Description of the breed and characteristics of German variegated goats, care and where to buy

The German variegated noble goat is a breed that differs from a similar white "German" in its color. The rest of the characteristics are almost identical. In terms of color, size, level of milkiness, such animals are often confused with similar breeds: Alpine, Frankish, Black Forest goats and Oberhazli. Traditionally, animals are bred for milk. Cheese making flourishes in the regions where the breed originates.

Description and characteristics of the German variegated goat

This breed is distinguished by the following qualities:

1. High level of productivity and milk yield.
2. Suitable for hand and mechanized milking.
3. Long life.
4. Good health, disease resistance.
5. Fertility, the ability to bear twin kids.
6. Wide voluminous udder, medium teat length.
7. Medium to large size.
8. The presence or absence of horns.
9. Seasonal entry into the hunt (more often from August to December inclusive).

The German variegated goat is distinguished by its short, smooth coat, colored in various shades of brown. It has a characteristic feature - a dark, almost black stripe along the ridge. Animals have a long, deep body, strong slender legs, wide chest, long neck with a small dry head, painted in a darker shade. Females weigh 55,070 kilograms, males 70-100 kilograms.

Main pros and cons

This breed has many advantages:

1. High milk yield - 700-1000 kilograms of milk per lactation.
2. The fat content of milk is 3.2-3.5%.
3. Up to 2 kids are born per year.
4. Good health.
5. Good-natured and docile character.

The disadvantages include the difficulty of acquiring purebred specimens in our country. This can be important if the farmer plans to breed animals for sale. For milk production this may not be so important if the hybridization was carried out between two dairy animals with the same high productivity.

How to properly maintain and care for the breed

German variegated goats are quite unpretentious, like other representatives of this species. But since they are milk producers, it is imperative to provide them with balanced natural feed and create a comfortable living environment.

With pasture nutritional value, grass alone is not enough to maintain a stable milk yield, so additional complementary foods must be provided. If the herd is large, then the best way to keep dairy German variegated goats is to stay in a specialized room all year round.

On the farm, the building for dairy goats and kids should be clean, well-lit, ventilated, with high-quality heating.

What to feed?

For variegated German goats, it is necessary to provide adequate nutrition, therefore, their feed must be balanced, consisting of several products. These are unpretentious animals that can eat both straw and even an old broom, but milk females are required from dairy females with indicators that meet industry requirements.

Therefore, the diet includes not only fresh grass and nutritious hay, but also juicy feed, concentrates, mineral supplements, and salt. Free access to clean drinking water is required.

Breeding features

In order to get a fixed amount of milk, the kids are weaned from the goat as soon as possible, as soon as they drink colostrum. It provides them with strong immunity and maintains strong health. It takes from several hours to a couple of days. Then the kids are transferred to another liquid feed - breast milk substitute. And the goat begins to milk and give nutritious milk. The female can give from 5 to 7 liters per day. Grown up or dairy kids are sent for meat, except for those that are left as a replacement livestock.

If the farm specializes in breeding the German variegated breed, and not in obtaining milk, the kids are kept under the goat for up to 4-5 months.

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Frequent illnesses

The German variegated goat breed is subject to the same diseases that are inherent in other animals of this species. The following diseases and health problems are more common:

1. Dairy goats tend to develop udder inflammation (mastitis) and cracked nipples, especially in primiparous females. Such problems arise due to the keeping of goats in drafts, in damp and dirty, cold rooms. Cracks occur due to improper milking, infection, rough handling.
2. Digestive disorders due to unbalanced or excess nutrition, as well as when eating stale or moist food.
3. Inflammation of the hooves, which also occurs when the mud is cold and damp.
4. Colds. Goats are prone to developing a runny nose, an inflammation of the airways, which can be complicated by pneumonia if the symptoms are not noticed in time.
5. Also, animals can be overcome by parasites and skin diseases.
6. Infectious diseases: brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, necrobacteriosis and so on.

Diseases can be resisted if the herd is provided with comfortable living conditions, adequate feeding, and timely veterinary care.

Where can you buy?

Purebred animals are a rarity in the backyard; hybrids are more common here. For breeding German variegated goats or if you want to get milk only from this breed, you should pay close attention to the acquisition of producers.

It is necessary to purchase thoroughbred animals in specialized farms, which ensure not only the purity of selection, but also veterinary supervision over the health of the livestock. Each purchased goat or goat is supplied with passports and veterinary certificates. When purchasing, you must check the accompanying documentation and make sure that the animals are healthy and vigorous.

Before launching newcomers into the herd, you need to quarantine them in order to check if they are infected with diseases in the latent phase. Only then can new pets be placed with the rest of the goats.