German Pied Goat: breed description and characteristics, care and where to buy

German motley noble goat - a breed that differs from the similar white "German" in its color. The rest of the characteristics are almost identical. By color, size, level of milk production, such animals are often confused with similar breeds: Alpine, Frankish, Black Forest goats and Oberhasli. Traditionally, animals are bred for milk production. In the regions where the breed comes from, cheesemaking flourishes.

Description and characteristics of the German motley goat

This breed is distinguished by the following qualities:

1. High productivity and milk yield.
2. Suitable for manual and mechanized milking.
3. Long life.
4. Strong he alth, disease resistance.
5. Fecundity, the ability to bear twin goats.
6. Wide voluminous udder, medium teat length.
7. Medium or large size.
8. Presence or absence of horns.
9. Seasonal entry into the hunt (more often from August to December inclusive).

The German Pied Goat has a short, smooth coat dyed in various shades of brown. She has a characteristic feature - a dark, almost black stripe along the ridge. The animals have a long, deep body, strong slender legs, a broad chest, a long neck with a small dry head, painted in a darker shade. Females weigh 55,070 kilograms, males 70-100 kilograms.

Main pros and cons

This breed has many advantages:

1. High milk yield - 700-1000 kilograms of milk per lactation.
2. Milk fat content - 3.2-3.5%.
3. Up to 2 kids are born per year.
4. Good he alth.
5. Good-natured and accommodating character.

The disadvantages include the difficulty of acquiring purebred specimens in our country. This may be important if the farmer plans to raise animals for sale. For milk production, this may not be so important if the hybridization was carried out between two animals of dairy breeds with the same high productivity.

How to keep and care for the breed

German Pied goats are quite unpretentious, like the rest of this species. But since they are milk producers, it is extremely important to provide them with balanced natural food and create comfortable living conditions.

The herds are grazing during the warm part of the year. They need to be protected from vermin in order to be he althy, so pastures need to be checked and, if necessary, pretreated.

With pasture nutrition content, grass alone is not enough to maintain a stable milk yield, so complementary feeding must be provided. If the herd is large, then the best way to keep dairy German Pied goats is to stay in a specialized facility all year round.

On the farm, the building for dairy goats and kids should be clean, well lit, ventilated, with good heating.

What to feed?

Party German goats need to be well-nourished, so their feed must be balanced, consisting of several products.They are unpretentious animals that can eat straw and even an old broom, but dairy females require milk with indicators that meet industry requirements.

Therefore, the diet includes not only fresh grass and nutritious hay, but also succulent feed, concentrates, mineral supplements, s alt. Free access to clean drinking water is required.

Features of breeding

In order to get a fixed amount of milk, kids are weaned from goats as early as possible, as soon as they drink colostrum. It provides them with strong immunity and maintains lasting he alth. This takes from a few hours to a couple of days. Then the kids are transferred to another liquid food - a substitute for mother's milk. And the goat begins to milk and give nutritious milk. A female can give from 5 to 7 liters per day. Grown up or dairy goats are sent for meat, except for those left as replacement stock.

If a farm specializes in breeding German Pied breeds, and not in getting milk, kids are kept under a goat for up to 4-5 months.

Frequent diseases

The German Motley breed of goats is subject to the same diseases that are characteristic of other animals of this species. The following diseases and he alth problems are more common:

1. Dairy goats tend to develop inflammation of the udder (mastitis) and cracked nipples, especially in primiparous females. Such problems appear due to keeping goats in drafts, in damp and dirty, cold rooms. Cracks occur due to improper milking, infection, rough handling.
2. Digestive disorders due to an unbalanced or excessive diet, as well as when eating stale or wet food.
3. Inflammation of the hooves, which also appears when kept cold and wet in the mud.
4. Colds. Goats are prone to developing runny nose, an inflammation of the respiratory tract, which can be complicated by pneumonia if symptoms are not addressed in time.
5. Animals can also be attacked by parasites and skin diseases.
6. Infectious diseases: brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, necrobacteriosis and so on.

Diseases can be resisted if the herd is provided with comfortable living conditions, adequate feeding, and timely veterinary care.

Where can I buy?

Purebred animals are a rarity in home gardens, hybrids are more common here. For breeding German Pied goats or if you want to get milk only from this breed, close attention should be paid to the acquisition of producers.

It is necessary to purchase thoroughbred animals in specialized farms, which ensure not only the purity of the selection, but also conduct veterinary supervision of the he alth of the livestock. Each purchased goat or goat is supplied with passports and veterinary certificates. When purchasing, check the accompanying documentation to make sure that the animals are he althy and alert.

Before you start newcomers to the herd, you need to keep them in quarantine in order to check if they are infected with diseases in the latent phase. Only after that, new pets can be placed with the rest of the goats.

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