It is easy to recognize the Laemanches by their small ears - because of them, the breed is often called the earless. These highly milked goats are considered universal - they are distinguished by high productivity in both meat and milk. The breed is one of the most productive and hassle-free.
Breed history
The history of the appearance of the dry breed was lost in the past. There are speculations and there are accurate facts. The first mention of short-eared goats is found in the manuscripts of Ancient Persia. How the breed ended up in Spain is not known for certain. The breed owes its name to the Spanish province of La Mancha. From here the Spanish conquerors brought the dead goats to California. Meat and milk goats with short ears began their "conquest" of America.
At the beginning of the 20th century, short-eared goats were brought to an exhibition in Paris. Here she got her current name - by the name of the province from which her journey to America began. After breeding, the characteristics of the breed changed. The breed received official status only in 1958. At that time, there was an officially registered breeding herd of two hundred heads, representing a dry breed of la mancha.
Exterior Lamanchi
Lavenches have a strong physique and a large udder - a sign of high milk yield. The breed is distinguished by a variety of colors. There are shades of black, red, brown, brown, white and others. There are also spotted individuals.
To make goats look well-groomed and attractive, their hair is trimmed. External features of the rocks:
- the body is wedge-shaped, massive;
- height at the withers for goats - 75-95 cm, for goats - 75 cm;
- the weight of goats is 64-66 kg, goats are 52-54 kg.
- a hunchbacked profile that gives lamanches a resemblance to Nubian goats;
- strong, well-developed legs;
- there are individuals with and without horns.
Working on the creation of the breed, breeders used the most attractive features of the Saanen, Alpine, Nubian and Toggenburg goats.
Breed distribution
Due to its high adaptive abilities, lamanches live and reproduce safely in all regions of Russia - in the south, in the central and northern regions. The breed is unpretentious and productive, it does not need special conditions - heat or cold - lamanches are everywhere energetic, healthy and give good milk yield. These goats are actively bred by farmers in Russia, the CIS, the USA, Turkey, Poland and other countries.
Breed features
Lavenches have two unique features - external and internal, which distinguish them from all other breeds. The main differences of lavenches are short-eared and gentle temper. All this is uncharacteristic for goats.
There are two types of ears:
- Corrugated. In such ears there is no cartilage at all. The length of the ears is 2.5 cm.
- Miniature. In such ears there are cartilages up to 5 cm in length.
The length of the ears assess the originality of the breed. If the length is more than 5 cm, the individual is not considered purebred.
Lavenches have a unique character, they behave almost like dogs - they follow their owners, love affection and attention. The herd behave calmly, quietly, non-aggressively. Females - caring mothers - zealously care for their offspring.
Productive qualities
Lavenches are bred for the sake of tasty, rich milk. Getting meat products a second time. Productivity Characteristics:
- Fertility. Females bring 4-5 kids for lambing.
- Milk production. The average daily milk yield is 5 liters. Record holders give 9 liters. The average annual milk yield - for the period of lactation, is 700-900 liters.
- Fat content. Milk has excellent taste and high fat content - about 4%. There is no specific smell.
- Meat productivity. The live weight of adult animals is 60-70 kg. Maximum - 100 kg. Carcass meat yield - 70% of live weight.
Advantages and disadvantages
Breeders, goats breeders and simple goat breeders find many advantages in lavenches:
- able to adapt to various conditions of detention;
- non-capricious, do not require special conditions of detention;
- high milk yield;
- there is no repulsive smell that is present in many goat breeds;
- friendly disposition and contact.
The disadvantages of lavenches are uncritical:
- The ears are so small that it is even impossible to attach a tag to them - you have to brand animals. The brand is placed on the hairless part of the tail.
- The "Roman" profile of lavenches is ranked as a defect. But this feature of appearance with a stretch can be considered disadvantages - many breeders are not at all confused by the humpiness of goats.
Care and maintenance
La Mancha are mobile and energetic. For good health and high milk yield, they need vast pastures. Despite the thick coat and good tolerance of cold, goats of this breed need a warm room and nutrition correction in the winter.
Care requirements and conditions
The unpretentiousness of lavenches does not mean that they do not need care.
