Directorate: Curriculum FET

SUBJECT Agricultural Management Practices GRADE 10

TERM 2 WEEK 5
TOPIC Animal production: Goat breeds
PURPOSE OF At the end of the lesson the learners should be able to:
LESSON • Milk / Dairy - Breeds, Meat Breeds
• The Angora goat.

RESOURCES Book based resources

(Indicate what will be Relevant Textbooks:
used during lesson • Revision exercises at the end of this lesson.
e.g. Textbook)
• Notes

INTRODUCTION • Treats previous content that may be related to current topic:

Sheep breeds
• The purpose of the following lesson is to discuss the content, associated with the following:
Goat breeds
CONCEPTS AND • Goat breeds
SKILLS • The goat (Capra hircus) is one of the first humans to be domesticated by humans. Goats are intelligent, very
curious and agile. They are ruminants that eat leaves and grass.
• Goats are farmed extensively in the drier parts of the country. Goats are cheaper to manage than cattle, as they
do not need expensive housing. They only need shelter from extreme environmental conditions, a clean place to
sleep and protection from predators. The first reference to goats in South Africa dates back to 1661.

• Capra hircus

• The general characteristics of dairy goats

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• Dairy goats should graze on improved pasture maintained by the farmer, where
their udders are not damaged.
• Weeds should be controlled so that the milk does not have a bad taste.
• They usually have soft skin with smooth hair coverings, concave faces and upright
ears.
• They have well-rounded rib cages to make sure there is enough room for feed to
get enough milk. To deliver.
• They have strong jawbones to eat properly. They have strong, sturdy legs.
• They have soft, broad, round udders that are well attached.
• The teats are all the same size and hang evenly. It is high enough so that it does not drag on the ground.
• They produce more milk than they need for their lambs. The udder is well developed, is round or spherical and
not fleshy, and has a soft texture after the goat has been milked. The udder is carried high and deep under the
body and is well attached.

• Saanen goat
Saanens originally comes from the Saanen Valley in Switzerland and is the first dairy
breed to be imported to South Africa.

• Breed Characteristics
• Saanens are large goats with a large bone structure.
• They have a white or cream-colored bedspread of short, fine hair with fraiinkies
against the thighs and along the back.
• The white color makes them very sensitive to sunlight, and they are prone to
cancer of the eyes and udders.
• Goat rams and ewes have beards unless shaved off for shows.
• Staples weigh about 9kg and ewes weigh 55-65kg.
• They are leaf eaters who like to eat leaves, clover and other plants.
• Goat ewes are seasonal breeding animals and lamb once a year.
• Usually have twins, and even triplets and quadruplets are not uncommon.

• Milk and meat quality.

• Goats produce the most milk of the three recognized breeds in South Africa.
• They can produce up to nine liters of milk per day and the milk contains an average of 3.5% butterfat.
• The milk has finer drops of cream than cow's milk, which naturally homogenises it and makes it easier to digest
than cow's milk.
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• The milk can be frozen and is nice to drink when thawed.

• It has lower levels of lactose than cow's milk.
• And is healthy for people with lactose intolerance and babies who are allergic to cow's milk.
• The milk is sweeter, smoother and creamier than cow's milk. (Some people say it 'tastes like goat'.)
• Due to their heavy legs and udders, the breed is not good for meat production.

• Adaptive features
• Goats show no genetic resistance to heartwater.
• They have a calm temperament, are gentle and can easily be used as show goats or in zoo gardens.
• They prefer cooler climates with shade because they are very sensitive to excessive heat and sunlight.
• They need shelter when it rains.

• Toggenburgbok
• Toggenburg goats originally come from the Toggenburg Valley in Switzerland.
• They are not very common in South Africa, but there are a few stud breeders.

• Breed Characteristics
• They are medium-sized animals with short, soft, fine, light pale brown to dark brown
hair.
• They have distinctive white marks on their ears, faces, legs and tails.
• Rams have beards and white heads, and sometimes horns.
• They are lighter and slimmer than the Saanen.
• Adult goat rams weigh on average 72 kg and goat ewes weigh 5 kg.
• Ewes: usually give. Birth to one lamb, but twins are not uncommon.
• Are seasonal breeding animals.

• Milk and meat quality

• Toggenburg goats are pretty good goats. The milk has an average of 3.3% butterfat and has a strong flavor. It is
usually used to make cheese. A good goat can produce an average of 3 liters of milk per day over a lactation
period of 10 months. During the peak of lactation, a good goat can produce 4-6 liters of milk per day.
Toggenburg goats are sometimes used for meat.

