Any country dweller who cares about his health knows firsthand about the benefits of goat’s milk. It will not be difficult even for a novice livestock breeder to breed goats in a personal courtyard, as these animals are famous for their friendliness and unpretentious disposition.
Goat mating and hunting
In order for their content to bring only positive emotions, before buying, you need to study the information about breeding these pets. A special place in this matter is occupied by the mating of goats. The success of this event depends on how informed and prepared the farmer is.
The content of the article:
When can goats happen?
Puberty in goats occurs, depending on the breed, at 6-9 months. However, at such an early age, when the animal is still being formed, the horned organism is not capable of bearing and giving birth to offspring without harming its health, as well as simultaneously giving milk. According to most livestock breeders, the ideal age of a goat for mating is 1.5 years. Pregnancy at an earlier age is fraught with a whole bunch of problems, udder diseases are especially dangerous in this regard: mastitis, cysts, bleeding.
Early mating can cause unforeseen complications during lambing, problems with lactation. Such females age faster, lose stamina and go under the knife early. To avoid early ogul, grown goats are separated from females already at the age of four months. Animals are also grazed separately or on a leash.
Sexual maturity in males occurs at six months, but they are allowed to mate only after reaching 12 months. Early exploitation negatively affects the development and health of young goats. The offspring from such a producer will also be frail and weak. Goats are used to cover up to the age of six, then the animal is culled. If you become the owner of a pet of especially outstanding qualities of the manufacturer, then it can be used up to 8 years.
The main signs of hunting
For successful mating, the breeder must be able to determine the period of hunting for his wards by the first signs. At the beginning and at the end of the breeding season, signs of hunting in a goat are weakly expressed, but from September to February it will not be difficult even for an inexperienced farmer to recognize a goat in the hunt. Experienced goat breeders prefer to cover animals in November-December, since it is during this period that there are more positive results. Estrus in goats usually lasts from 12 hours to 3-4 days, and the next period of hunting occurs after 19-26 days.
It is very important to be able to distinguish the onset of the hunting period in goats, since estrus usually lasts no more than a few days. A single covering is not always successful, so in this short period of time the goat must cover the female at least twice.
The main signs of hunting are:
- thick, opaque discharge from the genital tract, which becomes more liquid over time;
- restless behavior and frequent bleating;
- swelling and redness of the genitals;
- nervous tail wagging;
- loss of appetite;
- enhanced sense of smell, in which the female constantly sniffs in search of goats.
Why doesn’t the goat come hunting?
Sometimes it happens that a young goat never comes into the hunt, although the age already allows mating. Or vice versa: a goat that has already had a couple of successful pregnancies suddenly stops showing any desire to meet a male, which greatly puzzles the owner. Why does this problem occur, and how to cause estrus in an animal? If horned signs of hunting are not detected in a timely manner, first of all, you should make sure that there is no pregnancy. Perhaps there is a free mating in the pasture with a neighbor’s goat, or young goats were not settled in time in a separate goat’s house.
A fairly common reason that goats do not hunt on time is animal obesity. If the pathology lies in excess weight, you should not starve your pet for weight loss at all, you just need to reduce the portion of solid food. Try not to keep such goats on a leash all day, when pets are deprived of the opportunity to actively move, let them roam freely and run under supervision. Do not forget also that any pet has its own temperament, therefore, for some goats, the hunting period can pass quietly and almost imperceptibly.
To provoke estrus, the goat is locked in the same room with the goat for a couple of days. Usually, during this time, coverage occurs, but if not, then in 70% of cases the goat comes into hunting in the near future. In the case of goats that have never been covered, experienced breeders prefer to carry out a forced cage to stimulate estrus. Sometimes this ends in pregnancy, but most often it just provokes the onset of hunting.
goat mating
When breeding goats at home, each farmer must understand the nuances of mating these animals. In animal husbandry, four methods of covering goats are widely used: artificial, free, manual and harem. The first type is not used in our country due to the lack of a sperm bank, and it is unprofitable to order foreign material.
With free covering, the goat for mating throughout the season is in the same goat house with the females. This is the most natural mating method, when the male himself determines the females in the hunt and fertilizes them. However, many breeders consider this method too exhausting for the goat, so it is recommended that the animal be transferred to another resting place for 7-10 hours. You don’t have to worry about some goats being left uncovered, because the males, having fertilized one female, immediately go in search of more uncovered goats, and only then they can re-mate with the same mate.
In manual mating, the goat is brought to the male for mating. Most often, the goat is allowed to make only two cages, after which the female is taken away. Usually this is enough for a positive result. If the animal continues to show signs of hunting, then the mating is repeated after 12 hours. Harem mating is somewhat similar to free mating, however, in this case, the goat is kept in the same room with females specially selected for covering, who are all on the hunt.
