How to choose a good milking goat (kid) when purchasing.
General rules. First of all, do not rush to buy a goat at the market.
It is better to visit the farm of those who offer young animals, carefully examine the mothers in labor, the sire fathers from whom the offspring were born, inquire about the milk yield of the goats, and see how they are kept.
It should be taken into account that the offspring of purebred goats with high milk productivity are expensive.
But, as experience confirms, it is better to overpay than to buy a bad animal. It has long been noted: 2 purebred goats will replace 4, or even 5 non-pedigreed ones.
Under no circumstances should you purchase young animals from inbreeding. Such mating leads to the reduction of the breed, decreased productivity, disruption of vital functions, and increases the likelihood of deformities, diseases and even death of adult goats during childbirth. Unfortunately, many goat breeders, unaware of the harmful consequences this leads to, leave newborn goats and keep them until they give birth to their parents, sisters, and nieces.
It would be good to clearly understand before purchasing why the goat is being purchased. If you need healing goat milk for a weakened child or a sick person and you are ready to keep an adult animal, then it is better to buy a dairy goat. However, we must take into account that it is quite difficult to purchase an adult animal without any flaws, especially in the spring and summer. Owners are reluctant to part with their pets, even if they are old. A good kid is easier to find.
But if you do buy an adult goat, you need to pay attention to its appearance, behavior, and reaction to others. A healthy goat has smooth, shiny hair, bright, cheerful eyes, a clean nose, and silent breathing. The legs and back are straight, without obvious deflections, the udder is pear-shaped, elastic, the nipples are medium, comfortable for milking. But a sick or elderly animal is most often depressed, its fur is ragged, dull, and its belly is saggy.
It would be nice to take a cracker with you and treat the goat. If she is healthy, the cracker will be eaten instantly. An old or sick goat will roll it in its mouth from side to side until the cracker gets soggy, and only then will it swallow.
It is best to choose a large goat: it is stronger, its productivity is higher than that of small goats. It has been noticed that a goat that produces good, tasty milk does not have an unpleasant odor in the frontal part of the head, between the horns. To determine the smell, you need to scratch it in this place and smell your hands. Ask your hosts to taste cold milk to find out its taste. And most importantly, you should definitely try to milk a goat yourself.
When buying a kid, you should follow the same rules as when choosing an adult animal. Ask what the baby was fed, how many times a day, at what hours and in what quantity food was given. After installing a kid, you should try not to change its diet, at least at first.
We must also remember that goats do not like loneliness, so it is better to purchase 2 young goats at once. They themselves will not be bored, and they will amuse their owners.
If you decide to purchase a goat or kid of the Saanen breed, you need to pay attention to the fact that these animals have smooth, very short hair, and there is no undercoat or goat down underneath it, like goats of other breeds. Goats of this breed are slender, with a high neck, and most are polled and hornless.
Practice has shown that domestic mixed-breed goats, born from crossing with Saanen sires, are almost as good as purebred foreign specimens. They are more hardy, unpretentious in food, tolerate cold well, get sick less often, and in terms of milk production they practically reach the level of Saanen goats. Crossbred old goats can consistently produce 6.5 liters of excellent milk in the summer; their daughters, after the second lambing, can produce 4.5 liters.
The average productive life of animals is 10-12 years. Under good feeding and maintenance conditions, they continue lactation until 15-18 years of age. Goats reach their highest milk production at 6-7 years of age.
Depending on the direction of productivity, animals have specific characteristics, which you should first pay attention to when choosing goats for breeding on the farm.
Varieties of goats, their characteristics and comparison
Before you go shopping for an individual, you need to thoroughly study the characteristics of the color. After all, without experience, you get a pig in a poke. An unscrupulous seller will immediately see a confused buyer in the crowd and sell the most substandard goods. To avoid such a situation, a complete description of the different species and their characteristics is offered, which makes it easier to solve the question: how to choose a goat when buying anywhere.
1. Representatives of dairy breeds
Russian
One of the most popular colors, the appearance is known to everyone. These goats have Swiss blood in their veins. In the northern part of the country it is difficult to keep such an individual, since it does not tolerate blowing air and is susceptible to frequent mastitis.
