Description and milkiness of goats of the Nubian breed, their color and approximate cost
The Nubian goat breed has an original appearance, unusual in our area. These animals have a bulging nasal septum and drooping ears. In running, Nubians are like rabbits, their ears are raised. Milk from representatives of the Nubian breed is tasty and fatty, odorless. Productivity is 3-6 liters per day. Nubians are very expensive, and the period of their economic use is 9-10 years.
History of origin
Nubian breed is native to North and East Africa. It is in these desert places that goats with long ears and short hair live. The breed was slightly improved by the British, crossing African goats with the best representatives of the Alpine breeds. It happened at the end of the 19th century.
In the 20th century, a new Anglo-Nubian breed began to conquer the world. Goats have gained popularity in many European countries and even in the United States. They appeared in Russia only at the end of the 20th century. In just two decades, they managed to adapt to new conditions.
It is profitable to breed these animals, because they give from 3 to 6 liters of milk per day, and eat 2-3 times less than cows.
Characteristics and description of the breed
According to established breed standards, Nubian goats have a bulging nasal septum, heavy brow ridges, wide, thin, drooping ears to the middle of the neck. Height at withers reaches 70-90 cm, body length - 1-1.2 m. Weight of females - 45-55 kg, males - 65-95 kg. The body is trapezoidal, the tail is short, raised upward, the neck is long.
The Nubian goats have eyes like deer, and the forehead is massive. There are animals with and without horns. As for the color, there are no clear restrictions. Nubian goats can be brown, chocolate, black, white, spotted, variegated, that is, black-white-brown. The coat is generally short and close-fitting. Legs - widely spaced, graceful, but strong, thin and long.
This lop-eared breed is distinguished by its high milk yield. The Nubian goat produces 3 to 6 liters of milk per day. Its fat content is about 5 percent. The udder of females is large, spherical, highly attached to the body, with two long nipples.
Varieties
There are several types of Nubian goats:
- African.
- Australian.
- Alpo-Nubian.
- Anglo-Nubian.
Animals of different species differ only in the color of their fur. All Nubian goats necessarily have a convex nasal septum and long (up to the middle of the neck) wide ears. Crossbreds with Alpine breeds have an ash brown coat. Anglo-Nubian goats are often bay and spotted (white-black) in color. African - light, red, black and white or brown and white.The Australian representatives of this breed have a brown-white coat.
Pros and cons
Advantages of Nubian goats:
- get used to the owner, consider him a leader and obey;
- give 3-6 liters of fat milk per day;
- females give birth annually to 3 kids at a time;
- milk can be used to make yoghurts and cheeses.
Cons of the breed:
- stubborn and headstrong character;
- loud and harsh voice;
- often bleat, require attention;
- cocky, often butting with other animals, cannot live in a herd;
- do not adapt well to the northern climate;
- are expensive.
Keeping goats in household plots
The Nubian breed is used to the warmth. In the middle lane and in Europe, buildings are being built to keep these animals. Goats should be kept in a stable or shed for the entire cold season, that is, from November to April.
In summer, animals must be grazed in the meadow so that they eat fresh green grass and are under the influence of the sun.
Usually, representatives of the Nubian breed are kept in a barn (shed) with an area of 4 square meters. meters per individual. A straw bedding is laid on the floor. It needs to be removed, that is, replaced daily. Dirt and dampness are the main causes of goat udder disease. The room where animals are kept must be clean, dry and warm. The recommended temperature is from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius all year round.
Representatives of the Nubian breed are very clean. They don't like sleeping on the floor, on a dirty bed. In the barn, they can build a sunbed from wooden boards. Nubians love to climb all sorts of hills.
It is necessary to install a manger for hay, feeders for vegetables and grain, drinkers for water in the room. Goats are fed 2-3 times a day. In the summer they graze in the pasture all day, only at lunchtime they drive them to the barn for a couple of hours. Milk also 2-3 times a day. Before milking, the udders are washed with warm water, and the teats are greased.
Diet
Representatives of the Nubian breed eat grass in summer and hay in winter. The main thing is to make sure that they do not come across poisonous or soapy plants. In summer, animals can be grazed in the meadow, but only after the dew has dried, and in no case in the rain. Goats should be given clean water between feedings. Preferably 5 liters per adult 2 times a day. The amount of milk depends on the water.
In winter, Nubiek people are fed hay. The better the quality, the longer the goats will retain their teeth. It is best to stock up on meadow and forest hay, mown at the beginning of growth or during the flowering period. Usually nubiek is fed with legumes and cereals, useful plants (nettle, dandelion, chamomile), necessarily clover and alfalfa.
