Content
Compared to other species of human-domesticated farm animals, goats have a very limited number of meat breeds. Since ancient times, milk was mainly required from these animals. Which is quite surprising overall. For a very long time, cows were used only as draft and sacrificial animals due to the fact that humans could not digest milk. Only after a mutation, as a result of which milk began to be digested, cows began to be milked.
At the same time, dairy goats already appear in the ancient myths of Hellas. Used as an idiomatic expression since the 6th century BC. The “horn of plenty” belonged to the goat Amalthea (Amalthea). Amalthea nursed Zeus with her milk when his mother Rhea hid her son from her cruel husband Kronos. For this, Amalthea received the dubious award of providing the skin for the shield of Zeus. But her horns became a symbol of prosperity and prosperity.
But what is important is not what happened to Amalthea, but that at least 1000 BC, people were drinking goat's milk. And if the quantity meat goat breeds Nowadays it is limited to three, but there are much more dairy products.
Which breeds are better
Dairy goat breeds can be very high-yielding, but demanding to keep.In order to receive the declared amount of milk from such goats, it is necessary to strictly observe the conditions of their keeping and feeding. Another group of dairy goats does not produce very much milk, but they are less demanding. These goats are often much easier to keep. Given the ratio between the cost of feed, maintenance and the labor intensity of caring for animals versus milk yield, it is sometimes more profitable to keep less productive, but also less demanding goats. You need to choose a breed of dairy goats for a specific farm taking into account their pros and cons.
General characteristics of dairy goats
The appearance of dairy goats has common characteristics:
- small dry head;
- thin neck;
- body with a well-developed belly;
- relatively long legs;
- well-developed cup-shaped udder.
The udder should not fall below the hock joint.
The specific characteristics of goats vary quite widely by breed. Which goat breed will be the milkiest depends on several factors:
- breeding region;
- diet;
- conditions of detention;
- individual characteristics of a particular animal.
In the same breed there are high-yielding and low-yielding animals.
Best breeds
In Russia, among the dairy goat breeds, the Saanen is the most famous.
Saanen
Large breed, predominantly white. Sometimes they may have a yellowish tint. Bred 500 years ago in the Saanenthal Valley of Switzerland. It appeared in Europe only at the very end of the 19th century and already at the very beginning of the 20th century it appeared in Russia. Later, this breed of goats, as the most dairy-producing one, spread throughout the country.
Height Saanen goats 75-90 cm. Weight of goats is 55-80 kg, goats on average 110 kg. The constitution is strong. The head is medium, dry. Goats can be horned or polled. Broad forehead.Small thin ears stand in a horn. They can be spreading. The bones are strong. The chest is wide and voluminous. Straight back. Slightly sloping, well developed croup. Legs with correct posture. Strong hooves. The coat is thick, without undercoat, the hair is short and thin. The skin is thin. The udder is well developed and large.
To the advantages The Saanen breed is attributed to its high milk yield and the fact that it is one of the goat breeds without the specific smell of milk.
Flaws: demands on feed and living conditions, as well as poor ability of specific animals to acclimatize. Although the breed as a whole is considered highly adaptive.
This contradiction is expressed in the fact that Saanen goats can be bred in the territory from the southern borders of Russia right up to the latitude of Moscow. But if an individual goat is transported from Krasnodar to Novosibirsk, there is a high risk that the animal will get sick. Accordingly, in the Novosibirsk region it is better to buy Saanenka from the Novosibirsk region.
The milk production of purebred Saanen goats is 4-8 liters of milk per day. The annual milk yield reaches 800-1200 liters. But the fat content of milk is low: 4%.
Saanen goats produce 1-3 kids per lamb.
Due to their whimsical nature, Saanen goats are preferred to be mixed with outbred or Russian breeds. For this reason, it is very difficult to find purebred Saanenkas, and they are expensive.
With the opening of borders and the import of new dairy goat breeds, it seems that the Saanen goats are beginning to lose the title of the most dairy goats to the Nubian breed.
Nubian
Despite the name, the breed actually originates from England. But the basis for breeding Nubian goats were animals exported from Namibia.The blood of English, Indian and Swiss dairy goats was added to the native Nubian goats, resulting in the large dairy goats shown in the photo.
The height of a goat can reach 120 cm, and its weight is 100 kg or more. Goats grow up to a meter and weigh 80 kg. Goats have a small head with a characteristic Roman profile and very long drooping ears. The length of the ears is such that they hang below the skull, and in some individuals, as can be seen in the photograph, the length of the ears significantly exceeds the size of the head. The neck is long and thin. The bones are strong, the back is straight. The croup is slightly sloping, with the tail set high. The legs are long and thin.
The color of Nubians can be varied, but in Russia the color with the so-called moon spots is especially valued.
For their size, Nubians have a fairly calm character, although a goat may well dismantle its stall piece by piece to get to the goats. But they are not aggressive towards people.
