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These charming at first sight, cute creatures appeared in Our Country not so long ago, only at the beginning of this century, but they have already gained quite wide popularity, especially among goat breeders. Perhaps even greater prevalence of the breed of Anglo-Nubian goats is hindered only by the financial side of the issue – the price of purebred Nubians is clearly overpriced and starts from 100 – 150 thousand rubles.
Therefore, these goats are often crossed with other, no less interesting breeds: Alpines and Saanen, and as a result, very highly productive animals are also obtained, but at a lower price. Due to the fact that real breeding of dairy goat breeds is still poorly developed in Our Country, such half-breeds are still in high demand and allow those who do not have enough money to buy a purebred goat to enjoy communicating with the Anglo-Nubian breed.
History of the breed
The Anglo-Nubian goat breed was only recognized as an English breed in the 1960s. Prior to this, its history was very diverse. In the second half of the XNUMXth century, many goats and goats were imported to England from India, the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. All of them were often called oriental, although they originated from different places. They actively crossed with the local pointed-eared old English goats, and special representatives began to appear with very long legs, a peculiar Roman nose and long ears hanging down.
Nubia is the name of a large area in North Africa. In 1893, crossbreeds of goats with these characteristics were officially given the name Anglo-Nubian. After 1910, the influx of new “bloods” from the southeast stopped, and there was some addition of goats from Switzerland to better acclimatize to the cool and rainy climate of England. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the breed finally took shape in England and was exported to the United States. In America, it remarkably took root and was even improved by local breeders. At least, the main specimens of the Anglo-Nubian breed came to Our Country at the beginning of the XNUMXst century already from the USA.
Description of the breed, main characteristics
Anglo-Nubian goats look quite unusual and are different from most dairy goats.
- They have a long and thin body of a characteristic milky type.
- The neck is also thin and long. The legs are long enough and always in proportion to the body.
- The head is medium in size, the muzzle is distinguished by a noticeable convex profile (the so-called Roman nose).
- There are no brushes on the muzzle at all, the eyes are particularly expressive, very lively, the shape of the eyes is almond-shaped.
- And, of course, the hallmark of the Anglo-Nubian goat breed, by which it can be distinguished from others at first glance, is wide and long ears, hanging even several centimeters below the muzzle.
- The coat is smooth, short and glossy in various shades of brown, black and white, sometimes solid, sometimes spotted.
- The udder fits snugly to the body, rounded, large enough in size with well-developed elongated nipples.
Anglo-Nubian animals are very powerful, strong and graceful at the same time. The height at the withers for goats is at least 76 cm, and for a goat – at least 82 cm. Adult goats weigh from 60 to 70 kg, the weight of goats is on average about 80 kg, but can reach up to 100-120 kg.
The breed is meat and dairy, although in Our Country it is not customary to keep goats for meat, especially such expensive ones as Anglo-Nubian.
Milk yield of Anglo-Nubian goats
The milk of Anglo-Nubian goats is famous for its delicious creamy taste, as it has a fat content of 5 to 9%, as well as a high protein content. Thanks to these characteristics, it is from the milk of Anglo-Nubian goats that the largest yield of cheese and cottage cheese is obtained. Well, about the usefulness of goat’s milk, there are so many legends. It is indeed the closest in composition to mother’s breast milk, has anti-allergenic properties and is ideal for baby food.
In addition, milk does not have any foreign odor or flavor. Interestingly, the quality characteristics of milk from Anglo-Nubian goats do not change depending on the conditions of detention, but the amount of milk may decrease if the goat lacks any essential nutrients and vitamins.
An interesting feature is that the Anglo-Nubian goats do not have a characteristic smell, so it is possible to keep them in the same room with dairy goats.
The average milk yield of an Anglo-Nubian goat is about 3 liters per day. In the future, with each new lambing, milk yield increases and can reach 6-7 liters per day. But these figures are valid only if the goats are fully fed. The lactation period lasts an average of about 300 days, but this does not mean that goat milk yields remain the same throughout the entire period. The peak of milk yield usually occurs in the next few months after lambing, in the future the amount of milk decreases and by the start-up period (when the goat is not milked), milk yield can be halved or even tripled.
Lambing can theoretically occur twice a year, but this adversely affects the health of the goat, so usually goats give birth once a year, there can be from two to five kids.
Goat keeping
Initially, the Anglo-Nubian goats were famous for their sufficient capriciousness in keeping. This applied, first of all, to the organization of a warm wintering at a temperature not lower than +16°C. But according to breeders, after one or two generations, goats adapt well to ordinary conditions. True, they still need a relatively warm room in winter, and, most importantly, with moderate humidity and without drafts.
Otherwise, Anglo-Nubian goats are not picky about the conditions of detention. They need walking in any weather, except for outright bad weather, such as frost below -15 ° C, storm wind or heavy rain. Stalls must be equipped with special raised beds for goats to rest, and a layer of straw or sawdust bedding is desirable on the floor.
Goat feeding
Despite the importance of feeding in the process of caring for Anglo-Nubian goats, there is nothing difficult in preparing the feed itself and half of it can be prepared on your own if you live in a rural area.
So, in the summer, the main food for the Anglo-Nubian goats is grass and branches growing in the grazing area of shrubs and trees. In the evening, additional feeding from 0,5 to 3 kg of grain or concentrates is possible during active lactation. It is desirable to give cereal crops in a ground form for better assimilation. Bran is very valuable for goats, which are usually brewed with some milk-producing herbs, such as flax seed, dill, fennel and others. During the milking period, it is obligatory to give steamed soybean and sunflower cake and meal, but their total share in the grain feed should not exceed 30%.
In winter, the main food for goats is hay, which must be stored at the rate of about 5 kg per goat per day. Straw is also eaten with pleasure by goats, but in smaller quantities.
An important component of the goat diet are a variety of vegetables that are easy to grow on your own site. These are, first of all, a variety of pumpkins and zucchini, and goats also eat fodder beets, carrots and cabbage with great pleasure. Potatoes can be given in small quantities and are best boiled. And of course, goats love fruits – especially apples, pears, plums, etc.
Many goat breeders overlook such valuable food as brooms from various trees and shrubs (willow is especially valuable), especially since they can be harvested throughout the summer on their own. Nettle brooms are a storehouse of vitamins in winter, especially for kids. You can also collect bags of fallen leaves from trees in the fall and gradually feed them to the goats.
Supplements in the form of chalk and salt are also needed, you can use ready-made vitamin and mineral mixtures.
Approximate norms for the average daily feeding of goats with grains or concentrates are as follows:
For the lactation period – 250-300 g per liter of milk given.
For the period of start and end of lactation – 300 -500 g per goat per day.
Thus, there is nothing particularly difficult in caring for Anglo-Nubian goats, and if it were not for the super high price, many farmers would be happy to breed these cute and unusual animals.