The appearance differs as follows:
- height about 69 centimeters;
- the head is not voluminous;
- colors: gray, red, spotted, white, black;
- the body is like a barrel;
- legs are thin, high;
- the presence of a beard and horns in both sexes;
- weight on average up to 50 kilograms.
This breed is quite productive, the annual milk yield is up to 1000 liters of milk with a fat content of 4-5%. For one milk yield, the Russian yields up to half a liter. We will show you how to choose a dairy goat.
At 8 months, a representative of this species is ready to mate. But it is advisable to wait a few more months to gain more weight. It is recommended to happen no more than twice a year. The offspring is 2-3 cubs.
Distributed throughout Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Cameroonian
Profitable due to high milk yield. On average, per day it can produce up to 2 liters of milk with a fat content of 4.5-5.5%. It is tasty and can be stored for a long time (in a cold place for up to two weeks).
Representatives with West African roots arrived in Russia several decades ago. It has a dwarf height, no more than half a meter. Food consumption is low. Description:
- length no more than 70 centimeters;
- the presence of horns curved back;
- tail and ears erect;
- the female weighs up to 15 kilograms, and the male – no more than 23;
- variety of suits.
Offspring – 2-4 units.
The Cameroon breed does not tolerate loneliness and is difficult to milk due to its short stature.
Toggenburg
About two hundred years ago it was developed in Switzerland. Description:
- light brown color;
- ears, legs – white;
- height does not exceed 80 centimeters;
- the body is elongated and thin;
- no horns;
- the neck is long and thin;
- the udder is large, voluminous;
- The weight of the female is 55 kilograms, the male is 90.
They differ in the litter of two or three cubs. It is difficult to answer the question of what breed of goats to choose in the end. The milk yield of representatives of this color is one of the most significant - up to 1.2 tons per year. At one time you can milk from 400 grams to a liter of milk with a fat content of 3-4%. Cheeses are often made from it. Milk tastes good when you eat well. If the food is of poor quality, the drink will taste and smell unpleasant. Milking her is comfortable due to her height.
It has a calm character and resistance to cold. Distributed in St. Petersburg and its outskirts, Altai.
Gorkovskaya
Brought out at the beginning of the 20th century. Shows good milk production. Normal appearance:
- colors white, gray;
- the body is of medium size, quite strong;
- high no more than 62 centimeters;
- presence of horns in both sexes;
- small udder;
- hooves of the correct shape;
- The weight of a female is up to 45 kilograms, a male is up to 80.
The offspring is usually no more than two kids. Although there were cases of five births. Milk yield is high - 1.2 tons per year. Milk fat content is 4-5.5%. You can milk about half a liter at a time. With a balanced diet, milk yield increases significantly.
The breed is distinguished not only by its dairy products, but also by the quality of its meat and skin. Distributed throughout Russian territory. Representatives are unpretentious in terms of care and food quality. Adapt to any temperature fluctuations. The female gives a normal amount of milk only after her second birth.
Saanen Dairy
Brought out in Switzerland about five hundred years ago.
Description:
- white color;
- the body is massive;
- height about 90 centimeters;
- hornless;
- the neck is long;
- udder is voluminous;
- The female weighs 60-80 kilograms, the male – 110.
The offspring is 2-3 pieces. The annual milk yield is 900-1200 liters of milk with a fat content of 4.5%. There is no unpleasant odor. For normal performance, the feed must be of high quality. Does not tolerate bad weather conditions well and often gets sick. A purebred female is quite expensive and rare. Above are the most productive dairy goats.
Alpine
Homeland: Switzerland. Description:
- different colors;
- height 75-85 centimeters;
- the body is lighter than the ears, legs, head;
- the head is small;
- often hornless;
- ears are straight;
- The weight of females reaches 63 kilograms, males - 79.
The breed is very old. Offspring - up to three units. Milk yield is average - up to a ton per year. Although with good nutrition it can reach one and a half tons. The fat content of milk is 4-5.5%. The drink has no foreign odor and a delicate taste. It is often used to make cheese.
