Detailed Explanation of Key Points of Boer Goat Rearing Technology

Recently, Boer goats have become a highlight of the breeding industry, and many farmers spare no expense traveling around to buy Boer goats. In fact, this approach is neither scientific nor cost-effective, and one careless move could even lead to being cheated. Here, let me tell you a cost-effective method.  

If funds are limited, you can buy just 1-3 purebred Boer goat rams, use these rams to mate with local female goats, and after conception they will produce first-generation Boer goats. The male kids of the first generation can only be raised as meat goats, fattened after castration, and must not be kept for breeding. After the female kids of the first generation grow up, mate them with another purebred ram to produce second-generation Boer goats. Note: when a first-generation Boer female goat comes into heat, do not mate her with her “father”, to avoid inbreeding. The second-generation Boer rams still cannot be used for breeding; after the second-generation female kids grow up, mate them with another purebred Boer goat to produce third-generation Boer goats. At this point, after evaluation, both rams and females that perform relatively well can be used as breeding goats, and if conditions permit, further improvement can be made. Generally speaking, using this method to breed Boer goats, in 2-3 years you can breed a large batch of purebred Boer goats, which is much more economical and cost-effective than buying Boer goats directly. One purebred ram can mate with at least more than 500 female goats in a year; if artificial insemination is used, one ram can mate with tens of thousands of female goats. Using this method to breed Boer goats, you must also note: the female goats used for mating must be relatively large in build; small-built “native goats” will not do. After small-built goats are mated with purebred goats, it is highly likely to cause dystocia, and both the mother and kid may be in danger. Only large-built female goats can be mated with purebred rams; keep this point firmly in mind.

Goats raised in rural areas weigh no more than 15 kg at 12 months of age, and native sheep weigh about 25 kg at 12 months of age. The reasons for the slow growth rate are: first, inbreeding, which causes physical degeneration; second, failure to pay attention to deworming, which consumes a large amount of nutrients; third, failure to carry out scientific feed formulation, which cannot meet the nutritional needs of sheep growth and development. To make meat sheep grow quickly, you must master the following techniques:    

1. Select breed sheep. China currently has no meat-type sheep breed, so we can only rely on introducing foreign breeds with large build and good meat production performance, as well as improved domestic breeds, and use artificial insemination with local native sheep to obtain crossbred commercial meat sheep. For example: cross Boer goats with local goats. The crossbred sheep show strong heterosis, grow quickly, have strong disease resistance, and have a high feed conversion rate.   

2. Remove parasites. Sheep should be dewormed before fattening. Use the highly effective deworming drug levamisole, dissolve 8 mg per kg of body weight in warm boiled water, prepare a 5% aqueous solution, and administer by intramuscular injection; it can remove various roundworms and nematodes in the sheep's body. Use bithionol, 80 mg per kg of body weight, add a little flour and 250 ml of water, and administer orally on an empty stomach; it can remove sheep liver flukes and tapeworms. After shearing, use a 1%-2% trichlorfon solution for medicated bathing to eliminate external parasites. This avoids extra nutrient loss in sheep and ensures the fattening effect.   

3. Scientific feed formulation. A relatively practical feed formula is introduced as follows: cornmeal 45%, rice bran 20%, soybean cake 10%, cottonseed cake 15%, wheat bran 12%, soybean cake 30%, salt 1%, fish meal crushed %. After weaning, lambs are fed 150 grams per day; as age in days increases, the daily feeding amount can be increased to 200 grams, at 6 months of age feed 400 grams, and at 7-8 months of age feed 500 grams per day.

4. Increase added additives Commonly used additives include the following: (1) Yangfeifei compound feed additive. It is composed of trace elements, rumen metabolism regulators, growth promoters, etc. It is suitable for fattening sheep of the current year as well as culled rams and old, weak adult sheep. For grazing sheep supplemented with concentrate and mixed feed for fattening for 90 days, the average daily gain is 137 grams, which can significantly improve the fattening effect and economic benefits, shorten the fattening period, and save feed. (2) Monensin sodium, also known as rumensin. Its function is to control and improve the efficiency of rumen fermentation, thereby increasing the rate of weight gain and feed conversion rate. The dosage is 25-30 mg added per kg of diet. (3) Olaquindox, also known as kuiyuling, is a synthetic antibacterial agent. It has the effect of promoting protein assimilation, and 50 mg is added per kg of diet. (4) Urea. Its purpose is to supplement the deficiency of protein in the feed, mixed into the concentrate at 1.5%-2% for feeding. The daily feeding amount accounts for 0.02% of the sheep's body weight, that is, adult female goats are fed 10-15 grams per day, and young sheep over 6 months of age are fed 6-8 grams. The first feeding amount can only be 1/10 of the prescribed amount, then gradually increased. After 10 days it can be increased to the prescribed amount. To prevent urea poisoning, urea must not be fed alone, nor dissolved in water for feeding, and the sheep should not drink water within half an hour after feeding. For sick sheep and weak sheep, feed less or not at all. If a poisoned sheep is found, administer 200-500 ml of 0.5% vinegar or 1-2 kg of yogurt orally to rescue it. 

5. Disease prevention and control Common diseases in meat sheep production include: lamb dysentery, with symptoms of decreased appetite, diarrhea, foul-smelling feces, and inability to stand. Prevention and control: 12 hours after birth, feed 0.15-0.2 grams of mycin; for sick lambs, use furazolidone, 0.01 grams per kg of body weight orally. Enterotoxemia manifests as acute watery diarrhea, falling to the ground and lying down, difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, and head tilted back. During prevention and control, regularly inject triple vaccine for sheep braxy, enterotoxemia, etc., and sick sheep are given 800,000-1.2 million units of penicillin by intramuscular injection. In addition, rumen bloat and pneumonia should also be strengthened in prevention and control.