How to run a goat before lambing in winter?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Goats are kept on farms for meat and milk. These animals are unpretentious to feed, productive and hardy. Childbirth in most breeds of goats is very easy. In this case, the offspring are born strong and he althy. However, the uterus, of course, needs to be well prepared for lambing. In particular, it is necessary to correctly launch the goat, that is, to make sure that it stops giving milk and rests from lactation. In winter, this procedure is performed in almost the same way as in summer, but has some of its own characteristics. How to run a goat before lambing in the cold season - we'll talk about this later in the article.

Goat pregnancy

These farm animals reach sexual maturity at the age of 8 months. At this time, future queens are brought together with males. Pregnancy in goats lasts about 5 months. After that, usually 1, less often 2 cubs are born. After giving birth, the goat begins to produce milk. This product is subsequently milked twice a day and used for human consumption.

Goats can give birth twice a year. This usually happensspring and autumn. But experienced farmers still do not advise breeding queens with goats more than once a year. With too frequent births, the goat's body wears out, which leads to low-quality offspring.

The uterus can give milk, starting from one birth, and ending with the next. Before lambing, however, the animal must rest from lactation. For this, a goat is launched. Before lambing in winter or summer, the future uterus simply begins to be milked less often. As a result, the milk production mechanism is temporarily disabled. It turns on again immediately after childbirth.

Milk and colostrum

How to run a goat before lambing - we'll talk about this a little lower. To begin with, let's figure out what actually is the process of milk production in these animals. Little kids, like the cubs of any other animals, are not able to eat adult food. For development and growth, of course, at first they need mother's milk. Immediately at the beginning of lactation after childbirth, a special product is produced in the udder of a goat. It is called colostrum and contains many substances necessary for the body of the cubs. Nutrition with such a product helps to strengthen the immunity of kids and gives impetus to the rapid development of their body.

Over the next few days after lambing, the goat's udder begins to produce an increasingly liquid product. It is believed that by the 10th day the animal no longer gives colostrum, but milk. From now on, the product can also be consumed by humans.

Why launch is needed

How to start a goat before lambing correctly - of course, many novice farmers would like to know about this. But why is such a procedure necessary at all? The lactation period in a goat can, as already mentioned, last until the next birth. But just before lambing, the milking of the animal is reduced. It is necessary to run a goat before childbirth. During the rest period, the animal's body will redistribute forces from milk production to strengthening the he alth of the uterus itself and producing substances vital for the fetus. Ignoring the launch can, unfortunately, lead to such unpleasant consequences as:

• the birth of a sick, weak, low-quality offspring;
• significant decline in goat productivity in terms of postpartum milk production.

Find out how to run a goat before lambing correctly, every novice farmer should. It is necessary to carry out this procedure without errors. Unfortunately, the milk yield of an animal that has given birth without rest from lactation can significantly decrease. Sometimes productivity indicators in this regard for non-running goats fall to 30-40%. Moreover, after 5-6 months, such an animal will most likely stop milking altogether.

How to tell if you're pregnant

Find for yourself the answer to the question of how to start a goat before lambing in winter without errors, every farmer should. But of course, before you start preparing the animal for childbirth, you need to make sure that it really bears the fetus. It will be easy for even a not very experienced farmer to do this. The main signs of goat pregnancy are:

• increase in udder size;
• skin smoothing and smoothing of wrinkles near the animal's vagina;
• lack of hunting 15-25 days after mating.

In late pregnancy, the belly of a goat increases significantly in size. At the same time, her pelvic bones become wide.

Sometimes goats have false pregnancies. In this case, the animal shows all the signs described above, up to an increase in the abdomen. However, at the moment of "birth" a lot of water simply pours out of the goat's vagina. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to distinguish a false pregnancy from a real one at home. To do this, you need to do laboratory tests.

Is it necessary to artificially launch a goat before lambing

Representatives of not too dairy breeds usually stop lactating on their own a couple of months before giving birth. Therefore, in many cases, goat owners do not have to do any too complicated actions to launch. Not very productive animals usually only slightly change the diet some time before birth. However, high-milk goats, without taking special measures, still usually do not stop milking until the lamb.

It is the pedigreed productive MRS in farms that is currently valued the most. Therefore, the owners of the farmstead artificially still have to launch goats quite often. In most cases, this should be done when the animal gives 4-5 liters per day.

When to launch

A goat's rest from lactation before childbirth needs quite a long time. Therefore, the question of when it is better to run a goat before lambing can also be considered very important. It is believed that this procedure should be started no later than about 1 month before the birth. Even a month before this, gradual changes should begin to be introduced into the goat's diet. From the menu of the animal, you need to gradually exclude all products that contribute to the production of milk.

Thus, the answer to the question of when to run a goat before lambing is the 3rd month of pregnancy. After all, such animals bear cubs, as already mentioned, for about 5 months.

Goat diet in winter

These animals eat the following types of food during the cold season:

• concentrates;
• juicy;
• rough.

The first type of feed includes cereals (whole grain, flattened, crushed), bran, compound feed. From succulent products, goats are offered root crops, vegetables, and silage in the winter season. The roughage category mainly includes hay and dried brooms.