Distributed in the Caucasus and the south of the country. Animals have endurance and resistance to weather conditions. They can be aggressive towards members of their own breed.
Downy breeds
Orenburgskaya
The coat is one color, most often black. Rarely found white, reddish. Quality depends on age (the darker, the stronger). Productivity of wool and down up to 400 grams. From a seven-year-old individual, the down is cut brittle. There is no elasticity.
The offspring is 2-3 kids. Milk yield does not exceed 100 liters per year. The weight of the female is up to 46 kilograms, and the male is 72.
This breed is resistant to cold weather.
Pridonskaya
Popular near the Don. It has a strong massive body, backward-curved horns, and wavy fur. The weight of the female is 38 kilograms, the male’s weight is up to 67.
Milk yield is small, about 130 liters. Down production is very high and depends on gender. Females give from 380-1350 grams, and males - 450-1500 grams. The highest rate is from 4 to 6 years. The color of the down is white or gray. It is quite elastic. Winter scarves are knitted from this material, and shoes and winter outerwear are made from the skin.
Gorno-Altai
The body is massive, barrel-shaped. The horns are curved back. The ears are erect.
Tolerates cold weather well and is not afraid of frost. The female weighs about 40 kilograms, and the male – 60. The offspring is 2-3 pieces.
Down production is quite large, about 500 grams per animal. It is soft and strong. Milk yield is small, about 450 g per day. During the lactation period, no more than 100 liters of milk are produced.
Meat breeds
Burskaya
The physique is strong, the muscles are developed. The female weighs 90-100 kilograms, and the male – 135. The coat is white or with the addition of a red color. The horns are large, dense, and grow to the sides. The offspring is about three kids. The character is calm. Unpretentious to climatic conditions.
The meat is tender and does not taste like veal. Applicable to dietary nutrition.
Kiko
The body is dense, the head is small, with curled horns and hanging ears. Males have a beard. The weight of the female is about 50 kilograms, and the male is 70-90. The offspring is 2-3 kids.
Males are quite aggressive. The breed is unpretentious to food and weather conditions. Not afraid of cold, has excellent immunity.
Greek
Color: white, red, brown. The body is large with a long neck. The horns are curved back or to the sides. Legs are tall and thin. The female’s weight is about 50 kilograms, and the male’s is 60. Milk yield is small, only 100 liters per year. The milk has a pleasant, fatty taste. Cheeses are made from it. The meat is tasty, tender, without foreign odors. Pink colour. She is calm in character and not picky about food.
Now the secret of how to choose a goat has been revealed.
Milk production (comparison):
| Breed | Liters of milk per year |
| Russian | 500-1000 |
| Cameroonian | 600-1200 |
| Toggenburg | 400-1200 |
| Gorkovskaya | 1000-1200 |
| Saanen Dairy | 900-1200 |
| Alpine | 800-1000 |
| Orenburgskaya | 100 |
| Pridonskaya | 130 |
| Gorno-Altai | 100 |
| Burskaya | 100 |
| Kiko | 100 |
| Greek | 100 |
Content Features
Most dairy goats are easy to care for, but all of them do not tolerate dampness and drafts, and do not like severe frosts. Pay attention to this point when arranging the barn.
Valuable recommendations for arranging a barn:
- Insulate the floor, otherwise the animal will get sick.
- Close all cracks to prevent rodents from entering.
- Regularly disinfect the room from harmful insects
- Maintain cleanliness and order in the barn.
- Control the air temperature, the optimal range is 3-5 degrees.
- Provide each goat with an individual waterer and feeder.
Features of nutrition and care:
- Renew water in drinking bowls 2 times a day, more often in summer. Expect that 1 goat drinks 8-10 liters of water per day.
- Do not leave stale hay in the feeder.
- When choosing a place for grazing, make sure that the area is free of harmful grasses.
- Avoid walking in bad weather or strong winds.
- When free grazing, provide drinking water and shelters.
