With the onset of cold weather, domestic goats are transferred to the stable. In winter, it is important to equip the habitat of animals, as well as take care of food, which is different from summer. About the features of keeping goats in the winter - later in the article.
Goat wintering shed
The main condition is a dry stable without walking drafts. Heating in the stable will be needed only when growing newborn kids. Adult goats independently regulate body temperature, so they tolerate frosts in unheated rooms.
In winter, they are kept in stalls, while it is important for the owner to take care of the conditions of detention and stock up on full-fledged food.
Even during the construction of the goat house, it is necessary to take into account several points:
- place it far from garbage dumps, manure pits;
- the presence of windows is mandatory, natural light must fall into the barn in large quantities;
- the room should be dry, animals can not tolerate humidity. And if there are also drafts, they easily get pneumonia - pneumonia.
That is why wood is used for construction, it retains heat better when concrete and brick retain more moisture and dampness.
Winter conditions
The optimum temperature in the stable is + 7 ° C for adults and + 10 ° C for goats with kids in the stall. At lower temperatures, goats should be insulated with clothing. To do this, they put on old jackets and coats through their front legs and fasten them on their backs. The emphasis is on protecting the chest of the animal to prevent the development of colds.
Each animal needs a separate compartment. Goats are freedom-loving animals, so they need to be given a spacious place. Depending on the individual, a different stall area is required per animal:
- kid from 6 months to 1 year - 1.2 square meters. m;
- summer goat and male producer - 2 square meters. m;
- female with cubs - 3.5 square meters. m
Feeders have two types. Coarse feed (hay and straw) is laid out in a manger, concentrates and vegetables - in special individual feeders. Install them at a height of 40-50 cm from the floor.
Preparing a crib for winter
In order for the goats to winter without problems, the goat is prepared, guided by the following recommendations:
- It is better if there are several small windows on the south side in the goat house than one large one. They are made at a height of more than 1.5 m, otherwise jumping pets can accidentally knock them out with their hooves. For the winter they are insulated, all the cracks are sealed.
- Ventilation is also an important part of the barn, it is through it that the air circulates and excess moisture leaves. It is especially relevant in the cold period, since manure in the stalls is removed less often to save heat.
The best option is to equip the room with two ventilation systems. One is located in the form of a tetrahedral pipe under the goat’s roof, stale air is discharged through it. A second pipe or several holes are made below the floor at the beginning of the walls, due to which fresh and clean air constantly enters the room, it circulates. - To save heat - in the winter they put shutters. Some farmers install special filters to heat the incoming air.
- The walls are bleached with lime mortar, whitewash is renewed 2 times a year. They are insulated with the old-fashioned method - sawdust or wood, or they use a more modern method - they impose an additional artificial wall.
- Along the insulated walls, sun loungers for animals (sleeping places) are attached - 70-80 cm long and 50-60 cm wide. They help to solve several problems: goats have a chic place to rest, wool gets less dirty in manure and bedding, the risk of catching a cold is less . Sunbeds should also be whitened.
- It is recommended to use a boardwalk, it is easier to clean it from manure. However, this does not mean that concrete, clay or earthen floors do not have a place to be. Raise the floor by 20-25 cm and make it under a slope (2 cm per 1 m of the room) so that the slurry immediately drains. To withdraw it from the shed, it is recommended to dig grooves along which the emptying will immediately go into the cesspools.
- The floor is covered with a thick layer of litter made of natural materials - peat, sawdust, hay, dry leaves, straw, moss. If no loungers are provided for in the barn, then the animals have to sleep on the floor, so you need to approach the floor covering responsibly.
- Before entering the goathouse make well-lit canopy. They do not allow to cool the room.
Winter walks
Goats are active animals and even in winter they need to walk. So that animals in good weather can go out into the fresh air for a walk, they build a small courtyard near the crib. At a temperature of no more than -10 ° C and in the absence of wind, they are fed here. The yard is built at the rate of 5 square meters. m per individual.
About how the yard should look for goat walking in the winter, the breeder shares in the video below:
Daily walks and physical activity contribute to improving the overall tone of animals.
Goat feeding in winter
The winter diet of goats is undergoing significant changes. Adhere to the following rules:
- Increase the proportion of roughage and grain feed and reduce the number of lungs (they are used as top dressing).
