History of the Nubian goat breed
Initially, this rare breed of goats in Russia was bred in southern Namibia. English farmers have been working on a new breed of goats for over 100 years. It was based on a local variety of goats, genetically ideally adapted to living in the driest and poorest food in Africa.
For decades, breeders have deliberately crossed with English dairy goats, Indian Folds, goats from Switzerland and several others. The work of the breeders was crowned with success - hardy and unpretentious African animals have significantly increased milk yield.
The resulting breed was named Anglo-Nubian and registered in 1896. But the breeding work did not end there - the goats were brought to America, and local breeders continued their work.
Ten years after the initial registration, forty improved breed animals have been registered. Now the most promising breeding goats are imported to Russia from America. The spread of nubies in Russia is held back by the high cost of breeding animals.
The origin of the breed
The Nubian breed is one of the oldest. These goats were bred in Ancient Egypt and Nubia, a historical region in East Africa (now the territory of Northern Sudan). During the colonial conquests, African goats were introduced to England.
From crossing the Nubian goats with British, Swiss, even Indian and Russian goats, a stable group of farm animals was obtained, possessing traits and characteristics that are inherited. By the end of the XIX century. The Anglo-Nubian breed (often called the Nubian) was formed, but the official standard was not adopted until 1960.
Russian farmers began breeding Anglo-Nubian goats in the early 2000s. The breed is not widespread due to the high price of breeding animals. It is also important that heated rooms are required for the winter keeping of goats in central Russia.
Description of Nubian goats
The appearance of the Nubies is strikingly different from other breeds of goats: long, drooping large ears and a wide and, as it were, humpbacked nose strikingly distinguish animals from other breeds. The tips of the ears should fall below the neck and be at the level of the nostrils. Straight horns are found only in goats, goats should be hornless (this is not a mandatory sign of the breed).
Nubian goats belong to the meat and dairy direction and have a massive rectangular muscular body and slender, slender, but strong legs.
The udder is very large, has two lobes and elongated nipples. On a short, muscular neck there is an oval head, slightly flattened from the sides, with a massive steep forehead with heavy brows.
A description of the breed of Nubian goats would be incomplete without a description of the coat: shiny, not long hair can have a wide variety of colors, one-, two-, three-colored. Animals can be white, golden, black, black and white, coffee brown, cream tone, combinations of brown, white, black. Most often there is a two-color color, but there is also a three-color one.
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The location of the spots can be very different: just bizarre irregular spots, small leopard-like spots, brown color with a black stripe along the back.
The variety of colors is best seen in the photo of Nubian goats.
Nubians are uncharacteristically large compared to our usual goats. Goats reach a weight of 50 to 80 kg, but more often they are about 60-70 kg. Goats reach 110 kg (according to some sources - 130 kg). The height of animals at the withers reaches 80-90 cm.
Too short ears are considered disadvantages for animals; modified domed profile; sizes are much larger or smaller than the standard; crooked horns or tail.
Goats are quite restless and temperamental, smart, respond to nicknames and are attached to the owner, even greet him with their bleating. By the way, the "voice" of nubies can also be considered a disadvantage - loud and not very melodic bleating can be heard very often - animals usually make a lot of noise.
Features of care and maintenance
Keeping conditions directly determine the productivity of goats. If you decide to have Nubian goats, then you should definitely take into account that the ancestors of the Nubians come from hot Africa, their wool cover is short and in winter goats require a heated room.
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The conditions for keeping Nubian goats are slightly different from the keeping of ordinary Russian goats. For the cold season, a draft-free, well-ventilated, dry heated room is required.
The temperature of the content is always positive. After two or three generations, animals acclimatize to cold winters, but when kept in cold rooms, milk yield falls, and the kids also need warmth. The room should have light - large windows and artificial lighting in the evening.
Nubians do not tolerate dirt, they often need straw or sawdust in the litter. For sleeping, Nubians need plank beds with a bedding, raised above the floor level (about 40 cm).
Nubian goats absolutely do not tolerate representatives of other animals next to them - both keeping indoors and summer walking should be fenced from the presence of other animals - this causes restless and aggressive behavior of animals of both sexes.