- For free grazing, set up an enclosure with a high fence.
Ideal parameters: what to look for when choosing
When purchasing, you need to look at each part of the body and the animal as a whole. His physique should not be too thin. The larger the female, the more milk she will produce. The digestive system of large creatures is also larger. Accordingly, the individual will eat more food and give a good milk yield. A goat should be selected weighing about 60 kilograms.
Dairies have an angular body with strong bones. You need to make sure that the chest is wide with a thin neck. The ribs should not protrude and the butt should be firm. The back is straight and the stomach is voluminous. The body should look like a barrel, without visible thinness. The legs are set wide apart, without an X-like appearance.
It is better to buy kids that are not very small, but from three weeks old. They won't take the road so hard. Weight should be appropriate for age: at 1 week - about 5 kg, at 1 month - 10-13 kilograms, at 2 months - 16-18 (depending on gender). The cub must be active.
Pay attention to the udder too. It should have the correct shape, like a pear or a barrel. It can be seen from any angle. The skin is soft and hairless. It is necessary to squeeze the udder; if this is difficult to do, then it is good. There should be no swelling or wounds on the udder. After milking it should form folds. If it doesn't, it has a lot of fat. You shouldn't wait a lot for milk.
A good animal has straight, even hooves. The corners of the hooves are pointed and regular in shape. They should have their hair cut periodically. The toe and heel correspond in length, and the rim is at a right angle.
The coat has a silky appearance, without tufts or lumps. It should be pleasant to the touch, not crumble, and not have bald spots. The old specimen has hard hair. The younger and more well-groomed the goat, the silkier its coat. If the fur is shedding, you should not buy an animal.
Important
Don’t forget to inspect the animal’s horns. They should have an even, well-groomed appearance without layers or growths.
It happens that the seller tries to sell a female with obvious defects. These include:
- the bones are irregularly shaped, rough or, conversely, too delicate;
- muscles are weak;
- the chest is narrow, with a curvature;
- the head is very large or disproportionately small;
- the neck is short or very long;
- irregularly shaped jaw;
- the legs are set narrowly and have an X-shape;
- the hooves are flat;
- horns are loose;
- the pasterns are soft (keratinized bone growth);
- the udder is small;
- hangs in folds even before milk yield;
- asymmetry is visible;
- nipples are long or barely noticeable.
All these characteristics indicate the depravity of the goat. It's not worth buying.
What does the cost depend on?
Goat farming is considered a profitable business that does not require a lot of expenses, since the bulk of the investment will only be needed to purchase animals. The following factors influence how much a goat costs:
- breed;
- age;
- productivity.
Bucks are less expensive than female goats because males are usually purchased for slaughter. However, breeding goats used to produce purebred offspring can be very expensive.
How to determine how old an individual is
Teeth are like a goat’s passport. It is from them that the true age is calculated. It is necessary to examine the upper and lower jaw of the goat. The incisors are healthy, of correct structure (depending on the breed) - which means she is young. An adult goat has only 32 teeth - 6 teeth on the sides, 8 teeth for grinding food.
Kids are born without teeth, but their rudiments are already there. After a week, all the rudiments appear completely. By eight months, the young already have eight teeth. At 1.5 years the front row changes and the molars appear. At 2 years of age, all molars are completely replaced. At 4 years old, the adult should have wide teeth in the lower jaw that fit closely together. They must be healthy. If the animal is sick, it will eat poorly and give little milk.
At five years old, teeth begin to wear down and take on a rounded shape. Space appears between the teeth. The older the animal, the wider it is. At 8 years old, the female is considered old due to poor dental condition. Teeth fall out, wear out, and little milk is produced. The condition of the jaw is very closely related to milk yield. Therefore, the efficiency of milk production is very low in a goat with worn teeth. An old animal cannot produce full-fledged healthy offspring.
