Key Technical Points and Feeding Management Methods for Boer Goat Farming
The Boer goat originated in South Africa and is known as the world's “king of meat goats.” It is the world's famous goat for producing high-quality lean meat and is an excellent meat goat breed, characterized by a large body size, fast growth, strong reproductive capacity, multiple births per litter, a high slaughter rate, high meat yield, tender meat, good palatability, tolerance of roughage, strong adaptability, strong disease resistance, and stable heredity.
Management During the Initial Introduction Period
1. Preparation before introduction: Goats love cleanliness and dryness and fear heat. Therefore, before introduction, the pens and exercise yards should be thoroughly cleaned, and the pens, feed troughs, and surrounding environment should be disinfected with 2% caustic soda water or Lysol. The feed troughs should then 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.
2. Feeding and watering: Breeding goats are very fatigued after long-distance transport, so the goats should first be allowed to rest fully and not be startled, and only given water after they have settled down. The first drink must not differ greatly in temperature from 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 can be fully adjusted, and then concentrated feed should be gradually given and increased, along with free access to forage.
3. Clearing and grouping the goats: After feeding, let them rest a little, then count and inspect all introduced goats and divide them into groups by sex, age, individual size, and physical condition. For thinner and weaker goats, appropriately increase the amount of concentrated feed and give special care to restore body condition as quickly as possible.
4. Deworming and preventive injections: 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 goats' body condition. Preventive injections focus on vaccination with triple vaccine, goat streptococcus vaccine, and lamb dysentery vaccine, etc.
5. Observation and treatment: Boer goats have very strong disease resistance, and symptoms in the early stage of disease are not obvious, so their mental state, feeding, movement, and drinking should be observed carefully and frequently. Slight abnormality indicates that the goat is already ill, and the cause should be promptly identified and treatment given. Newly introduced goats are often found to have coughing, a runny nose, mild diarrhea, or large clumps of feces, which are normal phenomena and generally last only 1-2 days. If they last a long time or are relatively severe, they should be isolated and treated promptly.
6. Reducing stress: Because there are differences in environmental conditions, feeding methods, and feeding levels between the place of introduction and the place of raising, the feeding method must not be changed all at once; it should be transitioned slowly and gradually so that the goats can reduce stress reactions as much as possible and adapt to the local environment and feeding method in a relatively short time.
Feed Preparation Methods
1. Common feeds and their nutritional characteristics
① Green forage: There are many kinds of green forage, including various weeds, various usable branches and leaves, as well as cultivated forage grass, leafy vegetables, aquatic green forage, and so on.
② Silage: This is a feed made by chopping green, succulent forage, compacting and sealing it in a silo (pit) or plastic bag, and subjecting it to lactic acid fermentation. Silage is characterized by a sweet-and-sour smell, good palatability, rich nutrition, and long-term storability. Goat farms and specialized goat-raising households can use it as an excellent winter feed for goats. The stalks of crops such as barley and green corn, peanut vines, sweet potato vines, and various grasses and leaves of the Gramineae family can all be used as silage raw materials. Silage can replace up to 50% of the roughage in the daily ration and is a winter feed for Boer goats. Silage must be of good quality and not moldy, otherwise it will cause gastrointestinal disorders.
③ Dry roughage: Dry roughage is an important feed for Boer goats during the housed or semi-housed period. It includes green hay and the stalks, chaff, and vines of various crops, and is the most abundant and lowest-cost feed resource. In order to fully and rationally use this type of roughage, scientific and reasonable processing and preparation methods must be adopted to improve its feeding value.
④ Concentrated feed: Concentrated feed mainly refers to the seeds of Gramineae crops and leguminous crops as well as processing by-products. Such as corn, barley, soybeans, bran, and oilseed meal, etc. Concentrated feed has high digestible nutrients and is an essential supplementary feed for Boer goats, especially for pre-slaughter fattening and during the winter and spring dry-grass season.
⑤ Succulent feed: This mainly refers to root and tuber feeds such as carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sugar beets, and pumpkins. They are characterized by high water content, low dry matter content, low crude fiber content, rich vitamin content, and high digestibility, and are good feed for Boer goats in winter and spring.
