Reindeer farm organization

Traditionally, the northern peoples are engaged in the cultivation of deer - for them, this animal is a source of life and a means of transportation. The inhabitants of the tundra use fur, meat, milk, leather, horns and bones. In recent years, deer farms have appeared throughout the country - animals are kept for milk, meat and antlers.

Deer Description

Forests, fields, steppes and forest-steppes, where deer live, are spread over all continents and latitudes. The only exception is Antarctica. Most deer species prefer to live in forested areas, but some species thrive in open tundra, swampy areas, and mountains. Animals rarely leave their territory.

Only the reindeer is a migratory species. In summer they migrate to the north, to the coast, where the grass begins to sprout earlier, and in winter they return to the borders of the taiga. Depending on the species, animals differ in height, weight, color, size and shape of the horns. The reindeer reaches a height at the withers of a maximum of 150 cm and weighs about 200 kg. The weight of a crested deer is only 50 kg, and the height is no more than a meter. The smallest representative of the species - kanchil - weighs one and a half kilograms with a height at the withers of less than 30 cm.

Without exception, all deer are herbivores and 99% of their diet is plant foods. The basis of the diet of reindeer is lichen, grass and shrub branches. The sparse vegetation of the tundra contains little protein, so animals replenish its balance by eating bird eggs, salty soil, and even gnaw at the discarded horns and bones of dead animals.

Animal breeding as a business

A reindeer farm is created to obtain meat, milk, fat, antlers, or as an eco-farm or a hunting farm.

To organize your business from scratch, you need to solve several important questions:

• find suitable land
• choose the breed of the animal,
• decide on a livestock
• draw up all legal documents and negotiate with veterinarians,
• draw up estimates for the construction of premises, aviaries,
• draw up a budget for the preparation of feed,
• plan the sales volume of finished products and find a sales market.

It is better to start with a small population. The price of one two-year-old animal starts from 30,000 rubles. The first income from the sale of meat will be received in one and a half to two years. About 60 kg of pure meat is obtained from a deer carcass weighing 120 kg.

The price of meat depends on the type and quality and ranges from 600 to 2500 rubles per kilogram.

Farm organization

Most entrepreneurs register their farm as a peasant farm. In this case, a single agricultural tax is paid and the farm registration system is simplified. It is necessary to register with a veterinary station that will deal with laboratory research of meat and milk, give permission to sell products and control the slaughter of animals.

The deer farm is a large pasture - the animals do not need barns, rarely do they keep deer indoors. A large grazing space will allow them to get their own food and feel as close to natural conditions as possible. The need is the presence of a reservoir on the site or the organization of a watering place. It will also not be superfluous to create small shelters from wind, rain and hot sun.

Additional feed is purchased for the winter period, and also in case the pasture is not large enough.

To calculate feed, you can proceed from the following feed rates per day per head (kg).

animal breeding

In nature, deer live an average of 12-15 years. On farms with good maintenance and the absence of diseases and enemies, life expectancy is about 25 - 30 years. Animals reach puberty in the third year of life. The rut for reindeer begins with the arrival of autumn, for other species - throughout the year. The duration of pregnancy depends on the species and lasts from six to nine months. A female deer usually brings one calf, twins or triplets are extremely rare. The female deer feeds her calf with milk for 3-5 months. However, by the end of the first month of life, the calf tries grass, tree leaves, and young twigs.

When planning a stock, the correct ratio of animals must be observed so that the male can cover all the females. A family should consist of one male and three to seven females, and a herd of deer can number up to several tens and hundreds of individuals.

Meat breeding direction

Deer meat is dietary and has a great delicate taste, aroma and juiciness, and many restaurants readily buy it. Most often, males are fattened for slaughter, and animals at the age of 1.5 - 2 years are slaughtered.

The females are left to reproduce. On average, from one carcass, you can get about 60,000 rubles of profit, excluding the cost of the skin, horns, bones and fat.

For breeding animals for meat, you need:

• pastures (1 ha for about 5 adults);
• organization of a watering place;
• feeders with salt;
• the height of the pasture fence - from 2.5 meters;
• veterinary control.

Dairy breeding direction

Reindeer milk is an additional animal breeding product, it is not yet so popular in the central regions of Russia. However, reindeer milk is much better than cow's milk in terms of nutritional value and contains three times more protein and almost 6 times more fat. A female deer gives only 100-120 liters of milk in six months of lactation, so breeding only for dairy purposes does not pay off well.

Reindeer milk has a pleasant taste and a peculiar smell, it is often consumed with tea. Residents of the northern regions use reindeer milk to make cottage cheese, cheeses, sour cream and butter. And the inhabitants of Altai use reindeer milk to make vodka.

Breeding animals for other purposes

Many farms are created with the aim of developing ecotourism, where deer breeding is a good means of attracting tourists.

People like to watch the life of these graceful animals, and a special influx of visitors is observed during the appearance of calves. The deer cub is very touching and funny, and causes eternal delight, both in children and in the adult audience. In winter, these farms often host reindeer sleigh rides and reindeer sleigh rides. The cost of sledding is on average 3000 - 5000 per hour.

Some farms breed spotted, reindeer and deer for antlers. Young deer horns are a valuable source of minerals and vitamins and are widely used in medicine.

The cost of 100 grams of pant starts from 1000 rubles.