Comparison of the reproduction of the goats on the ecological and the conventional farm

The aim of my diploma thesis is comparison and evaluation of reproduction of goats on an eco-farm and on a conventional farm. Measures of reproduction of observed herds were assessed in the years of 2009 and 2010 on an eco-farm Hana Langová and on a conventional farm Bára Schneedorferová. On an eco-farm, a herd of 20 does was observed. Crossbreeds of White shorthaired goat, Brown shorthair goat, Boer goat and Anglo-Nubian goat; all bred with a White shorthaired buck and a Boer buck. On a conventional farm, a herd of 24 White shorthaired does and two crossbred does of White and Brown shorthaired goat was observed in 2009. In 2010, only 18 does were observed. In both years the does were bred with two Brown shorthair bucks. The measured results were compared with milk efficiency results between the two years and also between the farms. In both years, higher fertility was discovered on an eco-farm. On a conventional farm, very low fertility was observed in 2009 (116 %). On the other hand, fertilization was higher than on an eco-farm in both years. Very big difference was also observed in the ratio of male kids, which was in both years higher on a conventional farm, where all the bred animals (apart from one) are hornless. Reproduction is to a high extent influenced by external environmental factors and to a very small extent by genetics. A whole range of possible effects was omitted from the observations, however, the main ones were noted. Of all the observed measures of reproduction, the only one which could be substantially influenced by the breeding method is fertility