Flippie inoculates the goats with Multivax Plus and a straight pulpy kidney injection such as Pulpyvax. “What’s more, the 164% weaning rate can be increased through selection and genetic improvement.”. This site was designed with the .com. So I decided that instead of making excuses for my low lamb crop, I had to find a solution.” At that stage – eight years ago – Flippie had a few goats but admits he did not really know how to farm them. During the kidding period, the ewes are given lucerne cubes daily, bought from a supplier in Cradock, as well as farm-grown lucerne once or twice a week. The relatively high prolificity of the Sokoto goat would tend to support a hypothesis … “Goats have a natural flocking instinct – they keep in a tight group, whereas sheep tend to wander off alone. ZBGS is a nonprofit society. “I therefore wanted the ewes to rear their kids in summer so I could sell them before winter. If you're looking for Savana goats for sale, we've got you covered! Flippie has done his sums: “Feed costs are about R180 per ewe. Kalahari red goat and Boer are two best goat breeds of the world for meat purpose. The camp size depended on the bushes and trees available to shelter the goats from the sun, wind and cold. It’s 6.30am in early October and Karoo farmer Flippie Loock heads out to feed his Savannah goats. In addition, the ewes are aggressive and protect their kids fiercely.” He markets his kids from March, when they are 6 months to 7 months old and weigh 30kg, for about R700 each. “The aim is to build resilience in your animals. Start Now However the numbers have been declining. “I farm on 5 300ha – 3 300ha my own and 2 000ha leased – half of which is mountain veld. I regarded them as a nuisance until it began to dawn on me that the ideal animal for my veld was right in front of me. • Goats good at keeping bush under control -stops too much shrub growth • Will live even where there is a drought. The guest cottages (on the right, next to the homestead) cater for hunters as well as overnight B&B visitors. “We have about eight hunts for South Africans every year, and about five for overseas hunters, mainly from Denmark,” Savanna Goats Results - Harare Province Rumbidzai Chinjiri cattle Harare, Harare Province, Zimbabwe 0716916410 In addition to his Savannah goats, Flippie runs 700 Dorper sheep and 100 mixed beef cattle, which he breeds to Brangus bulls. Boer goat traits include: Multiple births are more common than singles; Higher dressing percentage than other goatbreeds; Reach slaughter weight more quickly than othergoat breeds. Jonathan (Jon) Chirisa is a passionate Savanna goat breeder in Zimbabwe. He administers Multivax P Plus six weeks before lambing, Pulpyvax two weeks later and Multivax P Plus again two weeks after this. The enclaves of Lesotho and Swaziland are sovereign states. The white Savanna goat breed was developed from indigenous goats of South Africa. At this stage, the three- and four-week-old kids are also tucking in and by the time the veld starts turning green in mid-October, all 500 ewes and their kids can be run extensively. “I only lose a handful of goats to predators,” says Flippie. The Savanna and Boer goats are world famous breeds that have been developed from South Africa and the Kalahari Red Goat is a new addition to this list. So you must know what you are dosing for and when it’s necessary to do so,” he stresses. The mopane savanna is an exception to the "broad-leaved/fine-leaved" distinctions of Cowling et al. He weans a 164% kid crop with a birth-to-weaning loss of about 5%, as opposed to 40% in his lamb crop, which he has reduced by 300 ewes to make way for the goats. He decided that the optimal reproductive cycle for his situation would be a single breeding season – in April – with the ewes kidding in September. Compared with 60% in the case of sheep lambs, that’s a substantial difference.” Why does he not apply the same controlled system to his sheep, instead of letting them run extensively? Determined to become a farmer one day, she already has eight of her own Savannah goat ewes, which produced 14 kids this season. These, of course, are additional costs. The Boer goat is an ideal grazing companion to cattle and sheep particularly if they are in an environment where they can browse. This way, I’d only have to look after the mated ewes in winter.”. Does not need a lot of water and can go for quite a long time without water in very dry times 1.5. Boer bucks are being used often used as terminal sires on dairy breeds to produce high quality meat kids. In such a setting, high quality food and mineral supplements must be provided for the goats, and breeding is typically controlled. “I chose the Savannah goat because I like its temperament,” he says. For the moment, though, this aspirant farmer is happy to learn from her future client, and assists him whenever she is home from boarding school in Graaff-Reinet. “They were always around the house and in the same camps, kidding year-round,” he recalls. The area is divided into six camps of 2ha each, planted to Smuts finger grass (Digitaria eriantha), two 40ha veld camps, and 108ha of