Productivity of Nubiek: 4-5 liters of milk per day with a fat content of 4.5%. There is evidence that sometimes the fat content of milk can reach up to 8%. Due to its high fat content and large amount of protein, Nubian milk is ideal for making cheese, and among Russian goat breeders even crosses with the Nubian breed are highly valued, as this improves the quality of milk from local goats.
It is believed that this breed of goats also does not have the specific smell of milk, but there are too few purebred Nubians to say anything for sure.
Nubians are distinguished by early maturation and at 7 months they are already ready to mate, but for normal development of the body it is better to wait until mating for at least a year. Goats usually bring 1-2 kids, maybe up to 3 in one lamb.The queens recover very quickly after lambing.
The disadvantage of the breed is the same demanding maintenance as the Saanenskys: with poor-quality feeding, milk yield and milk fat content decrease. The second serious drawback of the breed is the small number of these animals in Russia and, as a result, the very high price for purebred animals.
Today in Russia, Saanen and Nubian goats are considered the best dairy breeds. But the prices for these representatives of the goat tribe are off the charts, so you can see what other dairy goat breeds can be found in Russia.
Cameroonian
This is a miniature breed of dairy goats without the unpleasant smell of milk. It was bred on the border of Nigeria and Cameroon, which is why in the English-speaking space it is called Nigerian. The height of Cameroonians is about 50 cm, and the weight of a goat is 12-15 kg, and that of a female goat is 21-23 kg. Otherwise, the exterior of these goats is practically no different from their large counterparts. The only difference is the backward-facing horns, which theoretically cannot cause injury to Cameroonians. But goats are very good at using these horns to hammer away at everything that gets in their way.
Goats bring 1-2 kids per lamb. If we measure milk yield in absolute numbers, then Cameroonians can hardly be called highly productive. Goats give from 0.5 to 1 liter per day and only for 5 months.
But the advantage of Cameroonians is that they can reproduce all year round and you can get 2 offspring per year from a goat. Cameroonians also have a very high fat content in their milk. The average is 4.5-5%. Cases have been recorded when the fat content of milk was 10%.A clear idea of the fat content of milk in this breed is given by a simple action: just let the milk settle and collect the cream. True, you have to measure with glasses: from one glass you can collect 2 tbsp. spoons of cream.
Cameroon goats unpretentious and undemanding to content. They can even eat dried grass and straw for food. But in this case you can’t expect tasty milk from them.
Cameroonians are very easy to tame if you don't offend them. They may even become persistent and arrogant. They are often kept even in apartments as pets. In Russia they are bred up to the northern borders of the Moscow and Novosibirsk regions.
For Russian goat breeders, Cameroonians are of interest today as material for crossing with large breeds of goats. For this purpose, Cameroon goats are used, producing the so-called minis. In size, minis are average between Cameroonians and large breeds. Their milk yield is similar to that of large ones, and less feed is required. In addition, they learn from the Cameroonians their unpretentiousness to food.
Czech brown
The breed is one of the largest. The height of the queens is 75 cm. The goats are larger. The usual one carried a milk goat 50-60 km. Males can be up to 80 kg. Animals of the Czech brown breed are quite light and long-legged. The breed was created on the basis of brown Alpine and brown German breeds. By mixing these highly productive breeds with local stock, the Czech goat with its characteristic brown color was obtained.
The Czech Brown can have a brown color ranging from light to very dark. But the obligatory signs will be a black belt on the back, a black mask on the face and black legs. The breed has an exterior characteristic of all dairy goats. The udder is often extended downwards.
The productivity of queens during lactation is on average 4 liters of milk per day. This breed is not particularly distinguished by its milk fat content (3.5%), but its products have a delicate creamy taste.
At one time the breed was practically extinct, but quickly became popular again and is now bred throughout Europe. In Russia, according to some data, the population of Czech browns is 400 thousand individuals.
Minus of the breed is that animals cannot be bought everywhere. Czech browns are bred in breeding centers and, if you need a guarantee of purebred, you will have to go to such a center.
Plus breeds in high frost resistance and the ability to adapt well to Russian climatic conditions.
Russian white
The name unites several breed groups at once. By crossing local stock with imported European and Swiss dairy breeds, Russian improved types were obtained. These groups got their name from the areas where they were bred:
- Valdai;
- Yaroslavskaya;
- Gorkovskaya;
- Ryazan.
Russian Whites are bred throughout the Central part of the Russian Federation, as well as in Ukraine and Belarus.
The animals are quite large: goats 50-70 kg, goats 40-50. Height 65-70 cm. Sexual dimorphism in weight is rather weakly expressed. The main color is white, but there are gray, red, black and piebald individuals. The constitution is strong. The head is small, light, slightly elongated. The ears are erect, straight, and small in size. Both sexes have a beard. The difference between males and females is the fullness and length of their beards.
