Damascus Goat: Characters, Baby And Price - Agricultural ...

Damascus goat is the native breed of Syria (Al-Atiyat & Aljumaah, 2014) and other Middle East countries. As indicated by the name, this goat ... Skiptocontent Postauthor:GovindJoshi Readingtime:11minsread TableofContents DamascusGoat(Capraaegagrushircus)BreedcharacteristicsBreedInformationReproductiveBehavioursBreedinginDamascusGoatManagementSystem MilkproductionMeatproduction IstheDamascusgoatarealgoat? UsesFarmingAdvantagesVideoOnViralDamascusGoat DamascusGoatpriceFinalVerdict   References DamascusGoat(Capraaegagrushircus) DamascusgoatisthenativebreedofSyria(Al-Atiyat&Aljumaah,2014)andotherMiddleEastcountries.Asindicatedbythename,thisgoatwassupposedtobeoriginatedaroundDamascus,Syria(Zarkawietal.,1999).Afterthat,theyareintroducedtoothercountrieslikeEgypt,Cyprus,Lebanon,Jordan,AlgeriaandIraq.However,thenameDamascuswasgiventotheminCypruswheretheywerebroughtbytheBritish.ItismainlyraisedinCyprus,LebanonandSyria. ItisalsoknownbythenameofShami,Baladi,Halep,Allepo,DamasceneorChami.ItisalsoknowntobetheancestorofsomeIndianandTurkishdairygoatbreed(Güneyetal.,2006). ThisisamultipurposegoatraisedforMilk,meatandhide.Duetoitshardynature,itcanproducemilkinchangingenvironmentalconditionsandmilkisrichinfatandproteinwhichhasmadeitpopularthroughouttheMiddleEast.ThenameDamascuswasalsostatedinmanyclassicsofArabicliterature.Itwasanoblebreedthatwasalsousedtodevelopanewbreed.Therewasastrangetwistinappearancewherethegoatchangesfromthecutestonetowhatithasbeencalledthe‘TheMonoster’goat.Someoftentagthemasthebulldogofgoatsduetotheirappearance.SincetheDamascusgoatistypicallydifferentinappearancefromothergoatbreeds,itcanbeeasilyidentifiedandisgainingpopularitythroughouttheworld.Thisgoathasinterestingfeatures.Let’shavelookatthem.   Breedcharacteristics ThebodycoatcolouroftheDamascusgoatisreddish-brownandisrarelyblackwhichappearsasapresenceofrecessivegeneinthepopulation(Mavrogenisetal.,2006).Someshowsilver-white,white,fawnandgreycoatcolour.Thebodyiscoveredwithlonghairs.Sometimeswhitespotsareseenonthebody,legsandface.However,whitespotsarenotcommon.Ithaslongandpendulousearsmeasuring27-32cminlength.AlongheadandRomannosewithalongneckisaprominentcharacteristic. LongandfineneckisagooddairycharacterthatispossessedbyDamascusgoat.Bucksaregenerallyheavierandlongerthanthedoeswhichisnaturalaslikethatofothergoatbreeds.Adultliveweightofabout65kgforfemaleand75kgforthemale.Hornsareeitherpresentorabsentinbothsexes.Itisalargebreedwithabodycircumferenceof97-99cm.Adaptationforhightemperatureandsuitabilityforbreedinginlowlandareasisthemostdesirablefeatureofthisbreed(Tataretal.,2019).Damascusgoathaslongprotrudinglowerjawthatmakesthemdifficulttograzeandnurse. RelatedPosts:- ToggenburgGoat:Characteristics,OriginAndUses PashminaGoat:Origin,PriceAndProducts BreedInformation NameOfBreedDamascus NativePlaceSyria(Damascus,) OtherNamesShami,Damascene,Halep,Aleppo,Baladi,Chami BreedTypeMultipurpose BreedSizeLarge AdultMaleWeight70-90Kg AdultFemaleWeight50-60Kg HornBothSexesAreEitherHornedOrPolled CoatColourReddishBrown   ReproductiveBehaviours  DamascusgoatisaseasonalbreederinwhichthebreedingseasonstartsfromlateAugustandextendtomid-December.Attheageof220to270days,thefirstoestruscycleoccurs.However,itisdependentontheseasonofbirthofthekid.Theproductivelifeinitiatesattheyoungageof13to16months.Thefertilityisconsideredtobemediumtohighaslikeofthoseotherhighmilkyieldingbreeds.Itisahighlyprolificbreedgivingbirthto1.80kidsperkiddingonaverage.ResearcheshaveshownthatthetwinpercentageinDamascusgoatis50%butthedoeskidsonlyonceayear.   