Milk productivity
After the first lambing, a young goat gives about 3 liters of milk. With subsequent lambing, milk yield increases to 4-5 liters. The fat content can vary from 4 to 8%, the protein content is close to 4%.
Nubiek milk has a creamy or creamy nutty taste without a specific smell, and goats themselves (and even goats) do not have it. It is believed that its composition is close to human breast milk.
Cheese makers appreciate such raw materials for their excellent quality and low cost. Nubiek milk produces cottage cheese and cheese 1.5 times more than milk from other breeds.
Reproduction
Nubians are very fertile - under good conditions, goats can lamb twice a year, in a litter of 2-3 babies. It is this fertility that makes breeding Nubian goats so attractive for meat. The duration of pregnancy is 150 days.
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Goats are sexually mature at 7-8 months, but with the first pregnancy it is worth waiting up to a year.
The diet
For a Nubian goat, it is important to keep an accurate feeding schedule three times a day when housed in a stable. The water must always and always be clean.
In summer, animals are grazed on pastures. In the evenings, it is advisable to feed vegetables and fruits, a little hay. The addition of oats or barley increases the productivity of goats.
How to feed a Nubian goat? Daily menu in winter:
- 3-5 kg of high-quality hay, not overdried, not rotten; it is undesirable to reduce the amount of roughage - this leads to indigestion;
- part of the hay can be replaced with branches and leaves of rowan, willow, willow, pine, hazel, rowan;
- up to 25% of hay can be replaced with straw, but it must be steamed;
- grain products or compound feed - 2 kg; it is advisable to steam oats, barley;
- root crops and vegetables (carrots, fodder beets, pumpkin, zucchini);
- up to 1 kg of silage can be fed;
- mineral additives - ground chalk, salt;
- vitamin supplements, balanced for meat and dairy breeds.
The diet, if necessary, should be adjusted in accordance with the weight and condition of the animals.
Feeding
The development of any special diet of the Anglo-Nubian breed of goats does not require. These animals are fed with hay, grass, branches, shredded pieces, vegetable peelings, bran, cake, etc. It is imperative to give mineral supplements - chalk, salt, etc. In winter, the diet should include root crops and potatoes. It is worth preparing more brooms. It is better not to give birch trees. Eating large amounts of them in goats of all breeds can cause kidney disease.
In summer, animals are driven out to pastures. When choosing a grazing place, one should take into account the fact that goats prefer the tougher odorous steppe ones to the watery grasses of the lowlands. There must be a reservoir near the pasture. It must be at least 5 km away from industrial facilities.
The pasture is divided into several sections. Grazing is carried out alternately on each of them. This allows for more rational use of the grass. Goats eat almost all of its varieties. While grazing is carried out on one of the plots, the grass on the neighboring ones has time to grow.
Prospects for breeding Nubian goats
The Nubian goat is a very productive animal of the universal meat and dairy industry. Despite the high price of production animals, the demand for nubiek grows from year to year - a small livestock can be tripled or quadrupled in just a year, and then breeding will go exponentially and will pay off the initial investment.
The demand for hypoallergenic milk and products from it with an exotic taste is growing from year to year, tender meat also finds its connoisseurs.
Breeding meat and dairy Nubian goats is a very promising area of animal husbandry.
Growing features
We will find out how to care for goats of the Nubian breed.
Since a lot of southern material is mixed in the genes of animals, these goats tolerate the harsh climate of our country rather hard. Keeping them in any shed, like unpretentious local goats, will hardly work: in this way you can destroy the animal, throwing your material investments literally "down the drain."
In poor conditions of keeping kids, judging by the description of the Czech breed, they can even die immediately, barely born. Therefore, for Nubian goats, a spacious, well-insulated and comfortable room is needed.
The basic requirements are as follows:
- good illumination;
- cleanliness, absence of pathogenic microbes;
- heat;
- optimal ventilation.
Attention: you need to know that goats of other breeds cannot be kept together with Nubian ones. The presence of "rivals" can cause attacks of aggression in Nubian goats, which will inevitably affect their productivity.
For animals, equip the room with special wooden beds that can be easily cleaned and washed. On top of the couches, regularly throw dry straw: goats love to lie on it. Change the straw bedding regularly, as Nubian goats are pretty clean and won't lie in the mud.
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