Care Conditions:
- Housing A barn is being built for the goats - the room is spacious, dry, bright and ventilated. The concrete floor is made with a slope - so that the liquid flows. Goats are kept not only in the classical crib, but also in a warmed pen or in an ordinary goat house. In the classic crib, the room for goats is divided into stalls - animals get their own territory, and at the same time can communicate with each other.
- Litter. On the floor lay straw. Layer thickness is an important strategic point. Goats love warmth, comfort, and prefer thick straw bedding. If you save on flooring, cunning animals will make up for the shortage by hay from the feeder. Having saved on a laying, owners will lose on "improper use" of a forage.
- Attitude. So that the goats do not become stubborn and capricious, they need a careful attitude of the owners. Losing cares, they will deliberately attract attention with poor behavior. Gentle treatment of goats needs no less than good nutrition.
- Hygiene. Lamanches are clean and do not like dirt. Therefore, they do not smell like goats of other breeds. If there is dirt around goats, milk yield falls.
- Walking. From the beginning of spring to mid-autumn, goats are kept on a walk.
- Nutrition. High milk yields require proper nutrition, adjusted with the change of seasons.
- Water. Animals must have access to water around the clock. Especially in the heat.
Some owners contain goats and a goat-producer in one enclosure - neither goats nor milk acquire its smell.
Goat food
In summer, lamanches are kept on pastures, where, along with lush grass, they eat branches of shrubs and stunted trees.
Alfalfa and clover are the favorite food of goats, increase the amount of protein in milk. These bean plants give goats in limited quantities.
Goats eat almost any vegetation, but there should be no buttercups in their diet, milkweed and aconite - these plants will harm animals. Watching the goats in the pasture, they determine which herbs they prefer, they are harvested for the winter.
To prevent the milk yield from falling in the winter, the goats' body is saturated with nutrients that animals lack in the absence of green food. For winter feeding in the summer, brooms are harvested - birch, oak, walnut (hazel). Bran, oats, a straw section, a chopped carrot are introduced into the diet of dairy goats - all the ingredients are mixed together. Weeds and food leftovers are added there.
The approximate daily diet of adult goats:
Period | The composition of the feed, g |
Dead wood. The first half of coagulation. | Diet number 1
Diet number 2
|
Dead wood. The second half of coagulation. | Diet number 1
Diet number 2
|
Milking. Daily milk yield - 2 liters. | Diet number 1
Diet number 2
|
Milking. Daily milk yield - 4 l. | Diet number 1
Diet number 2
|
More about the nutrition of domestic goats and kids - read here.
Breeding
The goat kids are not cheap. To develop a business and increase the herd, you need to breed goats yourself. Due to the multiplicity of the breed, a decent herd is formed in a short time.
Puberty
La Mancha, like goats of other breeds, become sexually mature at 8 months, but the first mating occurs only at 1.5 years. Before this period, it is not recommended to become pregnant - the first lambing can be painful. The hunting period in mature females is observed every 15-20 days and lasts 24-48 hours. In such periods, females are anxious and lose their appetite.
If the female avoids mating, perhaps she overeats - with obesity there is inhibited sexual development. In the beginning of autumn - when most females are cared for, it is impossible to feed potential offspring. From the diet of females during this period, it is recommended to remove concentrated feed.
Bearing offspring
There are goats in August-September, and offspring are born in February-March. Carrying in lavenches lasts 150 days. 1.5 months before lambing, the goat is ceased to be milked - so that the fetus receives more nutrients, and the offspring are born healthy. Milking is stopped gradually - so as not to harm the health of the goat.
During gestation, the female should receive double attention:
- Nutrition - regular and balanced, in accordance with the standards and current physiology.
- Content - pregnant females should be in a warm, bright, dry and ventilated area.
- Walks - regularly in the fresh air. Goats walk on the street, both before lambing, and after.
- Weight - support normal. Obesity interferes with normal labor. Enhanced nutrition is allowed only after lambing - for two months to increase milk yield.
Okot and care of young growth
At the first lambing, 1-2 cubs are born, with further lambing, up to 5 kids. Lambing usually passes easily, women in labor cope without human help. The process is fast - an hour and a half, no more. The success and speed of lambing depends on the health status of a particular female and the location of the fetus.
