Russian white goat: description and signs of the breed, conditions of detention

The right goat breed is a guarantee that a person will always have a source of fresh he althy milk, meat, furs and skin that can be used in industry in the future. The Russian White Dairy Goat is ideal for productive agriculture. The breed has a lot of advantages, the main of which is unpretentiousness in various climatic conditions.

Origin of the breed

The breed was not immediately bred, but the selection process took several centuries, as the goats gradually improved through natural selection before becoming one of the best native domestic individuals. Selective work was carried out in the direction of:

he alth improvement;
productivity;
unpretentiousness and obedience;
bringing he althy strong offspring;
the ability to adapt to the climate of the northwestern and central regions of Russia.

Until the 19th century, the breed was improved through "popular selection", and at the end of this century, professionals in the field of breeding took up the breeding. Since the 20th century, the breed began to be crossed with European goats, which were distinguished by productivity, but they had poor adaptability to the Russian climate.

Specialists crossed Swiss, German and English breeds of males with female Russian goats, but it was a bad experience for breeders.

There was also a successful crossbreeding attempt with the dairy Toggenburg and Saanen white breeds. This time the attempt turned out to be successful, as improved females began to bring more milk.

Description and characteristics of the Russian white goat

The Belarusian goat belongs to individuals of high milk productivity, and it is bred most often in farming to obtain large volumes of milk. Russian Whites have long nipples suitable for manual or mechanical milking. It differs from other European breeds similar to it by the presence of a fluff under a thick dense coat.

Milk	Meat	Down and wool	Skin	Fecundity of females
For 12 months one female brings 500 -900 liters of milk, and the daily milk yield is 1-2 liters	From one carcass, the output is 56% of meat products. Young animals are often grown for slaughter	The individual can be with long or short hair. As a result, about 200 g of fluff comes out per year from one individual, but in rare cases it turns out about 400 g	The female bathes 2 times a year and can give birth to 1-2 kids at a time

White color and pronounced udder are the dominant features of this breed. There are also black, brown and gray colors of this animal. Adult individuals grow no higher than 65 cm. The constitution of goats is strong, stocky, with a wide chest. A goat weighs between 50 and 70 kg.

Main positives and negatives

In addition to fertility and daily milk yield, they have other positive characteristics. Another main quality of the breed is its unpretentious disposition; pets take root in different climatic conditions. Goats are hardy and rarely get sick. They recognize the farmer as their master and obey him.

The disadvantages include the fact that the breed does not like drafts, so white goats are best kept indoors where the cold wind does not get.

White Russians degenerate over time. If you keep females and males together in a corral, then there is a high probability that sick kids and freaks will be born after interbreeding.

Conditions and feeding

For the full development, quality lambing and he alth of goats, only a dry, warm room, such as a barn, is required. The barn should have good ventilation. The flow of fresh air reduces the risk of disease in the herd. It is also important to clean the barn frequently to keep the straw and surfaces free from parasites that are dangerous to livestock.

In summer, goats feed on fresh grass in the pasture. In autumn they are gradually transferred to dry straw and hay. In addition, they are given compound feed, saturated with vitamins, coarse and juicy feed. It is important to feed them 3 times a day. Animals should have constant access to hay and clean water.

Case

The young are fully developed physically and therefore ready to mate at the age of 3 months, but the ideal age for this is 12 months. Three mating options:

Artificial mating is the most effective method. The procedure is performed by a veterinarian.
Manual crossing - occurs through the selection of the desired individuals by the owner. A person who breeds goats should be aware that closely related members of the breed should not be allowed to mate.
In free mating, the breed mates chaotically due to the fact that males and females are kept together.

The variant of free mating is dangerous, as offspring can be born sickly or with deformities. To prevent goats from degenerating, males and females should be kept in separate pens and crossed by manual or artificial mating.

Pregnancy and lambing

Kids are gestated for 142-155 days. Goats can give birth to offspring without the help of people. If a person is involved in the process of lambing, then for this you need to prepare warm water, scissors and rags in advance. The female, which is preparing for lambing, becomes restless. If the female was pregnant with two kids, then the first fetus is born head first, and the second vice versa. If the kid was born lifeless, then help is urgently needed: you should wipe the muzzle from the mucus and breathe air into his mouth.

Diseases

Goats can suffer from communicable and non-communicable diseases. Representatives of the White Russian breed rarely get sick. Animals get sick in the wrong conditions. The breed does not tolerate drafts and cold rooms, where females become ill with infectious mastitis.

With improper feeding, animals get sick, in addition to poisoning, beriberi, hypovitaminosis and gastroenteritis. Dangerous infectious and parasitic diseases: echinococcosis, dictyocaulosis, piroplasmosis.

Before you start breeding goats, you should decide why these animals are needed on the farm. Dairy breeds are preferred. The White Russian goat is a versatile animal, as it is suitable for the production of milk, meat, wool, and fluff.