Black goats are hailed as the black gem of the countryside; a detailed explanation of breeding and management techniques

Black goats have fine muscle fibers and tender, fresh meat, and compared with other breeds of sheep their mutton odor is extremely light. They are one of the most common breeds raised in the countryside, so how do you raise black goats, which are hailed as “the black gem of the countryside”? A detailed explanation of breeding and management techniques!

1. Seed selection and breeding

Choosing a good breed is the foundation for ultimately producing high-quality black goats, because different breeds have different production capacities, and production capacity is the prerequisite for achieving good economic returns. Therefore, when selecting breeds, choose rams and ewes with strong reproductive capacity and stable heredity for breeding and reproduction, and with strong disease resistance, but avoid inbreeding.

2. Feed formulation

The flock should be divided into groups for rearing according to the different types, and the feed and forage should also differ. Although black goats mainly eat forage and need a large amount of fresh forage every day, they still need supplemental feeding with some feed as nutritional supplementation, because this can not only supplement the nutritional needs of the different forages for the flock, but also prevent shortages of forage, relieve the pressure on the pasture, and allow the pasture to recover its productivity. If farmers have the conditions, they can plant some crops such as ryegrass in the fields to store forage for the sheep in winter and spring. If they do not have the conditions to plant, they can also feed some mixed feed as a supplement when forage is insufficient, such as cornmeal, soybeans, grass meal, and so on. It is best to supplement adult sheep with a little salt every day to improve their constitution.

3. Ensure drinking water

Goats digest a large amount every day and need to secrete a lot of digestive juices, and the blood circulation and nutrient transport in the body also require a large amount of water. Therefore, goats have a very large demand for water. The consequences of water shortage may be the same as those of feed shortage, or even more serious. Water shortage will cause a series of problems in goats, such as poor appetite, reduced digestive capacity, and serious loss of body condition. Therefore, management must ensure the water needs of goats, but the water must be clean and pollution-free, because many diseases of goats are caused by infections of the digestive tract. In winter, goats must not be allowed to drink cold water; the water should be heated so that the goats drink warm water.

4. Environmental conditions

The black goat pen should be far away from residential areas and noisy places, and it must be ensured that the site has sufficient water sources and no history of goat diseases. Moreover, the goat pen should be well ventilated and face the sun, and be dry rather than damp. It is best to have the goat pen face south with its back to the north. Black goats must be given enough space to move around, because black goats are animals that love to move very much. If the space is too narrow, the goats will feel uncomfortable and their growth will be affected. Cold protection and cooling equipment should also be installed in the goat pen.

5. Pay attention to hygiene

The hygiene of the goat pen is very important. As the saying goes, “sheep do not lie down in damp places.” The goat pen must always be kept dry, disinfected regularly, and kept clean and hygienic. Manure should be removed promptly and kept away from the goat pen. When the goat manure is transported a certain distance away from the goat pen, it should be subjected to harmless treatment. Ensure ventilation and air permeability in the pen, do a good job of insect and rodent control, and cut off all routes that can spread pathogens.

Black goats are animals that like warmth and hate dampness. The temperature of the sheep shed must be kept no higher than 30 degrees and no lower than 12 degrees; otherwise, the normal growth of black goats will be affected. Especially in summer, when it is hot and rainy, the sheep shed must always be kept dry and not damp. A damp environment makes black goats extremely prone to disease. The floor of the sheep shed should be cleaned once a day, the sheep shed should be disinfected regularly, and the goat manure should be removed at least once every 15 days and kept away from the sheep shed to avoid piling it together, where it can ferment and breed bacteria.

6. Disease prevention and epidemic prevention

Although black goats generally rarely get sick and have strong disease resistance, special attention must still be paid to disease prevention in daily management. Once a sick goat is found in the flock, the sick goat must be isolated promptly, the sheep shed must be disinfected, and the condition of the sick goat must be examined and the right medicine given. If the condition worsens, everything related to the sick goat must be deeply buried or burned.

The above is a brief introduction to how to raise black goats. Special attention should be paid to immunization of the flock and prevention and treatment of parasites. Most internal diseases are caused by external parasites, so do a good job of immunization to improve the resistance of the flock.