• Adaptive features
• This breed performs better in cooler conditions.
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• They are a friendly, quiet, peaceful breed and are good pets.
• Toggenburg goats are hardy animals and adapt well to different climates and management systems.
• During the coldest part of the year, they should be housed and fed a mixture of fodder and grass.
• The breed is well adapted to mountain areas due to their slight hanging crosses and long, strong legs.

• The general characteristics of a meat breed goat

• Meat breed goats are large with a heavy carcass that produces a lot of high quality meat per individual.
• The ewes are medium-sized goats and therefore require less feed, but produce the same number of lambs
• The animals usually require minimal care and are generally leaf eaters that eat the leaves of bushes and shrubs.
• They should have good jaw alignment to graze and good legs and legs to move over long distances.
• It is a muscular breed with a fast growth rate.
• They should be very fertile and preferably have multiple lambs.

• Boer goat
• The Boer Goat was developed in South Africa in the fifties for the production of
meat. The breed was developed by crossing indigenous African goats with
European dairy breeds. There are five species of Boer goats in South Africa,
namely:
• Common Boer Goats;
• Longhair Goats;
• Poenskopboerbokke;
• Indigenous Boer Goats; and
• Improved Boer Goats.

• Breed Characteristics
• They have a distinctive white body with a red head and ears.
• They have long hangers and a Roman nose.
• An adult goat ram weighs between 110 and 135 kg and an adult ewe weighs between 90 and 100 kg.
• Goats have horns that bend backwards and downwards.
• They reduce forest encroachment by eating trees and shrubs.
• Ewes breed continuously throughout the year.
• Reach sexual maturity when they are 5-9 months old. Has a high fertility rate and can have triplets and
quadruplets.
• Can lamb three times over a period of two years, with 6-9 lambs in this period.
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• Usually has a good maternal instinct. Except when they have their first lambs.

• Meat content
• The meat is of excellent quality and the carcass conformation is good. There is much less fat than meat and
cholesterol levels are low. Goat meat is easily digested.

• Adaptive features
• They have a strong resistance to diseases such as bluetongue. They are hardy animals that are very adaptable
to harsh environments. They have
• a calm temperament.

• Savannah Goat
• The white Savanna goat was developed in 1955. They were developed by
selective breeding with the local multicolored 'flapoor' goats and a large white
ram.

• Breed Characteristics
• They are medium-sized to large white ‚flapoor · goats with a thick, supple skin
and a short, smooth hair covering.
• They have long hangings (flapores) with black skin pigmentation.
• 10rings grow backwards.
• luIle are efficient food seekers and also eat poor grazing and bushes and shrubs that taste bad to other animals.
• They can walk long distances in search of food and water.
• Goat ewes: are not seasonal breeding animals and can breed throughout the year.
• Fertile and may have multiple lambs.
• Have a good maternal instinct and defend their lambs aggressively.
• Will raise their lambs without grazing on pasture.
• The well-formed udders that are firmly attached

• Meat content
• This breed produces good, tender and tasty meat.
• They produce balanced carcasses with good muscle and lots of meat with less fat.

• Adaptive features
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• They are hardy animals with good tolerance for and resistance to heat, drought, cold, rain and parasites.
• They are well adapted to survive and breed on typical grasslands.
• They have a good temperament.

• Kalahari Red Book

• The Kalahari Red is originally from South Africa.
• The name is derived from their red hair coverings, which look like the sands of
the Kalahari Desert.
• The Kalahari Red stud was bred from red and red-and-white indigenous African
goats that were not of a specific breed.
• The South African Kalahari Red was recognized as a race in 1998.

• Breed Characteristics
• They are light to dark brown in color, with uneven pigmentation.
• They are very good food seekers.
• They have an excellent ability to walk.
• Ewes use their sharp horns to protect their lambs.
• Ewes: are very fertile and breed throughout the year.
• Can lamb three times in two years.
• Has a good maternal instinct and can lamb in the field and raise their lambs there.
• Produces a lot of milk and has lambs that grow fast and are strong.
• The well-developed teats that are well attached so that lambs can drink easily

• Adaptive features
• Their hardiness makes them ideal for harsh, dry and semi-arid conditions.
• They are fully pigmented and therefore have a natural resistance to heat and the sun.
• The red color serves as camouflage against predators.
• They are less prone to disease and need less vaccination and dosing.
• Farming with these goats is less labor intensive.

• Mohair goats
• Mohair comes from the Angora goat.
• The hair of young animals is used for special clothes and the thicker hair of older animals is used for carpets and
heavy outdoor materials.
• It is used for knitting, crochet, weaving, felting and a wide variety of other fiber art.
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• Mohair is also used in rugs and craft thread.

• Its texture resembles fine human hair and is therefore often used to make high quality wigs for dolls.

• Angora Goat
• Angora goats are of Turkish origin.
• The name comes from the province of Angora (now Ankara) in central Turkey.

