Goat production guide Part 2: Goat breeds, management of does and bucks, and

Goat production guide part 2:

Goat breeds, management of does and bucks and breeding of goats

There are more than 3,5 million goats in Zimbabwe, of which 98% are indigenous breeds and owned by the smallholder farmers. The importance of goats increases as the rainfall decreases. Goats are hardy and easier animals to look after, because they can survive in harsh environments. Goats are reared under extensive farming conditions, mainly for meat (chevon) and to a lesser extent for milk. Goats also provide skins of commercial importance, and manure for gardens and crop fields. To some extent the productivity of these goats is low due various factors such as high kid mortality and lack of good animal husbandry practices.

Goat breeds

• The vast majority of goats in

Zimbabwe is indigenous and these are mainly the large Matebele and the Small East African (SEA) goat • Average birth weights of kids range from 1,5 kg to 2,5 kg up to 3 kg • The indigenous breeds are welladapted to their respective environments

Other breeds found in Zimbabwe include exotic types, the Boer goat (mainly for meat) with a mature weight of 65 kg. The Saanen goat is for milk

Boer goat.

production and produces an average of 3,5 litres of milk per day. There is also the Angora goat for mohair production.

Management of does and bucks

Proper care of both female and male goats is an essential aspect of goat production. This includes strategic vaccinations and dosing, supplementary feeding, selection of breeding stock, kid rearing and weaning.

Management of females (does)

Young females are mated from the age of twelve months. Good nutrition ensures that the animal grows faster and is ready for mating sooner. It also increases fertility and multiple births. If does are mated when they are very young (under 8 months), they will

Saanen.

remain stunted the rest of their lives and will have poor reproductive performance. They will also have insufficient milk to raise healthy kids. A well-managed female can produce kids for about eight years. Gestation in goats lasts between 145 and 150 days (five months). A mature female can only mate when she is ready (“on heat”). The heat period lasts between 24 and 26 hours. During this time, she should receive the male. The presence of the male in the flock triggers heat. Coming on heat also depends on the nutrition of the animal.

Signs that may indicate that the animal is on heat: • Shaking of the tail • Mounting other animals

Seeking males Continuous bleating Mucous discharge

Gestating females should be separated from the main flock for close monitoring, at least two months before birth. This also reduces the loss of kids. At this stage they will need quality feed supplements to enhance feed reserves in the body. This will ensure a healthy kid and enough milk.

Management of males (bucks)

• Male goats are known to be fertile at an earlier stage than females. In such circumstances males have to be raised separately from females to avoid unplanned mating. • Bucks have to be kept in good condition and well fed at all times. • For breeding purposes bucks with horns have to be used, so as to avoid hermaphroditism (incukubili/ bisexuality), which comes with the use of hornless/polled bucks. • Bucks can be selected at an early age. A male kid born weighing about 2,5 kg or more could be selected for future breeding.

Heavier and fast-growing bucks should be selected. • Select bucks from twin births so as to increase the chances of twinning. Males not suitable for 2. Maintain genetic base

breeding should be castrated or culled.

Breeding

3. Lack of technical skills, including

Breeding systems

The breeding system is an important aspect of goat production. It has a significant influence on immediate and long-term flock productivity.

Crossbreeding

breeds to combine characteristics found in the different breeds and to make use of the “hybrid vigour”. In simple terms this means that the offspring performs better than the parents. Crossbreeding is one of the methods used in meat and milk production. It can be disastrous if not done properly, leading to the disappearance of the existing genetic pool.

A

Boer Goat male goat

x B

Indigenous female goat

AB

Crossbred

Mating systems

It is important for the farmers to know different mating systems that can be applied to their breeding flock. Random mating is allowing any number of bucks to be with an uncontrolled number of females.

Advantages of random mating

1. Simple 2. Cheap 3. Goats can kid any time; therefore, a farmer can sell any time.

Disadvantages

1. High risk of inbreeding 2. High risk of spreading diseases.

Assertive mating is putting the best females with the best buck. This is better than random mating.

