Polled goat: top 5 hornless breeds and comparative characteristics

Polled goats are popular with livestock keepers because they are less of a hassle. They are not aggressive, obedient, and the likelihood of injuring other animals in the herd becomes minimal. There are several breeds of domestic goats, which are especially common in our latitudes. It is up to you to decide which species to choose to breed for meat, milk and wool.

What does polled goat mean

Polled animals are those that were born without horns. These are artificially bred breeds, they are not found in nature. Instead of horns, goats grow small bumps or tubercles. The most common types include:

1. Toggenburg.
2. La Mancha.
3. Czech.
4. Nubian.
5. Zaanenskaya.

Remarkably, the polled gene can be inherited. Sometimes such parents have horned kids, this is the norm. Due to the fact that hornlessness in the breed can be accompanied by infertility (hermaphroditism) in males, it is recommended to pair polled and common animals.

Description of breeds

To understand the intricacies of goat breeding, you need to know the distinguishing features of polled goats.

It is noteworthy that, contrary to some misconceptions, milk yield has nothing to do with the presence (absence) of horns.

Toggenburgian

A breed of goats without sharp horns, meat and dairy purposes, originally from Switzerland. Toggenburg is an administrative district, as well as a city of the same name near Zurich.A distinctive feature is the presence of a long, thick coat. The view seems to be specially bred for Russia. The main advantages of this goat are as follows:

• strong physique;
• thick wool;
• high milk yield.

The disadvantage is the low percentage of fat in the product, the almost complete unsuitability (unprofitability) of the breed for breeding for meat. Color light tones, beige or brown. The constitution is dense, with well-developed muscles.

Often representatives of the breed are used to improve low-yielding specimens. The milk is used to make delicious cheese.

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Lamancha

In the process of breeding this breed, the goats not only lost their horns, but also the auricles almost completely atrophied.The queens have a high fertility, in one offspring they bring up to 3 kids. Milk is odorless, great for raw consumption, processing.

Breed Advantages:

• calm character;
• versatility (suitable for both milk and meat);
• inheritance of the hornless gene when crossed with other species.

The disadvantages include undeveloped ears, the high cost of young animals.

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Czech

An exceptionally dairy breed that was miraculously saved from extinction. At first, only hornless specimens were selected in the offspring, which led to degeneration. At the moment, the restriction has been lifted, Czech goats successfully interbreed with ordinary goats, endowed with horns.

The Czech goat has the following virtues:

• good adaptation to the conditions of detention in the Russian Federation;
• stable lactation.

Not without flaws. In the course of selection, it is imperative to “dilute” the breed with horned specimens. Differ in large sizes, but are folded proportionally. The head is small, the coat color is predominantly from golden to chocolate. The legs are black, on the back there is a characteristic "belt". Ears are long.

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Nubian

Perhaps this breed has the most memorable appearance: a hooked nose, creating a unique profile, and large hanging ears. The length of the lobe is outstanding: in some specimens it reaches 40 centimeters. A queen with short hair gains weight up to 60 kilograms.

The goat has dimensions, the mass is even greater. The most common colors for Nubia are black, red, brown. There is also a spotted color, when light stripes and spots are placed on a darker background. Goats have a nuclear temperament, they are very mobile, they make loud cries.

As a confirmation of the advantages of the breed over others, the following arguments are given:

• productivity;
• prolonged lactation;
• viability of offspring.

The disadvantage is some capriciousness of goats: Nubians will never live next to other breeds. More than others are prone to bites of bloodsuckers. Milk - exceptionally fat, rich in protein, makes it possible to produce unique cheeses.

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Zaanenskaya

The breed is one of the oldest existing. The goats turned out to be unpretentious, with good milk yields. Both females and males are large: 50 kilograms for goats and up to 80 for goats. The legs are long, the constitution is strong. There are both light and colored specimens.

The main advantages of the breed:

• productivity is higher than other species;
• obtaining valuable, dietary meat;
• no bad smell.

At the same time, they are demanding on the conditions of detention, they can hardly endure the Russian climate.

Distinguished by a calm, balanced temperament, they have no equal in terms of milk yield. On average, up to 11 liters of pleasant, odorless milk can be obtained from a zaanenki per day. When breeding the breed, it is recommended to combine polled and horned individuals.

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Productivity Benchmark

To navigate in terms of milk yield, to know how the breeds differ in this parameter, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the data presented in the table. And it immediately becomes clear who is the champion here: , liters

Milk fat content, % Toggenburg3 up to 5Czechup to 5up to 4, 5Nubianup to 4.8up to 7.5 Zaanenskayaup to 7up to 4.4

		to 5
La Mancha	6

It can be seen that the productivity is higher in zaaneki, but they have lower milk fat content. The lactation period is long, 270-300 days. Traditionally, large farms use Saanen goats, which are easily tamed for machine milking.

Final ranking tablelamancha3Zaanenskaya2ToggenburgskayaoneCzechNubian

Care and maintenance

Conditions for polled goats are no different from those for their horned compatriots. Mostly unpretentious, gaining weight well, not picky in nutrition. To understand the intricacies of the content, you need to have information about the characteristic features of this species:

1. With rare exceptions, the temperament of polled goats is calm, devoid of aggressiveness. Animals will not arrange traditional fights for the best pasture, territory.
2. All breeds are attached to people, not adapted for survival in natural conditions.
3. Require careful attention, as they are in poor he alth, prone to infections.
4. Often a goat can be barren, this is the price for being hornless.
5. You need to watch the hooves, because polled goats are weak and often damaged.
6. Females are fertile, bringing 2-3 kids at a time. The birth process is relatively easy, without complications.
7. The average size of polled goats is smaller than that of horned counterparts. In rare cases (among Zaanenese), a male can gain up to 80 kilograms of weight.

Goats eat everything that is good for food: green mass, prepared briquettes, hay or silage. For a cold climate, the Toggenburg breed is more suitable, for keeping in insulated farms, obtaining large milk yields, the Saanen breed. The specific choice of variety depends on the goals and objectives set by the breeder.It is no coincidence that a classification is provided, a division into dairy, meat-and-milk and wool breeds.

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