All About Goats

Goats are amazing animals. Goats are tough and versatile and have more uses than you could ever imagine. Goats can survive and thrive just about anywhere.

A goat is a hoofed mammal in the genus 'Capra'. Most goats are referred to as 'domestic goats which are sub-species of the 'wild goat'.

Altogether there are nine species of goat in the world, however, the domestic goat is the most common. Goats are 'bovids' and are members of the family 'bovidae' and 'caprins' which are sub-species of the sub-family 'caprinae'.

Like cows and giraffes, goats are ruminant animals which means they chew cud. Ruminants have a four-chambered stomach which plays a vital role in digesting, regurgitating and re-digesting their food. Goats are herbivores (plant-eaters) who spend most of the day grazing.

Goats eat grass, herbs, tree leaves and other plant material. Goats swallow their food without chewing it much. Later, they regurgitate the food (then called a cud) and chew it thoroughly before swallowing it for the last time.

 A male goat is called a buck or billy, and a female is called a doe or nanny. Young goats are called kids.

Just like sheep, goats are considered to be the 'first domesticated animal'. The domestication process began over 10,000 years ago in a North Iranian town called Sangsar. The initial reasons for domesticating goats was to have easy access to goat hair, meat and milk. Goat skins were also used up until the Middle Ages for making bottles out of to hold water and wine for people who were traveling or camping.

Goats meat and milk is still consumed today and goats milk is becoming ever popular as a healthy alternative to cows milk. Goats milk is easier to digest than cows milk and many call this milk 'universal milk' as it can be used to bottle feed most animals.

Goat skin is also still used today to make gloves and other items of clothing. Angora Goats produce mohair which is a fine, soft, lustrous fibre. Pygora Goats produce a cashmere type of fibre. Both mohair and cashmere are used to make jumpers and cardigans and other types of woolen clothing items.

However, not all goats are just used for human provisions. A lot of people keep goats as pets.

Goats have many similarities to sheep.

The only main difference between sheep and goats is that goats have shorter tails than sheep and goat horns are longer and grow in a upward, backward and outward direction, while horns on a sheep grow in a twisted spiral shape.

Like sheep, goats enjoy being in a herd. Goats tend to survive better when they are in a herd rather than if they were alone. Every herd has a 'Herd Queen', who leads the herd while browsing. Goats are also much more lively than sheep and their inquisitive nature makes them humorous, enjoyable and curious pets.

Goats Milk

The average milk production of a dairy goat is 6 - 8 pounds per day. However, a high yielding Doe can produce up to 16 pounds of milk per day. Milking machines are sometimes used to extract the milk from the goats, similar to those used on cows at a Dairy Cow Farm. However, some owners of small goat herds prefer to hand milk their goats, usually twice a day.

Goats milk is considered to be very healthy in lots of ways. Goats milk is used to make many dairy items that are both tasty and healthy. These include: pasteurized and unpasteurized milks, cheese, yogurts, cream and butter.

Many people tend to choose goats milk as an alternative from cows milk because goat milk casein and goat milk fat are more easy to digest than cows milk. Goat milk is valued for use with the elderly, sick, babies, children and those with a cows milk allergy. It is also a preferred milk used to give to orphan foals, puppies and other animals.

Fat globules are smaller in goats milk than in cows milk and therefore remain dispersed longer giving it a more digestible texture.

Goats milk is higher in Vitamin A, Niacin, Choline and Inositol than cows milk, however, it is lower in Vitamin B6, B12, C and Carotenoids.

Goat Behavior

Goats are extremely curious and intelligent. Goats are easily house trained and you can teach them to pull carts and walk on leads. Goats are also known for escaping their pens. If you have unsecured fencing, be warned your goats will be inquisitive and test it out and soon you will know where the gaps are. Goats are very coordinated and can climb and hold their balance in the most awkward places. Goats are also widely known for their ability to climb trees, although the tree generally has to be at a slight angle.

A goat that has been teased may butt people as part of their 'play', which may start as kids, when it is no problem. It can be a problem if this behaviour extends to adult age and size. Hence start correctly: if a small kid pushes against your legs, never push back.

Goats make a bleating sound much like a sheep. All in all, goats make wonderful companions and pets. Goats are a pleasure to keep and give you many hours of fun watching them with their humourous ways. Goats all have very different personalities and different little habits which can be very interesting to observe.

Aramis

(Nubian - 8 months)

$75-

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Champ

(Toggenburg - 5 months)

$75-

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Count Chocula

(Toggenburg - 7 months)

$75-

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Huckleberry

(Pigmy - 4 years old )

$75-

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Barney & Baby Dot

(Both Pigmy's)

 $75-

Barney (boy) - 9 years old

Baby Dot (girl) - 6 years old)

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Barbie

(Alpine - 8 months)

$175-

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Cow Goats

Cow Goat #1

Lucy

(Alpine - 8 months old)

$175-

Cow Goat #2

Ethyl

(Alpine - 8 months)

$175-

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Lily

(Toggenburg - 5 years old)

$150

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Catherine

(Toggenburg - 5 years old)

$150

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Marjorie

(Nigerian Dwarf - 5 years old)

$150

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Emily

(Nubian - 5 years old)

$350-

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ALL ABOUT DONKEYS

Donkeys are among the most fascinating members of the equine family, which also includes horses, zebras, and mules. They make gentle, loving pets, especially for children and the elderly. Donkeys can be ridden, pull carts and buggies, or be used as pack animals. They make excellent stable companions for horses, and when pastured with sheep and goats will protect them from attack by dogs and coyotes (because of their size, miniature donkeys should not be used as protection animals). Try these pages and links to learn more about donkeys and their other long-eared cousins.

