A good breed of goat
can be defined in different ways. The phrase may be interpreted for a purebred
goat or a hybrid or crossbred goat that depicts all the desired characters as
required by the goat keeper for example goat milk production. How to care for goats? Raising goats for profit
Why is breeding of goats important?
 |
| Top 4 breeding strategies | Breeding of goats for increased milk and meat production |
There are
different priorities for different goat farmers at different locations. Some of
them may be looking for a goat breed that is highly productive in terms of milk
yield, others may prefer one that have good weight gain characteristics, still
some goat farmers would like to keep a goat breed with high prolificacy to
increase their farm profit in less time. Boer goat breed characteristics and farming benefits | Raising goats for meat
Objectives of getting good breed of goats
Local breeds of
goats are a result of an unplanned breeding. If breeding of goats goes
unchecked, their production potential will start to decline gradually. It is
therefore necessary for a goat farmer to plan the best strategies to increase
the production from progeny rather losing it.
Before
implementing a plan to improve the goat breed, objective must be well defined
and clear. Design of breeding will largely depend upon the goals you want to
achieve. When you have clearly decided the objectives, focus on the trait you
want to improve in the next generation. It may be growth rate, milk production,
color pattern, prolificacy or any other desired characteristic.
Strategies to obtain good breeds from local breeds
1. Selecting
the buck
 |
| Selection of bucks and does is based upon pedigree, progeny and individual characteristics |
Buck is the most
important animal in the herd. You must keep a superior buck to improve the goat
breed. It is said that buck makes half the herd. If you can not manage the
superior buck for your herd, you will not achieve the high production goals.
Bucks can be
selected using different methods. The selection can be based upon pedigree,
progeny or the individual characteristics of the buck. The individual
characteristics for selection include growth rate, appearance, scrotal size,
body size, color and libido. For selection based upon pedigree, you need to
keep an eye on the performance of the doe which gave birth to that buck. It has
been observed that bucks perform well if their mother is good yielder. Still
the buck selection is not complete, as you need to keep record of the progeny
obtained from the buck in question. The final selection of buck for breeding
will include all of the methods discussed above and the same goes for the doe
selection.
2.
Selection
of does
Like selection of
bucks, goat keepers must select the does in the same way to get good goat
breed. Usually does with high milk production are selected to mate with a buck
of high-quality traits. Some other traits for which does can be selected
include goat milk production, growth rate, prolificacy, color and age at sexual
maturity.
3.
Culling
 |
| Culling is accompanied by the inclusion of new does with required traits |
Culling is a very
useful tool for improvement of goat breeds. If done properly, culling increases
the genetic quality and productivity of a flock. Culling is accompanied by the
inclusion of new does with required traits to fill the gap. Different reasons
for culling the goats include old age, illness, reproductive problems, and
physical defects. Goats should be culled after 5-6 years of age as they will
decrease the overall productivity of the farm by increased expenses. How to start dairy farming in Pakistan? Click here
4.
Cross
breeding
Cross breeding is
a useful but one of the most ignored breeding strategies which is usually
overlooked by the local farmers resulting in progressive loss of income from
the goat farm. Usually goats are grazed in open pastures (extensive grazing)
where does and bucks are free to move and copulate. Moreover, during night,
both male and female goats are kept in the same shed without fastening them. In
this case, bucks have equal chance to mate any of the goats in the herd
including their mother goats and sister goats. This type of breeding among the
same family is called inbreeding. Inbreeding severely affects the production of
the progeny in a negative way the details of which are beyond the scope of this
essay. To make sure that there is maximum cross breeding instead of inbreeding,
you will have to graze the does separately from the bucks and tie them to
stalls away from each other in the night.
Intensive
inbreeding leads to poor growth rate, therefore goat keepers need to be trained
about importance of cross breeding to increase their profit.
Related article:
No comments:
Post a Comment