Don Goat

The Don goat is a multi-purpose breed of domestic goat used for the production of milk, wool and goatskin. The breed is from the Don River of the Lower Volga territory in Russia.

Don goat produces the highest average wool per individual goat sheared of any goat breed. And the breed also produces milk with a relatively high fat content. The breed was discovered in 1933-34 by an expedition of the All-Uninon Institute of Sheep and Goat Husbandry studying goats in the former lower Volga territory.

It was named Don because of it's location, their habitat covers the basin of the Don river and it's tributaries. The Don goat is valued for their skin. The goatskin is mainly used for low-grade footwear.

And the pelt of these goats slaughtered in autumn has good fur quality determined by the structure of the fleece (it's density and wool fibers longer than guard hairs). They can be used as a basic material in the fur industry.

Ramanov sheep produce the best sheepskin, and the Don goats are comparable with this sheep. However, read more information about this goat breed below.

Physical Characteristics of Don Goat

Don goat is a medium sized goat. Their body is roundish in shape and the skeleton is bigger in bucks than the does. They have strong constitution, good conformation and adequate undercoat wool on the body, neck and belly.

They are predominantly black in color, but they are sometimes white. They have large horns that are variable in shape. Back of the bucks is long, straight and wider than the does.

The bucks are usually larger than the does. Average live body weight of the adult male Don goat ranges from 65 to 85 kg. And the does on average weight about 35 to 40 kg.

Uses

Don goat is a multi-purpose breed of goats. They are kept for the production of milk, wool and goatskin. They are somehow good for meat production.

Special Considerations

Don goats are hardy animals and generally of good behavior. They have the highest wool production among all goat breeds. Average wool production from the bucks ranges from 550 to 1600 grams. And average production from does ranges from 330 to 1430 grams.

Average wool content in the fleece of the Don goat is about 61.5 to 92.2 percent. The goats are very prolific with an average kidding rate of 145 to 150 kids per 100 does. The Don does are also pretty good milkers. On average they are capable of producing about 130-140 liters of milk per lactation period.

Their lactation period is about 5 months. Milk of the Don goat is noted for high fat content. Their milk contain an average of 3.3 to 8.2 fat content. Review full breed profile of the Don goat in the following table.

Breed Name	Don
Other Name	None
Breed Purpose	Milk, Wool & Goatskin
Breed Size	Medium
Buck	About 65 to 85 kg
Doe	About 35 to 40 kg
Horns	Yes
Climate Tolerance	All Climates
Coat Color	Predominantly black in color with sometimes white
Good for Stall Fed	Not Sure
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	Russia

Comments

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...

Search This Blog