A little about the smell
Probably all people, except goat breeders, do not like the smell of goat milk. It is impossible to say for sure which breed has a smell and which does not. Goat breeders will tell you that it depends on the individual organism, and on the conditions in which the goat lives. These animals are very sensitive; if the barn is dirty or the food is of poor quality, the milk will stink. Also, kids are often born hermaphrodites (females with increased levels of male hormones), then the milk “smells like a goat.” Therefore, when choosing a goat, you need to focus not only on the odorless breed, but also on a specific individual.
The taste of milk is affected by the food the animal eats. If bitter herbs enter the stomach, the milk will be bitter. Due to the feed and straw, the taste will also deteriorate.
Unhealthy body - signs
When buying a goat, you need to look at its health status. Determine this most important factor by carefully examining the animal. By appearance, the buyer notices the following diseases:
Avitaminosis
The lack of vitamins B, A, E, D leads to deficiency and worsening of the condition. If the supply of vitamins is insufficient, goats do not reproduce. The kids walk with visible difficulty, sometimes the limbs become paralyzed, and the animal falls on its feet. There may be muscle failure. Individuals are weak and weakened. To compensate for the lack of vitamins, it is necessary to include vitamin complexes in the diet, which will be prescribed by a veterinarian, and improve the diet.
2. Lack of nutrients
With a deficiency of vital elements, the condition of the skin, wool, horns, and hooves worsens. The animal has an unpresentable appearance. There is general weakness in the body. The individual appears apathetic. To replenish it, it is necessary to add the necessary microelements to the animal’s diet. For advanced cases, include vitamin complexes.
Mastitis
Appears at calving or during milking in different ways (manual, machine). It also occurs with poor quality care. Therefore, it is important to know that the goat house should always be dry and clean.
Important
Determining mastitis is not difficult. Lumps and hardened areas appear on the udder. Pus appears in the milk.
Treatment is prescribed only by a veterinarian. Usually these are antibiotics and camphor oil to lubricate the udder.
Unhealthy lungs
Bronchopneumonia is a serious disease that affects the respiratory system, in particular the lungs. This disease occurs due to improper nutrition and maintenance. Therefore, for prevention, it is necessary to clean the goat's rue at regular intervals, ventilate the room, freeing it from ammonia evaporation, feed the person with good balanced food, and give vitamin complexes.
Which breeds are better
Dairy goat breeds can be very high-yielding, but demanding to keep. In order to receive the declared amount of milk from such goats, it is necessary to strictly observe the conditions of their keeping and feeding. Another group of dairy goats does not produce very much milk, but they are less demanding. These goats are often much easier to keep. Given the ratio between the cost of feed, maintenance and the labor intensity of caring for animals versus milk yield, it is sometimes more profitable to keep less productive, but also less demanding goats. You need to choose a breed of dairy goats for a specific farm taking into account their pros and cons.
How to choose a good kid
The baby should be active, healthy, with a good proportional appearance. A table of average weights of kids according to age is presented:
| Age, months | Weight, kg |
| newborn | 3,5 |
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 17 |
| 4 | 21 |
| 5 | 26 |
| 6 | 28 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 33 |
| 9 | 35 |
| 10 | 37 |
| 11 | 40 |
| 12 | 42 |
There is a certain formula for calculating weight gain. The norm is considered to be 4.5 kg per month until the age of five months. From the sixth month, the female gains 2-2.5 kilograms per month, and the kid gains 3-3.5 kilograms per month. Young animals must be weighed regularly to determine normal development.
Weighing is carried out on scales, or by hanging it using a device that is threaded between the front and rear legs.
There is a way to measure without scales. It is necessary to measure the circumference of the body under the armpits of the front legs:
Tips from netizens
Fanya
We have a simple gray goat, bought last summer after the 2nd lambing (I still regret that I didn’t buy her daughter in addition, I was afraid I couldn’t handle it, I saw a goat up close for the first time in my life) we took ours for 3.5 thousand + 800 road, our friend drove us, we traveled far, in the summer she gave 3.5 liters of odorless and tasteless milk, enough for us to sell to friends... if she gives birth to a goat for us in April, we’ll keep it, although we’d like a purebred one, but some things are holding us back for now
Elena Evgenievna
That's how I understood it. (I called everyone!) A purebred goat cannot cost less than 15 thousand. It doesn't depend on age. It’s just that if you wait until it grows, others will buy it. And crossbred kids are 8-10. And it is right. Because crossbreds (from good parents) are not inferior in milk yield. In general, it is better to buy more expensive, but from good owners (the goats are well-groomed, everything is clean...) even if it is more expensive than cheaper, but where it is dirty, the goats are hungry, etc. Personally, I bought a half-anenka for 5 thousand. I bought it. She wasn’t standing next to the Zaanenka! (Total deception!) It would be better if I bought it for 10 - but it’s really half an anenen!