BreedinginDamascusGoat  Damascusgoatbreedonlyonceayear.Mostlynaturalbreedingispreferred.However,withthedevelopmentofmodernscientificbreedingtechniques,fewcommercialgrowersalsocarryoutinducedbreeding.Thebreedingperiodis36hourslongwithabreedingcycleof18to24days.Thegestationperiodisof155dayswhichissimilartothatofotherbreedsofgoat(145-155).Thelactationperiodisof200to220days.Ahealthybuckcanbreed30does.Massmating,singlematingandartificialinseminationarecommonlyfollowedbreedingmethodsofbreeding.   ManagementSystem   Thegoatshouldberearedintheimprovedmanagementsystem.Extensivegrazingisnotallowedandthegoatcanbesuccessfullyraisedinbothsmallandlarge-sizedherdswherethegoodprovisionofhousing,feedingandothermanagementissuesareensured.ThecommonherdsizeforDamascusgoatsis200-300goats.Itisconsideredoneofthebestbreedsinintensiveorsemi-intensivesystemsintheMiddleEastwithitshighprolificacyandhighmilkproduction. Sucklingduration,weaningtime,energyandproteinrequirementofdoeandkidandfatteningpracticesareimportantmanagementsystems.Weaningcanbeimmediatelydoneafterbirthi.e.zerosucklingoraftersixtosevenweeksofbirth.Weaningcarriedoutatthistimehasnoadverseeffectonthegrowthofthekids.   Milkproduction  ThedoesofDamascusgoataregoodmilkers.Thetotalmilkyieldwasfoundtobe570kginonelactationperiodwithanaverageof1.9kgperday(K.,2009).Themilkofthisgoatiseasytodigestandisfoundtoberichinfatandprotein.   Meatproduction Damascusgoatsarealsorearedformeat.Astheyhaveahighgrowthrateandtheygainweightsoonerthanotherbreeds,theymayfetchhighreturnstothegrowers.     IstheDamascusgoatarealgoat?  Itislikethebulldogofgoatsandhasanexceptionallyshortfaceandismuchtallerthantheothergoatbreed.Thereismuchdifferencebetweenthekids(thebabyofDamascusGoat)andgrown-upgoats.Ascomparedtothekidsmaturedgoatsareweirder.Thekidshaveanormalface.However,inalaterstage,theychangefrombeautifultoamonsterlikeface.Theirlookmayscaremanypeopleastheyhavetypicallymonsterlikeface.TheyareadorableinyoungstageandonJune132008,aDamascusgoatnamed‘Qahr’hasreceivedthe‘Mostbeautifulgoat’awardintheMazayenal-maazcompetitionheldinRiyadh.Thegoatswerejudgedontheiroverallappearanceandrarity.Hardyinnature,Freefromhealthhazardsandhighmilkproductionaresomefactorsforwhichthepeoplelovethemdespitetheirugliestface.   Uses  Thisisadairygoatbreed.So,mostprobablytheyareraisedformilkproductionincountrieslikeSyriaandLebnan.However,theyhavemany-folduses.Insomecountries,theyarealsoraisedformeatandleather.Withthegrowingpopularity,theyareoftenusedinbreedingtoproducecrossbred.Quickgrowth,highertwiningpercentageandadaptabilitytovariedclimaticconditionsarethereasonsforwhichtheDamascusgoatareusedincrossbredwiththeotherbreedsofgoats.LikeinIndia,theyareusedforcrossbredBoerandSirohigoat.InsomeNorthAmericancountries,thisgoatisalsoraisedaspetanimal.   