As a top dressing, animals can be given finely chopped vegetables: carrots, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin. Nubians willingly eat beet tops and the root vegetables themselves. Goats recover well from grains (oats, barley, corn, wheat) and boiled potatoes. True, these products can be given only in a minimal amount (no more than 200-500 grams per day).
In winter, to replenish the reserves of vitamins, animals are fed with spruce or pine branches, pharmacy vitamins and minerals. Goats willingly eat premixes, cake, mixed fodder, chaff, cut. Chalk, salt, bone meal are added to their food. You can simply put in the trough or attach the salted licks to the wall.
Animals love apples and pears. True, these fruits cannot be given whole. They can become stuck in the esophagus and cause delayed gas and bloating. If the goats are grazing in unfamiliar pasture, watch out for what they eat. Nubians are very fond of the branches of fruit bushes and trees. This roughage, while healthy, can cause teeth to grind down quickly. It is better to feed them with tree leaves (willow, maple, oak, apple), you can even prepare them for the winter.
Features of breeding Nubian goats
The Nubian breed reaches sexual maturity by 6 months of age. True, it is recommended to cover females only at 1-1.5 years. It is desirable that the male also belong to the Nubian breed and in no case be a close relative of the goat. You can, on the contrary, improve local goats by taking a Nubian goat for insemination.
It is advisable to cover the Nubian goats in the fall, then the kids will be born in the spring, which can be grazed in the meadow in the summer. Pregnancy in females lasts 5 months. After lambing, young goats begin to milk. Breeding virgin goats is not recommended. If a dairy female becomes pregnant, then in the second month of pregnancy, they begin to slowly start her, that is, they gradually stop milking. It is necessary that nutrients go to the development of offspring, and not to milk. Two months before lambing, the milking goat is completely stopped.
After lambing, the goat must be milked properly. Once the female has given birth to all the cubs, some colostrum should be pumped out. The first two weeks, this product should go to feed the kids. After the cubs are full, the female needs to be milked. It is advisable that not a drop of milk remains in the udder. This will be a signal to the body. Milk will begin to arrive in even greater quantities.
Initially (immediately after lambing) the goat is milked or the kids are allowed to come to it 5 times a day. Then the female can be transferred to another schedule. Usually they are milked 2-3 times a day. The first lambing field can receive up to 3 liters of milk per day. It is advisable not to cover the goat more than once a year, otherwise too frequent childbirth will lead to depletion of the female's body.
Frequent illnesses and prevention
Representatives of the Nubian breed are heat-loving animals. They have short hair, and such goats are poorly adapted to winter. In the cold period of the year, they can catch cold, get bronchitis and pneumonia. It is advisable not to take these animals outside in bad rainy weather and in frosts.
Nubians can suffer from digestive tract disorders, metabolic diseases. The cause of such diseases is improper feeding and poor quality feed. An excess of grain can lead to ketosis. Too much water and legumes can cause bloating, or tympania. In the event of eating poisonous plants, animals can be poisoned. Always feed your goats with fresh food, dry soft grass, finely chopped clean vegetables.
True, these animals will not be able to create ideally sterile conditions. After all, they eat from the ground, often drink water from reservoirs, and come into contact with other domestic animals. Goats, especially those with weakened immune systems, can contract various infectious diseases. Many such diseases, according to sanitary rules, are not treated; sick animals are simply sent to slaughter. Various problems can be avoided and goats can be vaccinated against the most dangerous diseases at the age of 3 months. Usually animals are vaccinated against brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, anthrax, smallpox. As a prophylaxis, goats are given antiparasitic agents 1-2 times a year.
Animal cost
Nubian goats are rare in our area. These animals have a beautiful and unusual appearance. They give milk as much as native local goats, that is, 3-6 liters per day. But Nubians are beautiful and very expensive. Each farmer sets his own price. The cost of an animal depends on the purity of the breed.
Typically, Nubian goats are sold for $ 500-1000. There are breeding individuals and 2-6 thousand.Nubian goats are bought by lovers of rare and exotic animals, since their productivity is no better than that of ordinary goats.
Profitability and prospects
Representatives of the Nubian breed are expensive, the benefit from their acquisition is only in the future sale of thoroughbred kids. Milk and meat of such animals are no different from the products of ordinary goats. If you buy a Nubian for 1 thousand dollars, then in a year she will give birth to 2-3 kids, which can also be sold at the same price. True, it will be necessary to take care of insemination by the brood goat.
Nubian goats are mainly bought by owners of personal subsidiary farms. On an industrial scale, such animals are not bred. Their meat and milk are not in great demand in the market.
