Quite often, farmers, as well as just people living in private houses, raise goats. This choice is quite obvious - these are truly universal animals. On the one hand, they are unpretentious - they eat almost everything, easily tolerate heat and cold. On the other hand, they allow you to get high-quality milk, clean wool and very tasty tender meat. It is understandable that many owners are very interested in how many years goats live. Let us try to consider this issue in the most detail.
Average lifespan of ordinary goats
To begin with, it is worth noting that the average life of goats is from 12 to 15 years. In their wild counterparts, this figure is much less - no more than 10 years. However, do not think that all goats live just that much. After all, there are many nuances that affect the average life expectancy, both in the positive direction and in the negative.
So it will not be superfluous to study all these factors.
What can reduce life expectancy
To determine how many years goats live at home, it is necessary to learn first of all about negative factors.
One of the most common reasons goats are shortened is high humidity. Yes, these animals are better adapted to dry climates, so increased humidity can lead to diseases that will shorten the life of your animals for several years.
In general, goats can quite easily tolerate frosts, but nevertheless, those who are forced to live at low temperatures also show a worse life expectancy than those who live away from the harsh climate of our country.
Finally, a very important factor is proper nutrition. The lack of minerals and trace elements quite often leads to the fact that in some farms animals can’t be kept longer than 5-8 years.
Fortunately, this indicator can be significantly increased if you treat goats as carefully as possible, seriously taking care of them.
How to increase the life of goats
Experienced farmers know how many years the goat has lived, and they try to increase this indicator in every way. There are several reliable ways to do this.
First of all, providing suitable living conditions. The goat should be able to take shelter in the winter from cold and wind in a cozy, well-insulated barn. This is a really important factor that some beginners seriously underestimate.
It is also very important to have an idea of proper feeding. This is especially important for goats, which are actively used to procreate and milk. Both of these factors greatly wear out the animal’s body, pump out a large amount of salts and minerals. And to get them together with ordinary straw and grass is almost impossible. That is why experienced farmers take the issue of creating an optimal diet for animals very seriously, trying to diversify it with special additives containing the necessary substances.
The breed also has a certain effect. It has long been observed that thoroughbred goats, with good care, live noticeably longer than their usual purebred relatives.
If you are seriously breeding goats, and doing this for a considerable time, it is very important to regularly update the blood. The easiest way to do this is by buying a pedigree goat from a farm that you have never dealt with before. This will avoid inbreeding, leading to weakening of animals, increased susceptibility to disease and, consequently, early death. If possible, this should be done more often - at least once every 5-7 years. That is, when the main insemination goat grows old, it must be changed to a young one.
How old are goats to give milk?
But knowing how many years on average goats live, one should not think that all this time they will give milk and produce healthy kids. This is actually not the case. Indeed, in women, a woman may well live 80-90 years, especially when observing a healthy lifestyle, but she will be able to give birth to children in the best case, up to 50 years.
Exactly the same picture is observed in goats. In the best case, they can bring healthy offspring up to 6-7 years. Accordingly, they give milk up to the same age. Of course, many goats can take refuge in a more mature age. But the number of kids is reduced, as is weight, as well as vitality. Such cubs often get sick, giving the owners extra trouble. Milk old goats also bring less.
On average, the milk yield increases from the first birth and up to 5 years. Then, until about 7 years old, they remain at the same level. After that they begin to fall. However, these terms can easily move by a year or two, depending on the breed and the conditions of detention.
The reason is quite simple - at the age of 7 years, goats' teeth deteriorate significantly. Partially grinding, partly falling out, they can no longer qualitatively grind hard food. As a result, half-planted grass and hay enter the stomach. Such food is digested worse, the body receives less nutrients. This leads to the expected result.
How to determine the age of a goat
However, it is not enough for an experienced farmer to know how many dairy goats live. He must also be able to determine the approximate age in appearance. For example, if they are offering a bargain, people with whom he has not yet dealt. An eight-year-old goat may well be sold to a novice, giving out as a three-year-old goat, in the prime of life.
First of all, an experienced goat grower will pay attention to his teeth - we recall the proverb about a gifted horse. But the goat is not gifted, but purchased, therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the condition of the oral cavity.
At about four years of age, milk incisors completely replace indigenous ones. They are located on the lower jaw in front. You can distinguish dairy from indigenous ones in shape - the first ones are slightly narrower and smaller. If some of the incisors are still dairy, then the goat is less than four years old - it has not yet entered its prime and is quite suitable for purchase. If all the incisors are already radical, then she is exactly four years old or more.
Gradually, the root incisors begin to fade, turn yellow. Gaps appear between them, and the dentition itself becomes uneven. This becomes especially noticeable by the age of seven. If there are no such defects, then the age of the goat is from 4 to 7 years. It can no longer be called a successful investment, but still it will serve for a couple of years, bringing the kids and milk.
The defects listed above indicate that the goat is already 7 years old or more - you should not buy one, except for meat.
When is it better to kill a goat?
Most often, goats and goats are allowed for meat at the age of 7-8 years. Specifically, you need to look at the milk yield - it is advisable to keep a table indicating how much milk a particular animal gave. When they begin to slowly but constantly decrease, it means it's time to kill the animal. After all, the goat still consumes the same amount of feed as before, and its benefits are less. So, it's time to replace her with a younger goat.
Conclusion
Our article has come to an end. From it you learned about how many years goats live, as well as about the reasons that increase and decrease the age allotted to him. And at the same time we found out how to determine the age of the goat and when it is best to put it on meat.