At the same time, polled individuals are also found in the breed. The body is barrel-shaped. The chest is wide. The croup is drooping.Legs with correct posture, strong, with well-formed joints. The udder is large. Can be pear-shaped or round. Nipples point slightly forward.
Some of the types of Russian White are classified as universal breeds, since the amount of fluff from these goats is up to 200 g per year. There are also individuals that do not have an undercoat, with only a short, hard awn.
The productivity of Russian Whites is low compared to Saanen or Nubian ones. Considering its size, it is not tall even compared to Cameroon goats. On average, a Russian breed goat produces about 2 liters per day. Although there are individuals capable of producing 4 liters. The lactation period lasts 8-9 months. The fat content of milk is about 4%.
The good thing about this breed is that it is very unpretentious to living conditions and has high adaptive abilities. The only disadvantages include the fear of drafts. But there is no animal that does not get sick in drafts. Therefore, we can safely say that the Russian White has no shortcomings.
Alpine
One of the most productive breeds. There are two types in the population: French and American. Typically, American types are very different from the original breeds, so describe alpine goats difficult. In addition, this breed has a variety of colors. As a breed, Alpines were created at the junction of three states and it is impossible to accurately trace their origin.
This color was inherited by the Czech brown breed.
The height of the animals is 75–87 cm, weight 60–80 kg. The head is long with a straight profile. The ears are erect and narrow. Polled individuals are not uncommon in the breed. If a kid is born with horns, it is often dehorned.Goats have very long, flat horns that spread out to the sides, reminiscent of the wild ancestor of all these artiodactyls. The coat is hard and short.
The productivity of queens is at an average level. According to French goat breeders, it is 3 liters per day. Fat content is also low: 3.7%. But the milk of this breed is odorless and, according to “eyewitnesses,” the taste is indistinguishable from cow’s milk. Alpine females are highly fertile, often bearing 4 kids. In fact, such a number of cubs is a very large load for the queen and weak individuals are best destroyed immediately.
Alpines are undemanding to living conditions. The cold doesn't matter to them, the main thing is that it is dry and not drafty. But like any rocks, Alpines do not tolerate poorly ventilated areas. The high frost resistance of the Alpine breed makes it suitable for breeding in the northern regions of the Russian Federation.
About the smell
The problem of the smell of goat milk is familiar even to those who have never dealt with goats. Just at the level of rumors. But this question is not as simple as it might seem. No descriptions of dairy goat breeds, with or without photos, will give accurate information about whether the milk of a particular goat will smell. According to the observations of experienced goat breeders, the presence of odor does not depend on the breed. The appearance of the smell depends on the conditions of detention and the individual characteristics of the goat.
Under poor conditions in an uncleaned barn, the milk will most likely stink. If during the milking process the goat also washes its hoof in the milk pan (and goats love to put their foot in milk), then the stench from the milk is guaranteed. Goats also often give birth to hermaphrodites. These individuals are sterile, but the level of hermaphrodism can only be limited by an increased amount of male hormones.And then the milk will also have a “goat” smell.
Therefore, when buying a goat, you need to pay attention not to what breed of goats gives odorless milk, but what type of milk a particular individual produces.
But the taste of milk depends entirely on the feed. The milk takes on the taste of the food the goat ate. If it was wormwood, the milk will be bitter. When feeding with straw and mixed feed, there will be enough milk, but the possibility of eating it will be questionable due to the unpleasant taste.
Which one to choose
When choosing a dairy animal for your farm, you need to know the main points on how to choose a dairy goat. If milk is needed immediately, then the animal should be after the second lambing. Only in this case can one accurately determine its milk yield. You shouldn’t rely on the advertisement “mother gives 6 liters at peak.” Oddly enough, the goat’s milk yield is passed on to the father, who in turn was born from a high-yielding uterus. Accordingly, the lower age limit of the individual in question is not younger than 2.5 years.
The udder should be of the correct shape with cone-shaped teats sticking forward. An animal with nipples like those in the photo should not be adopted.
The milk tanks of this individual are small, and the nipples are deformed and enlarged. When grazing, they will touch branches and the ground. Damage will lead to infection of the udder.
Photo of a dairy goat with a high-quality udder. After milking, such an udder should “deflate” and become very soft. The skin on it will wrinkle, the nipples will also shrink. Before milking, the nipples feel hard to the touch due to the milk in them. After milking they also become soft.
Conclusion
When choosing a dairy breed of goats, you must always take into account not only the absolute amount of milk received, but also the quality and cost of feed, which will allow you to obtain the predicted amount of production. Sometimes it is better to get a little less milk, spending significantly less money and effort than when working with a highly productive breed.
Hello ! I have been keeping Cameroon goats for seven years: one constantly brings two kids, the second every 3 or 4 times. At the “peak” they gave 1.5-1.7 liters of milk. They are milked like ordinary goats - 10 months. The milk is odorless, thick and sweet.