additional grazing planted to Smuts finger. Meat breeds which have been specifically bred for meat producing characteristics � Such breeds available in South Africa include Boer Goats, Savanna Goats and Kalahari Red Goats � It is generally accepted that they are more susceptible to disease than non-improved goats� Boer goat (left) and Kalahari Red goat breeds 7 Months          40.0ky          39.25kg. Create your website today. Savanna Goats Results - Harare Province Rumbidzai Chinjiri cattle Harare, Harare Province, Zimbabwe 0716916410 Boer goats offer many opportunities for large and small scale farmers who wish to diversify or seek alternative enterprises. Average body weights of pure bred and dairy crosses. The Association is also establishing affiliations with goat breeding societies in South Africa and Namibia. Boer goats have appealing traits in terms of production, fertility, maternal qualities and ease of management. ‘Meating’ the Market           Profitable - Diverse – Easy to Manage. Savanna Goats for Sale (2020): Directory of Savanna Goat Breeders. These animals will be marketed at 6 months to 7 months of age. Proudly created with. Kalahari red goat and Boer are two best goat breeds of the world for meat purpose. Contact Flippie Loock on 049 842 1344 or 082 258 0343, or email [email protected]. ... (Capra hircus L) in a semi-arid savanna, Zimbabwe. 52% of Zimbabwean households have less than 8 goats and only 18% of households have more than 20 goats. The problem was that I wasn’t managing them.” After deciding to develop a goat enterprise, Flippie did some investigation into the type of goat he wanted. The Loocks’ 11-year-old daughter Micela is no less involved on Springfontein. Today, Flippie breeds and sells his own rams, using the Falkirk Index to identify the best rams and working on a multi-sire breeding flock ratio of five rams to 100 ewes. Savanna goats on intensive pasture Savanna goats can be raised and live like other small-farm meat goats, with about 250 feet of pasture space per goat for exercise and social needs. Our Bucks will excel and produce phenomenal offspring in any Zimbabwean condition the harsher the better. he adds. The outlay in creating camps and watering systems is another factor to consider, as is the goat market. They are forecast to increase even further as health conscious consumers turn to quality meats, produced in welfare friendly conditions. “It has turned my farming around,” he says. It is a new breed in terms of recognition and the breed is becoming increasingly popular. Savanna goat breed News - Agriculture | 2016-09-27 Page no: 19. Important for Social events • Goats are used traditionally as Woody species play an important role as browse for goats in semi-arid and arid savanna ecosystems in southern Africa. One of the advantages of these white goats was the fact that the white color is dominant over most other colors. On the 21 of October these pure boer goats will be heading to Zimbabwe for deliveries. Boer Goat, the SA Savanna and the SA Kalahari Red is pure native to Africa, ennobled in South Africa, for Africa and the world at large. Arkansas Savana Goat Breeders. Various farmers bred what was known as white Boer goats for a number of years in South Africa. DNA tests showed there is a bigger genetic difference between the Boer and the Kalahari Red than the Boer and the Savanna goats. Meat breeds which have been specifically bred for meat producing characteristics. Excluding the retained replacement ewes, this brings in about R500 000 before feed costs. As numbers increase more pure bred herds are arising and these are being developed specifically for meat production. The Boer goat is abreed of goat that has been specifically bred for meat and is regarded as the world'spremier meat goat. Reach slaughter weight more quickly than othergoat breeds, © 2023 by Mel's Vineyard, Ltd. In Zimbabwe the goat population is estimated to be about 3M animals in 2011. This emphasis on health is echoed by Nibbs Price, Novartis farm animal business manager for the region, who urges farmers to take dung samples and have them analysed, rather than merely dosing routinely. His wife Liesel runs a fully catered guesthouse on the farm for the hunters and other visitors. “It’s important that farmers interested in goats work out how to get their animals to market, particularly, as is our case, when they’re far from that market.”. GBAZ is run by a Council elected under the Constitution and By-laws of the Association and breed standards for Boer, Kalahari Red and Savanna goats have been developed for the Zimbabwean Goat … Within a few years, the number of ewes had increased to their present number – 500 ewes in 52 camps. Kid meat sales from both pure and cross bred Boers are now beginning to show encouraging growth at profitable prices. He has bred up a strong herd over the years and sells breeding stock to other game breeders, setting some aside as trophies for local and international hunting clients. As many extensive farmers in the Karoo know, raising lambs successfully can be an enormous challenge. 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