GOAT BREEDING

GOAT BREEDING, breeding of goats to produce milk, meat, underwool and wool; a branch of livestock breeding. In Bashkortostan, the number of goats at farms of all categories amounts to 101.3 thous. heads: agricultural businesses — 1.1 heads, peasant (famer) farms — 6.9, homesteads – 93.3 (2018). In the RB, dairy goats of local origin and those imported from other areas (mostly, Saanen hybrid breeds), as well as Russian various‑coloured (white, pied, black, etc) goats are bred. The body weight of a doe is 35–40 kg, that of a buck is 40–45 kg. The annual average milk yield is 250–700 kg. Dairy goats are bred at homesteads in Blagoveshchensky, Karmaskalinsky, Kushnarenkovsky, Tuymazinsky, Ufimsky, Chishminsky, and Sharansky raions; since the 1990s, they are also bred at the farms of Abzelilovsky, Blagovarsky, Mechetlinsky, Uchalinsky and other raions. OOO Favorit (Sharansky Raion) a large goat farm in the RB, manages 932 pedigree Saanen goats incl. 650 does. There are pedigree Saanen goats at M.M.Farkhutdinov farm (Blagoveshchensky Raion; 300 goats), OOO SVT‑Agro (Ufimsky Raion; 300 goats). Local Bashkir goats, mostly used for production of down wool, have a sound constitution, are enduring and easy to keep; they are predominantly dark grey, sometimes brownish. The body weight of a doe is 40–50 kg, that of a buck is 50– 85 kg; the annual down wool yield is 200– 600 g of grey down per an animal; the length of the fibers is 5—9 cm and fineness — 15—17 mcm. Local down wool rich goats are bred at homesteads of Abzelilovsky, Baymaksky, Ziyanchurinsky, Kugarchinsky, Kuyurgazinsky, Khaybullinsky and other raions of the RB. Goat products (goat milk, kumys, cheese, etc) produced by Bashkir farmers are supplied to children’s health retreat centers, as well as summer camps. Private cheese dairies and eco‑farms rendering recreation and health services are actively developed (Bashkirskaya Koza eco‑farm in Meleuzovsky Raion, etc).