How many years do goats live and give milk at home, how to extend the period
It is important for farmers and owners of private households to know how long domestic goats live, which affects their life expectancy. After all, raising these animals costs a pretty penny. Goats need food and housing. If favorable conditions are created, then they will live 15-18 years. True, the economic life of goats is slightly lower. It is only 8-10 years old.
How many goats live
Domestic animals such as goats are bred for milk, meat and wool. Life expectancy depends mainly on the diet and conditions of detention. Proper feeding affects the digestive system as well as dental health. Healthy animals live longer than sick animals. On average, life expectancy is 15-18 years.
Meat
Eastern meat breeds (Boer, Nubian) are native to southern Asia, they are adapted to life in warm climates. In temperate latitudes, their life expectancy is 8-10 years. True, no one keeps representatives of the meat breed until this age. Usually they are sent to the slaughter at 8-12 months. The meat of these animals becomes tougher with age.
Breeding goats should also be renewed after 7-8 years of life. And in females, reproductive functions decrease with age. At 8 years old, old goats have miscarriages, unviable or dead kids are born.
Dairy
Milking goats usually begin to milk after the first lambing, that is, at the age of 2 years. The peak of productivity occurs by 4-5 years. Then the milk yield gradually decreases. It is advisable to keep dairy goats up to 8-10 years. It can be longer. With good care and good nutrition, these animals will live up to 15-18 years. True, old goats will give a mug of milk a day.
Mini goats
Decorative dwarf goats (Nigerian, Cameroon) are dairy breeds. Such animals can live up to 20 years. These centenarians have excellent immunity and good adaptive qualities. True, the period of their economic use is no more than 10 years.
What determines life expectancy
The lifespan of domestic animals depends on the person, or rather, on the conditions of keeping and feed. With proper feeding, they will stay healthy for many years. The well-coordinated work of all systems and organs is the key to high productivity.
Climate
The environment affects health and life expectancy. It is not recommended to keep these animals indoors all year round. In the warm season, it is advisable to graze them in the pasture. Sunlight, luscious green herbs - all this hardens the body of animals, has a positive effect on their health.
Thick-coated breeds adapted to cool climates will suffer from the heat in southern latitudes.Conversely, Asian or African species will often get sick in places with short rainy summers and harsh winters. It is better to start a breed that has long been bred in its native area.
Heat-loving rocks in cold latitudes will have to be kept indoors for 9 months. In favorable home conditions, even goats that are not typical for this region can live for 10-20 years.
Conditions of detention
Goats are pets that need to create all the conditions for life. Before starting them, you need to take care of the barn, think over all the nuances of feeding. They must graze in the pasture in the summer, and in the winter be in a special room for stables. Females should be covered once a year and milked 2 times a day.
The barn should always be dry and clean. The optimum temperature for keeping these animals is 10-20 degrees Celsius all year round. If animals are kept in the cold, in mud and dampness, then even representatives of the local and most hardened breeds will not live long. Goats are prone to various colds and infectious diseases. At 3 months of age, the kids need vaccination to protect them from dangerous diseases. In favorable conditions, the goat lives for about 15-18 years.
Nutrition
Health and longevity, of course, depend on the quality and quantity of feed. The more complete the nutrition, the better the condition of the animal. Goats should receive the full range of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. The productivity of animals depends on the quality of the feed.
True, when drawing up a menu for your ward, you need to pay attention to one important nuance.
The health and productivity of goats, especially milking, depends on the condition of the teeth. Animals have 32 of them. Moreover, there are 24 molars, and only 8 incisors, and all of them are located on the lower jaw. At the beginning, baby teeth grow in kids. Up to 4 years old, they are replaced by permanent ones. It is advisable to protect these teeth. After all, the longer they remain, the better the goat will eat, that is, there is more. As you know, the health and life expectancy of animals depends on nutrition.
Goats that eat soft food live long. Their teeth simply wear out and grind off more slowly. In addition, soft foods (fresh grass, finely chopped vegetables) are more beneficial for the body. If animals have retained all their teeth, they will live 20 years. If goats are kept on roughage, the picture is sadder. It happens that at the age of 8, females lose their teeth. Of course, such animals will not be able to chew food normally, which means they will eat less and give little milk. As soon as the teeth of females begin to deteriorate, they must be immediately replaced with younger individuals.
Can the term be extended?
The life span of an animal depends on its health. The better the condition and well-being of the goat, the longer it will live. A number of factors affect health: the quality of feed, the region of habitation, and the conditions of detention.
What prolongs the life of goats:
- compulsory vaccination of young animals at the age of 3 months;
- soft food for teeth (meadow or forest young grass, small hay, grated vegetables);
- pharmacy vitamins and minerals;
- milk feeding of young animals up to 3 months;
- spruce and pine branches in winter;
- clean water for drinking (at least 5 liters per individual);
- grazing on a fenced and clean pasture;
- lack of contact with sick animals;
- timely (in the early stages) treatment of diseases;
- keeping in a warm, dry and clean barn;
- measures to prevent stress and anxiety of animals.
Goats will live longer if they are fed the right amount of food regularly. You cannot keep them on a starvation diet or, conversely, overfeed. In the summer after dew, they need to be grazed in the meadow. In rainy weather, animals should stay in the barn. In winter, it is necessary to feed them with hay from young meadow and forest grasses. Roughage (grain, tree branches) is given to goats in a minimum amount. Instead of brooms in winter, it is better to feed them with dried leaves of shrubs and trees.
What reduces the life span of a goat
Diseases affect the life span of animals. Sick goats, if left untreated, do not live long. Most often, animals suffer from colds, gastrointestinal diseases, and mastitis. In order to prevent goats, it is advisable not to take them out to the pasture in the rain, in winter they need to be kept indoors.
Diseases of the stomach arise from improper feeding and from poor quality feed. Mastitis is a disease that can be prevented by donating milk in a timely manner, changing the dirty bedding daily. True, with age, any animal's health and productivity deteriorate. Usually goats are kept no more than 8-10 years, and then replaced by young individuals.
