Breeding Goats For Meat - 4 Things You Ought to Know in Raising Goats to Avoid Frustration
Breeding goats for meat may be the next step to take after successfully establishing your goat farm. In order to breed meat-producing goats, you need to remember a few things though. After all, continually ordering in fresh batches of animals from the suppliers can become a pricey affair later on. For example:
1. Most meat producing breeds (e.g. Boer goats, Spanish goats, etc.) normally mate between the months of August and all the way through March. In order to give you ample time to prepare the does' nutritional needs and the birthing pen, try to plan exactly when you want the kidding or the birth of the young goats to happen. One way of maximizing your meat production is to try breeding the goats at twice during the mating season. The usual gestation period of these animals lasts 5 months or 150 days.
2. The term "flushing" is essential when it comes to breeding goats for meat. This helps make the goat produce a bigger litter. Normally, goats produce 1 to 3 kids in one birthing. Flushing, or to be more precise: egg flushing simply means putting the does on a better and highly concentrated diet. However, if the flushing is done correctly, the does may produce 4 healthy kids. It is also during the flushing period that female goats are de-wormed and given vaccines to help keep their health up during the gestation period.
3. An additional footnote when it comes to breeding goats for meat: if does are geared to reproduce twice during the mating season, it is very likely that the second litter will only produce 1 to 2 kids. Some goat farmers either choose to have their animals mated twice, or choose the flushing method instead. Either the population of the goat herd becomes too extensive that the animals become susceptible to disease, or the mother goats' health is compromised that further birthing for the next few year is almost impossible. Combining both methods has proven to be detrimental in all the efforts for breeding goats for meat.
4. Even with all the science and technology available to goat farmers these days, nothing could beat a buck's (male goat) ability to detect female goats in heat. Investing in one or more buck for your goat farm might be a good idea. Or, you could always ask other goat farmers to "lend" you a male goat 2 weeks before your estimated time when most of the does come in heat.
1. Most meat producing breeds (e.g. Boer goats, Spanish goats, etc.) normally mate between the months of August and all the way through March. In order to give you ample time to prepare the does' nutritional needs and the birthing pen, try to plan exactly when you want the kidding or the birth of the young goats to happen. One way of maximizing your meat production is to try breeding the goats at twice during the mating season. The usual gestation period of these animals lasts 5 months or 150 days.
2. The term "flushing" is essential when it comes to breeding goats for meat. This helps make the goat produce a bigger litter. Normally, goats produce 1 to 3 kids in one birthing. Flushing, or to be more precise: egg flushing simply means putting the does on a better and highly concentrated diet. However, if the flushing is done correctly, the does may produce 4 healthy kids. It is also during the flushing period that female goats are de-wormed and given vaccines to help keep their health up during the gestation period.
3. An additional footnote when it comes to breeding goats for meat: if does are geared to reproduce twice during the mating season, it is very likely that the second litter will only produce 1 to 2 kids. Some goat farmers either choose to have their animals mated twice, or choose the flushing method instead. Either the population of the goat herd becomes too extensive that the animals become susceptible to disease, or the mother goats' health is compromised that further birthing for the next few year is almost impossible. Combining both methods has proven to be detrimental in all the efforts for breeding goats for meat.
4. Even with all the science and technology available to goat farmers these days, nothing could beat a buck's (male goat) ability to detect female goats in heat. Investing in one or more buck for your goat farm might be a good idea. Or, you could always ask other goat farmers to "lend" you a male goat 2 weeks before your estimated time when most of the does come in heat.
About the Author:
Are you preparing on breeding goats for meat? Separate yourself from the normal goat owners who are susceptible to common mistakes. If you are interested to pick up more tips on raising goats and how to raise goats correctly, please visit: www.raising-goats.com
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