• Breed Characteristics
• Their most valuable trait is their mohair.
• It is a medium-sized breed with a long, curly hair cover.
• They eat the leaves of woody plants, for example trees and bushes.
• They are shaved two or three times a year.
• Goat ewes: are seasonal breeding animals and usually mate. In the fall.
• Has an average gestation period of 140 days.
• Often has multiple lambs (70% of the ewes).

• Adaptive features
• Angora goats have a calm temperament. They are not very hardy and are very sensitive to low temperatures.

• Mohair and wool - comparison and uses

Mohair Carrot fiber

• Origin • It is the silky, soft material or • Wool is the textile fiber of

thread made from the hair of sheep and other animals.
the Angora goat. Wool includes cashmere and
mohair from goats
• Color • It is predominantly white and • Wool usually has a creamy
has a high gloss glitter white color
• Physical properties • Mohair has a coarse outer • Most goats have soft,
layer of fiber and a fine insulating hair close to the
undercoat that lives up to the skin and longer scalp hair on
true mohair fibers. There is the surface. The soft hair
no barbed wire. Good mohair near the skin is more
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fleece has locks Mohair fibers desirable and is called down,

are held together by the curl cashmere and passion hair.
of the fleece. The hair grows Cashmere is very expensive,
2-5 cm per year fine and soft. Wool fibers
grow in stacks. Primary hair is
straight Secondary hair is
short and curly.
• Fineness • Fibers are about 25-45 • Merino wool 5 12 24 microns
microns in diameter. The in diameter Wool can be
diameter of mohair increases coarse, medium or fine.
with the age of the goat.
Mohair ranges from very fine
and soft to coarse and
scratchy.
• Quality • The finer the diameter of the • Wool quality is determined
fibers, the higher the quality by: diameter: can fiber, knurl,
of the mohair. yield, color and stack length.
Fiber diameter is the most
important factor determining
quality and price.
• Fleece mass • Average fleece weighs 1.2- • Depending on the diameter, a
2.5 kg. fleece can weigh an average
of 3-7 kg.
• Staple length • The stack length is 7.5-15 cm • The length of wool fibers is:
2.5-35.5 cm.
• Fiber curls • Mohair is not curled, but • Fine wool has up to 100 knots
wavy. per inch and coarse wool has
only 1-2.
• Isolation • Mohair is warm and • Wool insulates against heat
lightweight and has good and cold. The wool fibers
insulating properties absorb moisture easily. The
fibers are hollow and
waterproof
• Flammability • Mohair is warm and • Wool fibers are fire retardant.
lightweight and has good It does not melt if it burns and
insulating properties cannot cause burns.
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• Water resilience • Mohair can Absorb and • Wool is hydrophobic, it in turn

release atmospheric liquids down. It lets water
moisture. The fibers can vapor through the wool fibers.
breathe. . Move without losing their
thermal properties;
• Elasticity • mohair can stretch about 30% • Wool is very elastic - it can be
longer immediately returning twisted, twisted and stretched
to its original shape. Mohair and will retain its natural
clothes do not crease and shape. It does not wrinkle
stretch easily. easily. Wool fibers can be
bent 20,000 times
• Durability • Mohair can be twisted or bent • Wool is very durable and the
before the fibers are fibers will recover when
damaged. stretched.
• Static resistance • Mohair generates static • Wool is resistant to static
electricity. electricity.
• Care • Mohair requires little care • Wool requires little care and
because dust will not settle does not attract dust into the
on the slippery fibers air.
• Color • The shine helps prevent • Wool color easily. Coarse hair
colored mohair from is difficult to spin and color
bleaching easily
• Processing • Mohair can be combed, • Cartilage makes it easier to
carded or spun The thread is spin the fleece because the
stronger and warmer than individual fibers attach to
wool. each other and stay together.
• Cost • It is a luxury fiber and is more • Cloud clothing is not cheap
expensive than sheep wool. because it is considered a
luxury fiber
• Uses • It can be itchy and irritate the • Wool fibers finer than 25
skin. Fine mohair is used for microns can be used for
clothes such as coats, underwear. Coarse wool can
scarves and sweaters. be used for blankets.
Thicker mohair is used for uniforms of firefighters.
carpets and heavy goatskin.
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ACTIVITIES • Learners can also use the following resources to complete activities:
• Revision exercises set up by the teacher.
CONSOLIDATION • This lesson dealt with the content, as prescribed in the CAPS document.
• Learners who have mastered the content must apply the knowledge and skills required by successfully
answering questions applicable to this curriculum content.
• Learners will be able to use the knowledge and skills as a sound foundation for progression to the next topic.
(Pig breeds)