Advantages of assertive mating

1. High quality breeds

Disadvantages

1. Unavailability of appropriate breeding stock 2. Difficult to implement in a communal setup This involves the mating of different

kidney records

Selection and culling

Selection is a process of choosing the animals with desirable characteristics to be parents of the next generation. Culling is the process of removing unproductive animals (old goats, animals with poor mothering abilities, poor reproductive performance, and animals with chronic sicknesses) from the flock.

Mating ratio

In a controlled mating system: • A male goat should be kept with females for 36 to 42 days, the reason being that a female which misses mating or coming into heat has a second chance within the mentioned period. • A mature buck can be given 40 to 50 females to service. A young buck can be given 25 to 30 females. The effectiveness of both male and females depends on their body condition at mating.

Breeding calendar

Below is a calendar that can assist the farmers to plan their flock breeding cycles. This helps the farmer to plan when to purchase inputs, market and to perform strategic operations.

We thank the Department of Agricultural Research and Extension, Zimbabwe in the book Goat farming as a business, who made the information available

Month 1

Selection of breeding stock

2

Mating starts (Putting the buck to the females for 42 days

3

End of mating

4 5 6

Separate the pregnant and the nonpregnant

7

Supplement and vaccinate all pregnant females against pulpy to the readers of ProAgri BNZ.

8

Kidding starts

9

End of kidding

10

Care of kids

11

Vaccination against pulpy kidney

Weaning period

12

Flushing females

How to handle your beef cattle Part 12:

Feedlot office complex, workshop, feed storage and water supply

This month we take a look at the central complex and all the activities surrounding it. This central complex is the heart of the feedlot. Cattle are received, sorted and handled here. Cattle ready for marketing are dispatched from here. The design of these handling facilities must simplify the execution of important tasks in the unit.

Office

At large feedlot the offices will usually be separate from the feedlot and handling facilities. At smaller units it would be sensible to have a small office at the processing plant. The office complex consists of an office, storeroom and dressing room. Equipment and medicines are kept in the storeroom. Some medicines have to be cooled, therefore a refrigerator is a necessity. A wash basin with hot water must preferably be installed. The office must be placed in such a position that a good view on the entire complex is possible. The weighing instruments, and if necessary, a computer is placed in the office.

Flow of cattle

Cattle are driven along the road or transported by truck and must always remain in separate groups, until identified by number. After receiving the cattle they must all be driven through a spray race or immersion dip, but cattle arriving late in the day, must remain in the overnight pens until the following day.

After the dipping process, the cattle move through the crush, scale and body clamp, where they are weighed and vaccinated. Anthelmintics are dosed, the animals are de-horned and provided with ear tags or another form of identification. The animals are then ready to be transferred to the adaptation pens where individual groups can mingle.

Adaptation pens are merely a few ordinary feeding pens, nearest to the handling pens, where new arrivals have free access to silage, hay and balanced feed. The animals can be placed separately or intermingled in the pen for the adaption and orientation period.

Cattle that previously received silage or other balanced feeds react sooner and are ready to be transferred to the finishing pens sooner.

After finishing, the cattle are ready to be dispatched.

The progress of the cattle in the feedlots must be monitored regularly. This is usually done by means of an inspection, but some feedlot operators prefer weighing the cattle. Cattle may be weighed one by one, depending on the available equipment. The individual animal’s progress, or the progress of the cattle in the pen, can be measured. A large mass scale that can determine the weight of a group of cattle, is very handy.

Two dispatch systems for cattle are generally used. The one system consists of the identification and separation of market ready animals, while the total number of cattle in a pen can be dispatched as a second system. In cases where individual animals in the different pens are identified, separated, weighed and loaded, the social order is disrupted. If only about 60 cattle from a pen of 600 cattle must be loaded, it is important that the entire group must move through the handling channel. The market-ready animals are then separated, while the remainder goes back to the pen. This frequent handling of cattle extends the period they take to become market ready.

When animals are divided into groups according to weight upon arrival, the social order is never interrupted. When 60% of the cattle are market ready, the entire group is marketed.