What are the feeding and management practices for black goats?

In rural areas, although raising black goats can bring considerable economic benefits, there is also a great deal for farmers to learn, such as breeding selection techniques, key feeding points during periods of anestrus in the breeding process, and issues like selling at the right time after raising. Correctly mastering goat production techniques, sorting out each aspect of the environment, and maintaining daily management all require careful attention. Let us now take a look at feeding and management knowledge for black goats!

Selection and mating work for black goats

1. Black goat farms must regularly formulate mating plans that align with the breeding goals of the black goat herd, with particular attention to and prevention of inbreeding depression.

2. On the basis of investigation and analysis, select outstanding rams to mate with each black goat doe according to her own characteristics. That is, the ram to be mated must have passed progeny testing, and its breeding value or selection index for milk yield, milk fat percentage, and appearance must be higher than that of the doe.

3. The results after each mating selection should be analyzed and summarized promptly to continuously improve the effectiveness of the selection and mating work.

How should anestrus in black goats be managed?

During the breeding process, a very small number of black goat does show anestrus. Analysis by the Weiyan Black Goat Base shows there are mainly two reasons: one is related to feeding and management, and the other is caused by disease. Today we will mainly discuss the first item, the feeding and management issues related to anestrus in black goats:

1. Feeding too much or too little, or adjusting the timing improperly, causing black goat does to be too fat or too thin, can both lead to delayed estrus or no estrus in does.

2. Insufficient exercise for does. The solutions to the above two problems are introduced in detail on the Weiyan Black Goat Base breeding technology after-sales service platform.

3. Incomplete nutrition. Many rural areas have now begun raising black goats in pens, and in terms of feeding, not understanding the ration-formulation techniques for penned and housed feeding, a single or lacking daily ration, and so on, can all affect black goats with nutritional deficiencies, thereby leading to anestrus in black goats. Therefore, we suggest that for penned black goats, exercise should be increased. In the exercise yard, driving exercise should be carried out at fixed times and over fixed distances every day. Only by increasing exercise can the constitution of black goats be strengthened and disease resistance improved. In terms of feeding, a lack of green, succulent feed can be solved by planting forage grass or using rural by-product crops. In addition, increase the feeding of substances containing vitamins and β—carotene-type nutrients. Black goats that are too thin should be supplemented with concentrate feed.

Timely selling of black goats at the right time

The purpose of raising black goats is to make money, and meat goats should be sold at a reasonable time. Generally, the purchase price in the meat goat market is higher in the second half of the year than in the first half, and during festivals and holidays, goat prices will rise to varying degrees. Farmers should plan the selling time according to their feeding level. Generally, lambs born from March to April are suitable for sale after December, around the time before and after the New Year, with relatively high returns. The growth pattern of black goats follows slow weight gain in the early stage, fast weight gain in the middle stage, and slower weight gain again in the later stage, which determines the selling time.