Farming  FarmingofDamascusgoatisjustliketheotherdairygoatfarming.TostartDamascusgoatfarmingatfirstwehavetopurchasepureandhealthybreed.Alwaysbuythegoatfromacertifiedbreederandavoidbuyingthegoatfromanuncertifiedbreederbecausethehealthconditionofagoatisofprimeimportance.Sincethesegoatsarelarger,theyrequirealargehouseforrearing.Onaverage15squarefeetareapergoatissufficient.Properventilationshouldbeensuredandthefarmpremisesshouldalwaysbekeptdryandclean.Feedingisanotherimportantthingthatshouldbecarriedoutscientifically.Requireddosesofalltheessentialnutrientsshouldbeensuredthroughthediet.Feedingadequategreenfoddersenhancemilkproduction.So,asufficientamountofgreenfoddershouldbefedtotheDamascusgoat.Lucerne,Alfalfa,Berseem,Napier,Cornsillages,pelletsetcshouldbeincludedinthediet.Forprofitablefarming,scientificbreedingmethodsshouldbeadopted.Ahealthybuckcanmateupto30does.AdditionalcareshouldbePregnantdoes,breedingbuckandalsotothenewbornkids.Theyshouldbefedwithadditionalnutritiousfood.Timelyvaccinationisofgreatimportanceasitisbeneficialinthesensethatitreducesmortalityandincreasemilkyield.Alltheequipmentincludingmilkingmachinesshouldbecleanedwelltoavoidcontamination.Thedoeshouldbemilkedtwiceaday.Keepingaveterinarydoctoronthefarmforregularcheck-upshasmanyfoldadvantagesandagoodmarketplanisofparamountimportanceforeconomicfarming.BeforestartingDamascusgoatfarming,itisbeneficialtovisitacommercialfarmerforknowingthecharacteristicsofthebreedandothersystemsofmanagement.   Advantages Damascusgoatsareadvantageousinthefollowingsense: ✓Multipurposebreedmostlyraisedformilk,meatandleatherproduction. ✓Twinnigpercentageishigh50%andmaygivebirthto3to4kidsinasinglebirth. ✓Theyhaveahighfeedconversionratio. ✓Theyaregoodmilkyieldersandmilkisrichinfatandprotein. ✓Hardyinnatureandhavewideradaptabilityinvariedclimaticconditions. ✓Theweightofa3-monthkidrangesbetween16to18kg.Maturedmalegoatmayreachupto90kgifproperlyraised. ✓Theaveragedailymilkproductionis1.9kg. ✓Itcanbeusedinbreedingtoproducecrossbreeds. ✓Theyhaveahighweightgainrate. ✓Theaverageannualhairyieldis210gm. ✓Aboutin450to500days,femalegoatsarereadyforkidding. ✓Theyhavealactationperiodof200to220days. VideoOnViralDamascusGoat DamascusGoatprice Thepricedependsuponvariousfactors.Generally,crossbredscostlowascomparedtothepurebreed.CrossbreedareinexpensivehoweverapuretypebreedofDamascusgoatmaycost5000usdollars.    FinalVerdict So,DamascusGoatisagiftofnaturethatshowsuniquevariationinitsappearanceandisimportantinlivelihoodofMiddleEastPeople.      References 1.Al-Atiyat,R.M.,&Aljumaah,R.S.(2014).GeneticrelatednessbetweenArdi,BlackBedouinand  Damascusgoatbreeds.Genet.Mol.Res,13(2),4654–4665. 2.Güler,Z.,Keskin,M.,Masatçioğlu,T.,Gül,S.,&Biçer,O.(2007).EffectsofbreedandlactationperiodonsomecharacteristicsandfreefattyacidcompositionofrawmilkfromDamascusgoatsandGermanfawnxHairgoatb_1crossbreds.TurkishJournalofVeterinaryandAnimalSciences,31(5),347–354. 3.Güney,O.,Torun,O.,Özuyanık,O.,&Darcan,N.(2006).Milkproduction,reproductiveandgrowthperformancesofDamascusgoatsundernorthernCyprusconditions.SmallRuminantResearch,65(1–2),176–179. 4.Mavrogenis,A.P.,Antoniades,N.Y.,&Hooper,R.W.(2006).TheDamascus(shami)goatofCyprus.AnimalGeneticResources/ResourcesGénétiquesAnimales/RecursosGenéticosAnimales,38,57–65. 5.Tatar,A.M.,Tuncer,S.S.,&Sireli,H.D.(2019).ComparisonofyieldcharacteristicsofDamascusandKilisgoatsindryclimaticconditions.AustralJournalofVeterinarySciences,51(2),61–66. 6.Zarkawi,M.,Al-Merestani,M.R.,&Wardeh,M.F.(1999).InductionofsynchronizedoestrousinindigenousDamascusgoatsoutsidethebreedingseason.SmallRuminantResearch,33(2),193–197.   YouMightAlsoLike BoarGoatFarmingInNepal July17,2020 GoatFarmingInNepal:ImportanceAndChallenges July15,2020 PomfretFishBenefitsAndNutritionalValues September26,2020 LeaveaReplyCommentEnteryournameorusernametocomment Enteryouremailaddresstocomment EnteryourwebsiteURL(optional)