Techniques for raising herbal goats

Benefits: Goats eat a lot of grass, leaves and agricultural by-products. They can be raised in barns or grazed on hills and mountains. Goats are fertile, rarely get sick, give a lot of meat and milk, and have the ability to improve herds of small, slow-growing Grass goats. Raising goats requires little capital, little effort, and brings in more income than Grass goats. Taking advantage of the labor and natural conditions of the hills and mountains.

Botanical Goat

a. Characteristics:Gentle, rarely destroys crops, omnivorous, high yield of meat and milk. Tall, large stature, long head, convex forehead, prominent nose bridge, large drooping ears, with or without horns, 60% of goats have black fur, the rest have black with white spots, white brown, yellow.

Goats reproduce quickly: first mating age 7 - 8 months (P = 19 - 20kg), give birth every 7 months, first litter 1 kid, from the 2nd litter onwards 2 kids. Newborn kids weigh 1.9 - 2.5kg. 3 month old goats (when weaned) weigh 10 - 12kg, 6 month old goats (when slaughtered) weigh 17 - 20kg. Bach Thao goats raised for milk give 0.8 - 1.0kg of milk/day, 3 - 4 times more than Co goats.

b. How to choose breed:

Choosing a female goat: The offspring of a male goat and a mother goat that gives a lot of milk, is fertile, the kid grows quickly, has a slim appearance, a small, light head, a long body, and the hind part is more developed than the front part. Thin skin, small, smooth hair. Large, even, soft udders.

Selecting a male goat: Healthy, energetic, no defects, big, short head, wide forehead, well-proportioned body, not too fat or too thin. Strong hindquarters, evenly developed calves, 4 straight, strong legs. Two testicles are even and well-proportioned. The offspring of excellent parents, gives a lot of milk, is fertile, the kids gain weight quickly, and have good disease resistance.

Goat food

Raw food

+ Green raw:

• Leaves: jackfruit, mahogany, banana, mulberry, leucaena, kudzu, acacia, sim mua and other shrubs on the hill.

• Natural grasses: Feed goats 4 – 7 kg of mixed grass and leaves/day/goat. If grazing, only feed 2 – 3 kg/day/goat.

+ Dry raw food: Grass and dry straw, Root vegetables: cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, pumpkin, papaya, carrots, etc. Wash and slice thinly, feed 0.2 - 0.8 kg/head/day.

Mixed concentrate feed: Includes rice bran, corn, tapioca flour, cassava flour, roasted soybean flour, molasses. Depending on age, fertility and milk production, feed goats from 0.2 - 0.8 kg/head/day. Ratio: Corn flour 25 - 30%, rice bran 25 - 40%, tapioca flour 15 - 20%, roasted soybean flour 10 - 20%, molasses 10 - 20%, minerals 2%, salt 1%

Agricultural and industrial by-products: Tofu residue, green bean sprouts, beer residue, fruit peels, etc. Absolutely avoid sour, smelly, moldy, wet food, feed 0.3 - 0.6 kg/head/day.

Nurturing care

Bach Thao goats can: graze during the day, return to the barn at night to eat more grass and leaves. Raised in the barn, exercised in the playground. Daily guarantee: Food is dry, not moldy, clean, free of dirt and sand, drinking clean water. Clean the floor, barn yard, and food trough. Isolate sick goats and do not let them live together with the herd.

Care of reserve goats (from weaning to mating): Feed 2-5kg of leaves, young green grass and 0.1-0.4kg of concentrate/head/day. Only graze or exercise when the dew has cleared. Separate 4-month-old male goats to another place. Let female goats mate for the first time at 7-8 months old, weighing 19-20 kg or more. Age of first mating of male goats: 7-8 months old, weighing 25-30 kg.

Do not use: Male goat is father, female goat is child or grandchild, Male goat is brother, female goat is sister.

Care for pregnant goats and giving birth goats:

- Pregnancy period is 146 - 157 days. During pregnancy, the goats should be grazed near the barn, on flat ground, avoid chasing, beating, and stay away from the male goat to avoid jumping on the pregnant goat, which can easily cause miscarriage. 5 - 10 days before giving birth, the pregnant goat should be kept separately. The goat about to give birth will have full breasts, a sagging belly, a lot of vaginal discharge, and a sunken buttocks. Line the nest with clean, dry grass and prepare for delivery.

- Use a clean, soft, dry towel to wipe the mucus from the mouth, ears, nose and whole body of the newborn goat. Tie the umbilical cord with a thread 4 cm from the umbilical cord and cut it outside the knot, disinfect the umbilical cord with alcohol. Let the kid lie in a warm nest, next to the mother until 4 days old (in cold weather, need to be warmed). Clean the mother goat's udder and vulva. 30 minutes after giving birth, help the kid suckle the first milk. After giving birth, give the kid warm water mixed with 0.5% salt and feed it grass, young green leaves and pure food that is not spoiled or moldy.

- From the 4th to 21st day of age, raise the kid in a crib, ensure warmth in cold weather, dry and clean bedding. Breastfeed 3-4 times/day. When 10 days old, train the kid to eat easily digestible food: porridge, ripe bananas, corn flour, finely ground roasted soybeans and clean, dry young grass.

Milking goats

- Hygiene when expressing milk: Wash hands and tools before and after expressing milk. Use a clean, wet towel to wash the entire breast. Wipe the nipple clean, avoiding rubbing the breast after expressing all the milk.

- Milking operation: Fix the person milking, milking time, do not make noise when milking. Milking operation is gentle, regular, orderly and fast. Then let go to let the milk down to fill the nipple and repeat the above operation. Finally, wipe off all the milk in the nipple.

- Milking schedule: Milk before letting the kids nurse. Milk 1-2 times depending on the amount of milk and the number of kids born.

- Milk processing: After squeezing the milk, filter it through 8 layers of clean gauze, then boil it in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes before using.

Barn

- Choose a location for the cage: Choose a high, well-drained place, at the end of the wind direction, avoid drafts. The cage should face south or southeast.

- Type of cage: With floor, simple bamboo and leaves. There are 3 types: Goat cage with common cage, goat cage with large compartments, cage with small compartments for each goat. The cage floor is made of straight, smooth bamboo or wood, 2.5cm wide, 1.5cm apart, 0.6 - 0.8m above the ground. For baby goats, the small slats are 0.8cm apart so the goats do not fall through.

According to (hoinongdan.vn) - LY