Post by Joe on Dec 16, 2005 2:05:33 GMT -5
A verr is one of the most useful animals you can keep, not only are they easy to look after and feed, they produce lovely tasting milk to make cheese, butter and yogurt from and to drink of course. Unwanted kids are excellent as a source of meat for the house, the skins tan well and the fat is used to make soap, as well as all that you have a marvelous source of manure for the garden. The verr is also a lovable animal to have around! ;D
On this topic we will look at some basic husbandry principles of verr keeping, breeding, housing and feeding.
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BREEDING:
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Verr breed each season. Most does come on season from late summer through to early winter. The doe has an 18-21 estrus cycle. The doe is usually in season from a few hours to a few days. It takes five months for the doe to have kids. Twins are very common and some does have triplets or quads. A good milking doe will milk for a year after kidding, many will milk longer if they are not joined to a buck again.
During the breeding season a buck has a strong ‘musky’ odour. Does do not have any odour at all.
Doe kids can be fertile from three months of age so they need to be separated from the buck kids, randy lil bastards!
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HOUSING:
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It is essential that some type of shelter is provided for any verr, this may be a proper shed or a smaller “A” frame in a paddock. The floor of the shed needs to be easily cleaned and well drained. Verr dislike brick floors as they become very cold.
Straw makes a good bedding for sheds, barley straw is preferable to oaten straw as it doesn’t stain as easily. Sheds need to be well ventilated with good supply of fresh air but not draughts. It is not suitable to keep verr in an open paddock without some kind of shelter or tethered at the side of the road.
Tethering is not a good idea for verr as they often strangle themselves.
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FEEDING
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Access to good clean water is essential as a milking animal needs to drink a lot of water each day. You can add unpasteurized cider vinegar to the drinking water. Cider vinegar is meant to help prevent kidney stones in bucks, help with kidding and the general health of the verr.
Verr will need other things to eat and not just graze, braches, shrubs and other roots are good for the Verr. Plenty of good oat, barley and wheat hey to mix with the veg in a bucket to help if a Verr is milking.
Note: It is NOT required that this all be role played, this is simply information should any wish to be more in depth with details of what they are doing with the Verr.
Happy playing
Joe and Nyah ;D
On this topic we will look at some basic husbandry principles of verr keeping, breeding, housing and feeding.
---------------------------------------------------
BREEDING:
----------------------------------------------------
Verr breed each season. Most does come on season from late summer through to early winter. The doe has an 18-21 estrus cycle. The doe is usually in season from a few hours to a few days. It takes five months for the doe to have kids. Twins are very common and some does have triplets or quads. A good milking doe will milk for a year after kidding, many will milk longer if they are not joined to a buck again.
During the breeding season a buck has a strong ‘musky’ odour. Does do not have any odour at all.
Doe kids can be fertile from three months of age so they need to be separated from the buck kids, randy lil bastards!
------------------------------------------------------
HOUSING:
------------------------------------------------------
It is essential that some type of shelter is provided for any verr, this may be a proper shed or a smaller “A” frame in a paddock. The floor of the shed needs to be easily cleaned and well drained. Verr dislike brick floors as they become very cold.
Straw makes a good bedding for sheds, barley straw is preferable to oaten straw as it doesn’t stain as easily. Sheds need to be well ventilated with good supply of fresh air but not draughts. It is not suitable to keep verr in an open paddock without some kind of shelter or tethered at the side of the road.
Tethering is not a good idea for verr as they often strangle themselves.
-----------------------------------------------
FEEDING
-----------------------------------------------
Access to good clean water is essential as a milking animal needs to drink a lot of water each day. You can add unpasteurized cider vinegar to the drinking water. Cider vinegar is meant to help prevent kidney stones in bucks, help with kidding and the general health of the verr.
Verr will need other things to eat and not just graze, braches, shrubs and other roots are good for the Verr. Plenty of good oat, barley and wheat hey to mix with the veg in a bucket to help if a Verr is milking.
Note: It is NOT required that this all be role played, this is simply information should any wish to be more in depth with details of what they are doing with the Verr.
Happy playing
Joe and Nyah ;D