home on their own. I haven’t slaughtered a single goat yet, but they say that their meat is tasty and tender. Svetlana, 42 years old, farmer, Black Sea Territory, Crimea. I have purebred Czechs and mestizos on the farm. There are differences. Milk is tastier and more satisfying in purebreds, while meat I like more in mestizos. In any case, goats are gentle and obedient, and do not cause any problems in care. They rarely get sick, the main thing is that there are no drafts in the barn. I have one Czech who was very ill, but got out. Ivan, 51 years old, farmer, Rostov-on-Don. I am happy with my Czechs. They give a lot of milk, the granddaughter loves it very much. They also tried the meat for the wedding, tender, it somehow reminded me of rabbit meat. Czech goats themselves are docile, not picky in food, unpretentious in care. Already there was a litter twice, there were no problems with the goats either. This is my favorite dairy breed.
Czech goats have become not only a source of profit, but also reliable helpers in agriculture. Compliant nature and quick wit made animals favorites in the barnyard.