⑥ Animal-based feed: This mainly refers to the general term for by-products of fish, meat, and dairy processing as well as other animal products. Commonly used ones include eggs, fish meal, meat-and-bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, silkworm pupae, whole milk, and skim milk, etc. Animal-based feed is a high-protein feed, generally containing more than 50% protein, and its cost is relatively high. Ruminants generally seldom use animal protein feed, but during lactation of Boer goat ewes, the peak mating period of breeding rams, and the fattening stage of crossbred goats, animal-based feed may be appropriately supplemented.
⑦ Mineral feed: Natural feeds all contain mineral elements, but there are problems such as incomplete composition and inconsistent content. Therefore, Boer goat breeding ewes, breeding rams, and growing lambs under housed conditions and grazing conditions should all be appropriately supplemented with some minerals. Calcium-containing mineral feeds include shell powder and stone powder, etc. Calcium-and-phosphorus-containing mineral feeds mainly include bone meal and calcium phosphate types. Salt can supplement the sodium and chlorine needed by the goat body, and can also stimulate appetite and promote digestion. In addition, trace elements are also needed——zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cobalt chloride, magnesium sulfate, etc.
Notes: The supply of concentrated feed should be arranged and provided according to differences in flock structure, breeding plans, grazing intake, and nutritional needs. The dry grass supplied during the winter and spring dry-grass season should be arranged according to the length of the local dry-grass period. For example, in the north the dry-grass period is generally 4 months to 6 months. The amount of dry matter consumed by Boer goats is 2.5%-3% of their body weight, of which roughage accounts for the following percentages of the daily ration: 60% for post-weaning lambs and 80% for adult goats. In actual arrangements, it should be implemented at 30% above that amount. In recent years, the area of artificial pasture and improved natural pasture has been continuously increasing.
2. Forage grass for artificial pasture
① Perennial ryegrass: It has strong adaptability and is not strict about soil requirements. Its regrowth capacity and cold resistance are both relatively strong. The fresh grass yield per mu is 5,000 kg. It begins to turn green seven days after mowing. The grass is soft in texture and aromatic in taste, with good palatability.
② Red clover: Leguminous, perennial (2 years to 4 years). It adapts to humid and warm climates. Areas where summer is not too hot and winter is not too cold are most suitable for planting it. Red clover has high yield and strong regrowth. In Beijing it can be mowed three times a year, with a yield of about 2,000 kg per mu. In the south it can be mowed 4 times to 5 times, and with good management the yield can reach 4,000 kg to 5,000 kg.
③ White clover: Leguminous, perennial herbaceous plant, with a relatively long lifespan, generally more than 10 years. It likes warm, humid climates, and its optimum growth temperature is 19°C-24°C. Its heat tolerance and cold resistance are stronger than those of red clover. It tolerates acidic soil, does not tolerate saline-alkali soil, and does not tolerate drought. Its nutritional value is very high. Whether grazed or mowed, its leaves are mainly used, and its yield is relatively low.
④ Alfalfa: Leguminous perennial, known as the king of forage grass. Its useful lifespan is 5 years to 7 years. It likes warm, semi-arid climates, and warm days with cool nights are most suitable for alfalfa growth. It has strong cold resistance and can withstand low temperatures of —20°C. It likes neutral or slightly alkaline soil. It is mowed at the early flowering stage; too early will affect yield. In the Beijing area it can be mowed 3 times to 4 times a year. Its nutritional value is high, and it is rich in crude protein, minerals, and vitamins. Generally, the fresh grass yield per mu is 4,000 kg to 5,000 kg, and every 2 kg to 3.5 kg of fresh grass can be sun-dried into 1 kg of hay.
⑤ Bird's-foot trefoil (also called horn clover): Leguminous, perennial herbaceous plant. It likes warm and humid climates and has relatively poor cold resistance, so it is not suited to cold and arid areas. It can also grow on barren soil and poorly drained soil. It tolerates trampling and grazing, and its regrowth capacity is medium. Its nutritional value is high, its quality is good, and its palatability is good. It is suitable for pastures mainly used for grazing. Its stems and leaves contain low saponin, so goats are not prone to bloating after eating it.