When starting from the diet of goats, in this way, juicy food and concentrates are gradually removed. By the time the milking schedule changes, the animal should be receiving only roughage.

Hay and brooms

How to run a goat before lambing in winter is, of course, a very important question for any farmer. But it is equally important to decide what to feed the animal during this period. Of course, a goat before giving birth should be given only high-quality food. Counts,that the following types of hay are suitable for this MPC:

• meadow;
• steppe;
• forest.

The best type of hay for pregnant goats is mixed herbs or cereals and legumes. Of course, this food should not be too wet, moldy or dry. Goats need green hay with leaves.

Also, such animals are given straw, corn stalks. It will be very useful to prepare for the goat for the winter and foliage of maple, birch, oak, mountain ash. In addition, lashes of zucchini, potato and beet tops are often dried for this purpose. All this food for the pregnant goat before the launch will be very useful.

Also, the animal must be given dried brooms from branches:

• willows and willows;
• ate;
• alders;
• elm and elm, etc.

You can offer pregnant goats branches of almost any tree. The only exceptions are poisonous ones. Also, experienced farmers do not recommend giving goats too many birch brooms. Such food can cause kidney disease in an animal.

How to start a goat before lambing: milking schedule

So, about 4.5 weeks before the birth, the farms begin to launch a goat. That is, they completely change the milking schedule. In the first week of launch, the number of milkings is reduced to 1 per day. For high-milk goats, a gentle regimen can be used first. Such animals are milked every 16-18 hours at the first time of launch, graduallybringing the gap up to a day. Otherwise, the goat will begin to burst the udder, which will lead to the development of mastitis. By the end of this period, the goat will most likely reduce the amount of milk produced to 1 liter.

A week later, the future uterus is transferred to milking 1 time in 1.5 days. This will lead to the fact that the amount of milk in the udder of the animal will decrease to 800 g. The next week, the goat is milked once every two days. By the end of this period, milk yield usually drops to 300-500 g.

And in the last week of launch, the goat is not milked at all. By this time, the udder of the animal is usually already soft. In the last week, it only needs to be checked from time to time (once every few days). If a goat accumulates milk, it should be milked.

After the animal stops lactating, it can be returned to its normal diet. But it is still impossible to introduce concentrates and succulent feed into the goat's menu too abruptly. This should be done gradually, increasing the amount of such food during the week.

How to milk properly

Thus, the question of whether it is necessary to launch a goat before lambing in winter should not be a question for the farmer at all. This must be done. Even for a not-too-dairy goat that can run on its own, changes to the diet will have to be made.

It is also necessary to milk such animals before giving birth correctly. Trying to empty the goat's udder completely during this period should not be. There should be some milk left in it. During the launch, the goat should be milked no more than ¾. Experienced Farmersit is advised to perform milking until the pressure in the udder decreases. Massaging the shares and squeezing every drop in any case should not be.

What you need to know

Thus, the answer to the question of when and how to run a goat before lambing is relatively simple. But when performing this procedure, you should still follow some recommendations. Before covering the goat, be sure to do all the necessary vaccinations. During pregnancy, and even more so at startup, it is by no means possible to perform such prophylaxis for animals. This may harm the fetus.

As already mentioned, in the last week of launch, the goat's udder is checked from time to time to see if there is still a little milk accumulated in it. If it is found, it is expressed. But experienced farmers do not advise performing this procedure unnecessarily. It is only necessary to milk a goat if there is really quite a lot of milk in her udder. Constant pumping during this period can lead to too early a new lactation, which will adversely affect the he alth of future offspring. In addition, after launch, the goat's nipples are covered with a thin film to prevent infection. With frequent pumping, the latter will, of course, be damaged, which can lead to udder disease.

What to do in the warm season

Of course, many novice farmers are also interested in how to start a goat before lambing in the summer. At this time of the year, almost the same technology for stopping lactation in an animal is used as in winter. The only thing,in summer, among other things, you need to reduce the time the goat stays on the pasture. Keeping a pregnant animal in the meadow during this period is supposed to be no more than 4-5 hours a day. After all, grass, like root crops or silage, can also be classified as succulent feed.

Diet after childbirth

So we figured out how to start a goat before lambing. But what to do after the goat gives birth to cubs? What to feed the animal during this period?

Lambing in goats is usually very easy. Even an inexperienced farmer is likely to be able to take the cubs on his own. The only exceptions are those cases when the goat comes out feet first. With this state of affairs on the farm, it is still better to call a veterinarian.

Of course, after giving birth, the goat is transferred to the diet richest in proteins. Indeed, at this time, the animal's body produces the colostrum necessary for the cubs, and therefore loses a lot of energy. Also, at this time, the goat is being milked. Feeding low-quality food during this period may lead to a decrease in subsequent milk production.

Immediately after giving birth (which in these animals lasts about 5 hours), the goat should be offered water and a bran mash or liquid oatmeal. In such food, you can add, among other things, a little sugar - about 50 grams. Hay must initially be present in the manger of the animal. Of the concentrates, after giving birth, goats are usually given only flattened barley or oats. Wheat will be poorly absorbed by the body of such animals.