Perhaps you are thinking of entering the agriculture business in the way of livestock farming and herding. You may in fact be dreaming of putting up a Nigerian dwarf goats for sale sign and getting good business for it also. However, you should know a thing or two about raising these creatures prior to plunging in head first.
At the onset you must choose between two options. Will you enter into the goat business as a way to breed and sell goats or will you raise and maintain a herd for meat and dairy purposes. For either choice, the fundamentals are basically the same.
When you have decided to on whether you should raise them for meat or breeding, or both, put into your mindset that you will become a goatherd. So you will need to have the basic knowledge that goatherds will have. You have to know all the basics starting from basic maintenance and so forth so you will have lesser headaches later on.
Proper barn maintenance is the key to sustaining a healthy flock or herd. Regular cleaning and sanitation is needed, particularly in warm or hot weather. Excessive waste and urine particularly in enclosed areas will lead to a gradual buildup of ammonia. This ammonia buildup will affect the respiratory systems of the animals, thus making them more susceptible to pneumonia.
Goat hooves must also be regularly trimmed and cleaned. In the wild, hooves are worn out naturally, while in captivity they cannot be worn down as there is lack of mobility. Maintaining the hooves in terms of standard length will prevent accidents due to lengthy hooves, which can include broken legs and sprains. The hooves must be trimmed every two or three months at least.
The diet of your new goats must be as fresh as possible with goat or general livestock feed of around 12 to 18 percent protein content mixed in. Do some research as to how to get the proper ratio mixes to give in terms of age and gender. It goes without saying that a fresh supply of water everyday goes a long way in ensuring good health.
Should you also be thinking of starting a herd for breeding purposes, you must be familiar with the breeding cycles. Young goats can mate as early as seven weeks old. The herd can multiply quite fast as there is no fixed mating period for them. Theoretically they can give birth two to three times a year as their gestation periods are only around one hundred and fifty days or less.
Thus we have covered a few important items on your road to goat breeding and raising. This article is by no means exhaustive in terms of the needed knowledge you will need to have. You can get much more needed information from other goat breeders and herders as well, as well as from other sources like animal husbandry and agricultural websites that are on the internet.
At the onset you must choose between two options. Will you enter into the goat business as a way to breed and sell goats or will you raise and maintain a herd for meat and dairy purposes. For either choice, the fundamentals are basically the same.
When you have decided to on whether you should raise them for meat or breeding, or both, put into your mindset that you will become a goatherd. So you will need to have the basic knowledge that goatherds will have. You have to know all the basics starting from basic maintenance and so forth so you will have lesser headaches later on.
Proper barn maintenance is the key to sustaining a healthy flock or herd. Regular cleaning and sanitation is needed, particularly in warm or hot weather. Excessive waste and urine particularly in enclosed areas will lead to a gradual buildup of ammonia. This ammonia buildup will affect the respiratory systems of the animals, thus making them more susceptible to pneumonia.
Goat hooves must also be regularly trimmed and cleaned. In the wild, hooves are worn out naturally, while in captivity they cannot be worn down as there is lack of mobility. Maintaining the hooves in terms of standard length will prevent accidents due to lengthy hooves, which can include broken legs and sprains. The hooves must be trimmed every two or three months at least.
The diet of your new goats must be as fresh as possible with goat or general livestock feed of around 12 to 18 percent protein content mixed in. Do some research as to how to get the proper ratio mixes to give in terms of age and gender. It goes without saying that a fresh supply of water everyday goes a long way in ensuring good health.
Should you also be thinking of starting a herd for breeding purposes, you must be familiar with the breeding cycles. Young goats can mate as early as seven weeks old. The herd can multiply quite fast as there is no fixed mating period for them. Theoretically they can give birth two to three times a year as their gestation periods are only around one hundred and fifty days or less.
Thus we have covered a few important items on your road to goat breeding and raising. This article is by no means exhaustive in terms of the needed knowledge you will need to have. You can get much more needed information from other goat breeders and herders as well, as well as from other sources like animal husbandry and agricultural websites that are on the internet.
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