⑥ Rescuegrass: An annual or short-term perennial herbaceous plant of the Gramineae family. It is suitable for humid climates with warm winters, and its cold resistance is relatively poor. It cannot overwinter in Beijing or Inner Mongolia. It has relatively strong saline-alkali tolerance and strong drought tolerance, but it does not tolerate waterlogging and has relatively high requirements for soil fertility. Rescuegrass has good palatability, and all kinds of livestock like to eat it. The hay yield per mu is 700 kg.
3. Feed preparation
Feed should be properly prepared. Concentrated feed is best processed into 0.5 cm-0.6 cm pellets, stalks and Gramineae grasses are best cut into 1 cm-2 cm lengths, and root tubers, tuber crops, and melons and fruits should be washed clean and cut into small pieces before feeding. Concentrated feed should be reasonably matched and as diverse as possible, especially ensuring the supply of protein, mineral elements, trace elements, and vitamins A, D, and E. Gramineae grasses are best mowed at the heading stage, and leguminous forage is best mowed at the early full-flowering stage. The moisture content of green grass should be below 15%, reaching a green color with fragrance and containing no impurities. Corn stalks for making silage should be harvested at the dough stage. Silage should be green or yellow-green and have an alcoholic fragrance. For silage feeding amount, adult Boer goat rams should be given 2 kg-2.5 kg per day and ewes 2 kg-2.3 kg per day; lambs are not suitable to be fed it.
① Hay preparation method: The preparation of dry green grass, sweet potato vines, and peanut stalks is mainly cutting them short. Cutting short can both reduce waste and increase intake. Generally cut into 3 cm-4 cm small sections, and as far as possible mix Gramineae hay and leguminous hay together for feeding. The cut hay can be moistened with clean water or light salt water, then sprinkled with some concentrated feed and fed to the goats together, and the effect will be better. As needed, corn meal, bran, or compound feed can be used for the concentrated feed.
② Processing of stalk feed: Stalk feed is mainly prepared for crude fiber. Its nutritional value is relatively low and its palatability is relatively poor. Only after processing and preparation can its palatability be improved and its utilization rate and nutritional value be increased. The commonly used methods are ammoniation and microbial storage.
Because ammonia can break down the firmness between lignin and cellulose in stalks, it can increase the digestibility of stalks. At the same time, the nitrogen contained in ammonia can also increase the crude protein content of the feed. Stalks or other roughage treated with ammoniation can increase nitrogen content by 0.8%-1% and can increase crude protein content by 5%-6%. Feeding goats with wheat straw, rice straw, and corn stalks after ammoniation treatment can increase digestibility by about 30%.
The specific method of stalk ammoniation is to pile the stalks into a stack. Generally, 12 kg of 20% ammonia water is poured into 100 kg of stalks, and the temperature of the liquid ammonia should not be lower than 20°C. Stack layer by layer and spray layer by layer, and finally seal with plastic film. The mixed stalks can also be placed in a pit and sealed or sealed inside a plastic bag. Farmers processing a small amount of ammoniated feed can use urea ammoniation. The ratio is that after mixing 1 kg of urea and 10 kg of water, it can be sprayed onto 25 kg of stalks. The stalks and the sprayed urea water must be fully and evenly mixed. After mixing, they can be put into plastic bags, large vats, or cement pits. The key is to seal tightly without air leakage. The treated stalks need to be sealed for 15 days-20 days in spring and autumn, 7 days-10 days in summer, and 45 days-50 days in winter before they can be opened. After opening, they should be left for 1 day-2 days to allow excess ammonia to evaporate before feeding. Feed with relatively good ammoniation quality is brown and has a burnt fragrance. After more than 1 week of adaptation, the intake of goats is generally 3.3 kg-8.8 kg per 100 kg of body weight. Each time ammoniated stalks are taken out, the plastic sheet must be covered back properly. Ammoniated feed generally has no side effects, but it should be fully ventilated and evenly mixed before feeding. In case of poisoning, each goat can be drenched with 0.5 L-1.5 L of edible vinegar to detoxify.