- The number of feeds varies from 2 to 4 times a day.
- Since goats are ruminant, the main food is hay and straw. They should always be in the nursery, so that the animal can eat at any time.
- The diet is built in such a way that most of it falls on hay, twigs and straw. The most useful is meadow or forest hay from young plants. Be sure to give juicy vegetables in fresh and boiled form, from fruits - give preference to apples and pears.
- Vegetables are also added to the feed, the latter is allowed to partially be replaced with oilcake or bran. A dairy goat needs up to 1 kg of such food.
- Or give grains of cereals and legumes. They must first be processed in any way for better digestibility: crushing, germinating, yeasting, frying. Experts do not recommend giving whole grains to animals, as they negatively affect the digestion process.
- It is contraindicated to feed goats a large amount of concentrated feed - feed, grain, food waste, as they can provoke the development of urolithiasis. When buying feed, the choice is stopped on those feeds that are designed specifically for goats. Their composition is balanced and takes into account all the needs of their body. It is usually enriched in ammonium chloride.
- To prevent the occurrence of urolithiasis or urolithiasis, the regimen of feeding and keeping goats is observed. If the disease began to develop, then in the menu either concentrates enriched in phosphorus are completely reduced or removed from it. They increase the proportion of green fodder, introduce microelements - cobalt, zinc, manganese and copper, give a sufficient amount of water.
- From succulent feeds, emphasis is placed on potato tubers, cabbage leaves and root crops, in particular fodder beets. Potato tubers are boiled and give up to 2 kg per day. The remaining vegetables are pre-chopped and fed raw up to 2-5 kg.
- Sources of vitamins is the tops, cabbage leaves. However, when feeding beet tops, chalk is additionally introduced. For 1 kg of greenery take 1 g of crushed chalk. It well neutralizes a variety of acids contained in their leaves.
All feed is best mixed with hay, it helps to be more fully absorbed by vitamins and other nutrients.
Harvest brooms from tree branches:
- aspens;
- mountain ash;
- maple tree;
- ate;
- willow;
- acacia;
- Birch trees
- raspberries;
- and you;
- nettles.
It is enough to prepare 80 brooms for one individual. Birch twigs are fed in limited quantities, be sure to alternate with other species. If for some reason they did not manage to make a harvest, then they are replaced by leafless deciduous branches. They contain many useful substances necessary for the animal.
Some farmers are reinsured and add vitamin complexes directly to food for highly dairy, pregnant (sick), sick and weakened goats.
How much and what kind of feed is required per adult for the winter:
- hay, straw, twigs - 500 kg;
- concentrates - 200 kg;
- vegetables - 200 kg;
- mineral additives - meat and bone meal, milk powder, chalk - 5 kg;
- salt - 3-4 kg.
If we talk about drinking, it is better to install heated drinking bowls. Goats are quite “hot” animals, their normal body temperature is considered to be 40 ° C, so they drink hot water. Water should be freely available, especially for males, as they are prone to urolithiasis.
More information about the nutrition of goats at different times of the year can be found here.
How can goats get sick in the cold season?
In winter, goats are prone to the following diseases:
- Helminthiasis. Worms in the body of a goat happen all year round, but in the winter their presence negatively affects their general well-being - it weakens, the immune system malfunctions, and food is poorly absorbed. Before the winter period, they necessarily treat helminths of all animals.
- Frostbite. Goats walking in the winter for walks are not safe from frostbite of the most sensitive parts of the body, for example, the udder or ears, in long-eared breeds. To reduce the risk of frostbite, the most exposed parts are well lubricated with petroleum jelly, oily cream or a special ointment. Do not let goats out of the barn if the thermometer drops below 10 ° C frost.
- Hoof Injury. Animals love to frolic, and nothing can stop them - neither snow, nor ice. After each walk, the conditions of the hooves are checked, as they can become clogged with snow or be injured by the sharp edges of the ice. The yard territory is promptly cleaned of snow and ice.
Separately for goat diseases, you can study the information here.
In winter, goat care comes down to proper feeding and creating comfortable conditions in the barn. The main thing is the lack of drafts and dampness. In this case, the animal will survive the winter perfectly, and this will not adversely affect the milk yield in the future.