One of the important stages of goat breeding is choosing a milking goat
Goat breeding should start with the formation of your own herd. But if you have never kept livestock, then you should first choose a suitable milking goat. One individual can be kept in a barn and not driven out to graze in the fall. There are several aspects to consider when choosing a milking goat.
Goat physique
The legs of the goat must be long and strong so that it can travel long distances in summer grazing. A strong back allows the goat to bend tree branches and feed on their bark. Also goat with a strong back, he will be able to stand on his hind hooves and reach wild pears or apples. The animal's knees should be slightly turned to the sides, about 15ABOUT... With this arrangement of the legs, the udder will not rub against them when walking.
The belly of a ruminant animal should be voluminous, since the goat can fill it all day long, and the food is digested only during sleep.
Therefore, the amount of feed directly affects the milk yield and milk yield of the goat. The more food fits in the goat's belly, the more milk it will produce the next day.
Goat udder
When choosing a milking goat, you need to pay special attention to the udder of the animal. In order to check its condition, the goat must stand still, so place a container of food in front of the goat.
Goats are very fond of crushed apples and pears, sprinkled with ground barley or oat flour. If you give the goat such food, you can safely examine it.
The goat's udder should be examined when it is filled with milk:
- The udder should not sag and dangle when walking. If the udder is well fitted to the body, the risk of splashing milk is minimal.
- The nipples should be directed downward, such an udder will not rub against the legs when walking and therefore will not be injured.
- There should be no wounds on the udder. Some birth defects in the udder make milking difficult. Therefore, choose goats with well-formed udders.
Milk ducts and milk smell
Milk your goat before purchasing. If its milk channels are too narrow, then the milk will flow out slowly and it will take a long time to milk a goat with a bulky udder. If the milk channels are too wide, then milk will flow out during grazing and walking.
Goat milk sometimes has a peculiar smell. To test if you can drink milk, rub the goat just above the frontal lobe. If there is no unpleasant odor on your fingers, you will like the milk.