All About Goats

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🐐 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 m​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.

🐐 Goats enjoy being in a herd. They 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 very lively, and their inquisitive nature makes them humorous, enjoyable and curious pets.

 

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.

 

🐐 If goats are raised correctly and disciplined from an early age, they never develop any bad habits. Goats will butt each other; this is quite natural and normal as they develop an order of dominance in the herd. However, if corrected from an early age they never butt humans or other animals.

🐐 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 behavior 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 humorous ways. Goats all have very different personalities and different little habits which can be very interesting to observe.

 

Goats Milk

🐐 Goat's milk is considered to be very healthy in lots of ways. Goat's 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 easier to digest than cow's milk. Goat milk is valued for use with the elderly, sick, babies, children and those with a cow's milk allergy. It is also a preferred milk used to give to orphan foals, puppies, pigs and other animals.

🐐 Goat's milk is higher in Vitamin A, Niacin, Choline and Inositol than cow's milk, however, it is lower in Vitamin B6, B12, C and Carotenoids