How to do a good job in feeding and management during the initial period after introducing goats?
Preparation before introduction
Goats love cleanliness and dryness and are afraid of heat. Therefore, before introduction, the pens and exercise yards must be thoroughly cleaned, and the pens, feed troughs and surrounding environment disinfected with 2% caustic soda water or Lysol, after which the feed troughs should be rinsed clean with clean water. The pens are required to be well ventilated in summer, moisture-proof and shaded, and able to keep out cold and wind in winter.
Feeding and drinking water
Breeding goats are all very fatigued after long-distance transport, so the goats should first be allowed to rest fully and not be startled. Wait until they are settled before giving them water, and add 05% multivitamins to the drinking water, which can reduce stress reactions. The first drink must not differ greatly in temperature from the body temperature, and the water must be clean and fresh. Because the goats have been fasting for a long time, the first feeding should not be too much; they can be given high-quality dry green grass until 60~70% full, so that gastrointestinal function is fully conditioned, and then concentrate feed should be gradually given and increased, along with free-choice forage.
Checking and grouping the goats
After feeding, let them rest a little, then count and inspect all the introduced goats, and group them by sex, age, individual size and physical condition. For thinner and weaker goats, appropriately increase the amount of concentrate feed and give special care so as to restore body condition as quickly as possible.
Combing and scraping
Comb and scrape the goats twice a day, which helps blood circulation in the body surface and recovery of body condition, increases the gloss of the coat, and at the same time strengthens the bond between people and goats, making it easier for people to approach them and shortening the stress adaptation period.
Deworming and preventive injection
Deworming should be carried out in batches according to specific circumstances, that is, flexibly according to the flock structure, pregnancy and mating status, and the body condition of the goats. Preventive injection focuses on vaccination with triple vaccine, goat streptococcus vaccine and lamb dysentery vaccine, goat pox, foot-and-mouth disease, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, etc.
Observation and treatment
Goats have very strong disease resistance, and symptoms in the early stage of disease are not obvious, so the goats' mental state, feeding, movement and drinking should be carefully observed frequently; if anything slightly abnormal appears, it indicates that the goat is already ill, and the cause should be found promptly and treatment given. In newly introduced goats, coughing, runny nose, mild diarrhea or large clumps of feces are often normal phenomena, generally lasting only 1~2 days; keratitis and mouth sores occasionally appear and generally heal naturally, but if they last a long time or are relatively serious, they should be isolated promptly and treated symptomatically.
Feeding transition
Because there are differences in environmental conditions, feeding methods and feeding levels between the introduction area and the rearing area, the feeding method must not be changed all at once; instead, it should be gradually transitioned so that the goats are exposed to as little stress stimulation as possible, adapt to the local environment and feeding method in a relatively short time, and give full play to their fine breed characteristics as quickly as possible.