Young growth is kept in a room with a temperature of at least 12 ° C. Newborn kids are equipped with a separate stall. During the first 10 days, the kids eat only breast milk. Gradually they are weaned from the udder, introducing ordinary feed into the diet. If there is no mother’s milk, goats are fed with artificial milk mixtures or pasteurized goat milk. In many farms that breed high dairy goats, goats are taken away immediately - in order to get high milk yield.
Rough feeds are given carefully - in newborns, the baby’s goats are still not working. From the 11th day the kids are given porridge, hay. In the fourth week of life, the kids are bred for grazing - they are trained gradually. They give root vegetables, grated apples, oatmeal. At the age of one month, milk is produced less and less, replacing it with bran, grass, root crops and concentrated feed. From this age young growth receives mineral top dressing - chalk, salt, bone meal.
From the age of two months, goats don’t need porridge. Young animals are given hay, feed, cake. The kids must have access to clean water - they are watered at least three times a day. Since six months of age, grass, hay and tree branches have become the main food for young animals.
Disease and Prevention
Lamanchi, like any dairy goats, is distinguished by endurance and good health. Diseases arise against a background of poor, unbalanced nutrition, and violation of the rules of detention. Ill goats are easily recognizable, they have:
- poor appetite;
- milk yield decreases;
- rapid pulse.
Due to poor care, goats may appear:
- mastitis;
- gastrointestinal tract diseases;
- respiratory diseases;
- hoof disease;
- parasitic diseases - animals become infected with helminths or blood-sucking insects (pyroplasmosis, echinococcosis, fascioliasis).
To avoid non-communicable diseases, it is enough to provide animals with decent care and maintenance. Timely vaccination, regular examination by a veterinarian and careful attention to livestock will protect against goat infectious diseases.
Additional information about goat diseases can be found here.
Prospects and Benefits
Breeding highly milky lamanches, in the absence of competition in the domestic market, is an extremely cost-effective business that can be organized in any climate zone.
The difficulty of raising goats is associated with the unpopularity of goat milk - in Russia, the goat milk market is poorly developed. Reasons for the poor development of goat breeding:
- Most consumers have never tasted goat milk and are biased.
- High-tech equipment for goat breeding farms is not produced in the Russian Federation. This forces farmers to use manual labor, which reduces the profitability of production. Or you have to buy expensive imported equipment.
Farmers breeding lamanches note that the breed gives a good profit, but the start-up costs pay off too long. And most importantly, in order for the economy to become profitable, in addition to the farm, it is also necessary to organize its own processing workshop. It is much easier to sell cheeses, feta cheese and other dairy products than goat milk itself.
If you decide to start a business in this area, then our next article may be useful to you.
Cost
Laancha kids, who have reached the age of 4-5 months, are on the market 10-25 thousand rubles. Adult goats are sold for 10-40 thousand. This breed can be found on the usual "collective farm" market, but if you buy such an expensive breed, it is better to do this in pedigree farms or on specialized farms.
Farmers Reviews
The attitude of farmers to lamanchas is ambiguous - some are delighted with dry goats, others do not even recognize them as a separate breed. Owners of lavenches note the high taste characteristics of milk. Many farmers claim that it resembles the milk of Nubian goats in taste - a bit sweet, thick, with a rich taste.
Valentina Egorova, Saransk. We have a small farm. Recently bought a lavender - an expensive breed, but we did not regret it. These are very calm goats, affectionate, milked. Milk really does not have a special goat smell, because of which many do not like it. We bought a male - we are going to breed offspring.
Petrashov E.R., Urmary. Kose is already 2 years old. We bought a 5-month-old goat. They read that milk is tasty and odorless. It turned out to be true. All our family drinks such milk with pleasure, and our neighbors buy it. Another unusual thing is that it is a very affectionate animal, it doesn’t make a fuss, does not butt, like ordinary goats. He rubs his hands and steps on his heels. In appearance, it looks like a llama with something - the nose is hunchbacked, but there are no ears.
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The breed of goat lamancha is one of the most attractive, both for a small household and for large-scale breeding. High-yielding dairy goats, eating a minimum of feed, can adequately replace a dairy cow.
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