Basic information about donkeys and things they can do from the American Donkey and Mule Society and The Robinson Ranch:

Many people like to own these fine animals for their wonderful personalities and their fine pet qualities. There is probably no more adorable baby in the animal world than the little donkey with its long ears and long legs and sweet face and fuzzy coat. However, there are many uses for donkeys. Here are some of them for your information:

SHEEP (OR GOAT) PROTECTION. A single donkey, usually a jennet, sometimes a gelding (jacks rarely work because they can be too aggressive with lambs) is introduced to the herd and undergoes a bonding stage. After it has bonded with the sheep, it will protect them against canine predators (fox, coyote, dogs) as it would one of its own. This is extremely beneficial in areas where the sheep have many acres to graze. The advantage of the donkey over the guard dog is that they can eat the same food as the sheep so they don't have to be fed separately. The donkey will also bed down with the sheep at night. Given a strange sound it will voice a warning to the flock which alerts them to danger. Then the donkey will chase and often trample the predator. Miniature donkeys are not usually large enough to handle the coyotes, and mammoth donkeys are usually too slow.

HALTER BREAKING. The standard size donkey is also very adept at halter breaking young calves (polled or dehorned) and yearling horses. The donkey wears a collar that is connected to the halter of the animal that is being taught to lead. The animals are then turned loose in an enclosure, always under supervision. Where the donkey wants to go, it will go. The colt or calf has no option but to follow. By allowing the donkey to perform the unpleasant task of lead training, the "trainee" doesn't associate people with this particular stressful situation. In fact, when you release the colt or calf from the donkey, they are usually very willing to follow you. Articles are available on this particular form of halter training from the American Donkey and Mule Society.

COMPANIONSHIP. The donkey is a wonderful companion to foals at weaning time. The donkey is allowed to run with the mare and foal prior to weaning, then kept with the foal when weaning takes place. The foal has a calm, steadying influence from the donkey and looks to it for support. This calmness is transferred to the foal and the trauma of separation from the dam is reduced. As most donkeys readily come up to people this behavior is duplicated by the foal. Not only have you reduced foal stress, but you have instilled in the foal a friendly attitude toward people.

STABLE COMPANION. This is very similar to the foal companion, only in this case the donkey takes on the responsibility of another animal's well-being. Nervous horses have been known to calm down with a donkey companion as a stall or pasture mate. With horses recovering from surgery or injury or with nervous horses such as race or show horses, the donkey seems to have a calming effect. Almost as if the donkey is saying "It's O.K., we'll get through this together". The miniature is often used for this purpose since it does not take up much room in the stall of a race horse or injured horse.

HANDICAPPED RIDING PROGRAMS. The donkey has shown time and time again how wonderful it is with children and handicapped people. In many areas, especially England, the donkey is used extensively in riding and animal companion programs for the physically and mentally handicapped. Their small stature, slow and thoughtful nature and affectionate disposition make them ideal for this purpose when properly selected and trained. Both the person and the donkey know they are special together, and the bond that develops between the two is quite unexplainable.

BABY SITTER. The donkey naturally loves children. While there are a few exceptions, the donkey is not usually a biter or kicker. They have the patience of Job and therefore are ideally suited to being around children. For use around children, the handicapped and for most uses (except jacks kept for breeding) a jennet or gelding is the preferred animal.

WORKING DONKEY. The donkey is used all over the world for an infinite variety of jobs. Here in this country, some common uses are recreational riding; recreational driving, both single and in teams; packing, many backpackers use a donkey (which they often call a burro), to carry the heavy load since the animals walk at about a human's foot pace and are such enjoyable companions on the trail; skidding or pulling things on the homestead such as firewood, trash, etc.; pulling a sledge, travois or wheeled cart to carry things for the small farm such as barb wire for fencing, trash, or anything that needs to be moved; the donkey can also carry such items on its back in panniers if that is more convenient than pulling it; showing, many adults and children enjoy showing their animals in the donkey and mule shows around the country; the different kinds of work your animal can do to help you are limited only by your imagination.

MULE BREEDING. All sizes of donkeys are used to breed mules. Large mammoth jacks up to 16 hands in height are used to breed draft mules. Medium sized mammoth and large standard jacks are used to breed saddle and pack mules. Standard jacks are often used to breed miniature mules in the larger size ranges which are used in teams for pulling wagons and for children to ride and use. Miniature jacks are mated with miniature horse mares or Shetland ponies to produce very tiny mules for pets, single driving and just for fun.