Demina
In our Ukraine, on a goat farm, I bought 3-week-old ones for $80, the older they are, the more expensive they are, and much more so.
Irina
Sorry for the ignorance. Why buy a purebred goat for 30 thousand! I can't wrap my head around that price. How are they better, in the sense, more profitable than simple aces? Why should ordinary housewives, not businessmen, pay for a name? I understand if you later make money from the kids. But if we are talking about milk, then why not buy an ordinary goat for 5-7 thousand? Or do purebreds give dozens of liters of milk?! I thought that the average goat produces 4-5 liters per day.
Video
Sources
- https://fermerznaet.com/zhivotnovodstvo/kozy/skolko-stoit.htmlhttps://www.activestudy.info/kak-vybrat-molochnuyu-kozu/https://atmagro.ru/2015/08/09/vybor- kozy-sovety-pri-pokupke/
List of rules for determining the general condition of the animal
We will show you how to choose a goat without odor. There is a folk method for determining the unpleasant aroma in goat milk. To do this, when purchasing, you need to sniff the animal between the horns. If there is a smell, then the milk will have a specific flavor.
You need to buy a kid from three months of age. Such a cub tolerates separation from its mother more easily, gets used to its owners faster, and tolerates moving better, especially long-distance transportation.
When purchasing, you must do milking. After the procedure, assess the condition of the udder. If it has decreased and wrinkled, then the milk yield will be good. If the udder remains the same size, it is fatty. You should not expect good milk yield from such a female. After milking, you need to smell and taste the milk. It should be sweet and have no foreign odors. The above information will help you find the answer to the question of how to choose a dairy goat.
Slavic rituals
The attributes of a mummered “goat” are a casing turned outward with its hair, a wooden head with horns and a beard made of straw or wicker, and a moving lower jaw. The Poles hung a bell from their beard. Belarusians know the “goat” in the form of a large doll on a stick. Ukrainians of Bukovina wore a model of a “goat’s” head on a long pole, on top of which a robe was attached, hiding the figure of the performer. In Wielkopolska, during Maslenitsa rounds ( podkozelek
) sometimes they brought a live goat, attributing to it magical effects on the harvest. A wooden horned figure of a goat was an attribute of the procession of mummers on the last Tuesday of the carnival (cognition). In Ukraine, the goat mask also appeared in wedding and funeral rites (in “games for the dead”).
The Christmas and New Year ritual of “driving a goat” is most vividly represented among Ukrainians and Belarusians (Polesie was a fairly monolithic area where the ritual existed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries). The core of the ritual was the singing of the song “Where a goat walks, there it will give birth…” with the chorus “Oh-ho, goat,” where the future harvest is depicted in exaggerated images (“where a goat has a horn, there is a haystack,” “where a goat has a tail, there is bush life there”, etc.). The song was accompanied by a pantomime dance: first the goat bowed to its owners, then it danced and bullied young girls, caressed small children, then, as a rule, it “died”, it was treated unsuccessfully, and only after receiving a piece of lard, it was “resurrected.” The ritual symbolized the cycle of time and the rebirth of nature.
In Belarusian rituals there were variants of the ritual songs “About the Goat and the Wolf”, “About the Goat and the Drummer”.
In Ukraine, they usually “take a goat” on Generous Evening.
In the cycle of spring rituals of the Nizhny Novgorod region, timed to coincide with Clean Monday or the first Sunday of Lent, about driving a goat decorated with a wreath and ribbons through the streets.
