Facts about Goats(2nd part)

At the first part 50 points have been mentioned. Today 51-100. Lets see the interesting facts about Goats-

51. Bucks can be quite aggressive to their handlers during the breeding season.

52. Depending on the breed, adult female goats can weigh between 22 to 300 pounds and adult males between 27 to 350 pounds of body weight.

54. A hermaphrodite is a goat that exhibits both male and female sexually characteristics and organs.

55. Azalea bushes are poisonous to goats.

56. Vomiting in goats is almost always due to poisonous plants.

57. Goats can become lame after an injection has hit the sciatic nerve. This nerve runs from the hips down to the leg.

58. Blood in the milk or “pink” milk may be a sign of udder trauma and not mastitis.

61. Before coins were used for money, goats were traded for silver because they were so valuable.

62. The pharaoh Cephranes thought, so much of his goats that he had 2,234 buried with him.

63. Goats are very social creatures.

64. Wattles are those little tufts of hair that covers the skin that dangles from the throat of some goats. Wattles serve no function and are thought to be remnants of gill slits that mammals shared somewhere back down the evolutionary tree.

65. A ruminant is any hoofed animal that digests its food in two steps. First by eating the raw materials and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as “cud” then eating the cud. Ruminants include goats, sheep, cattle, deer, camels, llamas, giraffes, bison, buffalos etc.

66. Goat’s milk is easily digestible and less allergenic than cow’s milk.

67. Goat’s milk is higher in calcium, vitamin A and niacin than cow’s milk.

68. Goat meat is lower in fat and cholesterol compared to beef, pork, mutton and poultry.

69. 12,000 year old paintings of goats have been found on the walls of caves in Europe.

70. Goats are one the cleanliest animals and is much more selective feeders than cows, sheep, pigs, swine and even dogs.

71. Dairy goats have little subcutaneous fat.

72. Goats do not like eating food that has been soiled, contaminated or has been on the ground.

73. Mahatma Gandhi consumed goat milk everyday for more than 30 years.

74. Carl Sandburg loved his goats so much that when Life Magazine (1938 issue)asked him to pose for a picture with his favorite dog he insisted the picture be taken with his goats.

75. Goat’s milk is naturally homogenized and it can be digested in less than 20 minutes where as cow’s milk can take almost all day.

76. Meat goat production is the fastest growing livestock industry in the U.S. today (2005).

77. The top ten states with the largest population of meat goats are Texa (1,010,000), Tennesse (98,000), Georgia (77,000),

Oklahoma (65,000), Kentucky (63,500), North Carolina (52,200), California (50,000), South Carolina (41,000), Alabama (37,800) and Florida (36,000;NASS, 2005).

78. The top ten states with the largest dairy herds are Texas (30,000),  California (30,000), Wisconsin (28,000), Iowa (13,000), New York (13,000), Philadelphia (13,000), Ohio (9,500), Oklahoma (9,000), Indiana (8,800) and Missouri (8,600; NASS,2005).

79. Ethnic consumers are the backbone of the meat goat industry in the U.S. Demand for goat meat will continue to increase as the population in the U.S. becomes more ethnically diverse by consumers who traditionally eat goat meat.

80. At this time, the marketing infrastructure of the goat industry in the U.S. is   relatively disorganized. Nationwide there are no mechanisms in place by which the animal is moved from the farm, to the processor and the product is accessible to the consumer.

81. To check for dehydration, pull the skin that is over the shoulder area. If the skin   snaps back quickly the animal is adequately hydrated. If the skin does not snap back quickly and remains erect the animals is dehydrated.

82. Goats are herbivores (plant-eaters) that spend most of their day grazing.

83. Goats are usually between 17 to 42 inches tall from the shoulders.

84. Approximately 1.5 million pounds of goat meat is imported into the U.S. every week from Australia and New Zealand because domestic production and processing systems in this country can not keep pace with demand.

85. Goats are able to consume 3 to 5% of their body weight in dry matter (perhaps more if the forage is highly digestible). To consume this amount of forages, goats must be pastured in an area with a large quantity of available vegetative forage. Goats will eat less when they are moved to poor quality pastures.

86. In the biblical town of Jericho, people kept goats as long as 6,000 to 7,000 years before Christ.

87. Healthy kids can stand within minutes after birth and are able to move with the herd almost immediately.

88. In many parts of the world, goats are economically valuable for a variety of purposes such as skins for leather and the pelts are used for making rugs and robes.

89. The early explorers used goat skins for water and wine bottles when they traveled.

90. During biblical times, goat skins were used for parchment for writing.

91. Does can produce 3 litters of kids every 2 years.

92. Older animals store more body fat if nutritional conditions are favorable.

93. Plant poisoning most often occurs in goats in the spring after the herd has been released into a new pasture.

94. Goats do not grow as fast as sheep nor can they utilize feed as efficiently.

95. Goats do not have tear ducts.

96. Some does and bucks that are naturally polled are also infertile. They are of no use to the owner, either as breeding stock or milk producers.

97. Goats and octopus’ pupils of their eyes are rectangular.

98. Boer goats are considered the leading meat breed in the U.S. today. Mature males can weigh between 260 to 380 pounds and the females may weigh between 210- 300 pounds.

99. The Tennessee Stiff-Leg also known as the wooden leg or fainting goat is native to the U.S. This breed suffers from a recessive trait called myotonia. When frightened this animal will experience extreme muscle stiffness causing extension of the neck and hind legs before it topples over onto the ground.

100. Colostrum is produced in the first milk of the doe and it contains high levels of immunoglobulins (antibodies), vitamin A, minerals, fat and energy. Newborn kids must ingest colostrum within the first 24 hours of life to help protect them against diseases.

 

References

1. Campbell, L.S. 1981. The Whole Goat Catalog. http://thewholegoatcatalog.com/aboutus.htm

 

2. Connor, S., Feb., 2001. Goats were Man’s First Livestock. http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/a1/stoppress/stop542.htm.

 

3. Animal Corner. Jan.2007.

    http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/farm/goats/goat_trivia.html

4. Hunter, P. 2005. Statewide Goat Program Newsletter.

5. Luginbuhl, J.M., J. P. Muellier, J.T. Green. 1998. Breeding and Kidding Management in the GoatHerd http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/meatgoat/MGBrdKidd.htm

6. Life Magazine.1938, issue. Carl Sandburg.

7. Microsoft Cliparts, 2007.

 

8. Pfalzbot, G. 2007. Goat Facts   http://www.goatworld.com/articles/goatslife/goatfacts.shtml

 

9. Shurley, M. and F. Craddock. US Meat Goat Industry Past, Present, Future. International Kiko Goat Association, Inc.

http://www.theikga.org/us_meat_goat_industry.htm

 

10. Thompson, P., Ag. Facts. Goats. Oklahoma Ag. in the Classroom.

http://www.clover.okstate.edu/fourh/aitc/lessons/extras/facts/index.html.

 

11. USDA/USDA. 2005. Sheep and Goats.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsdaviewDocumentInfo. 

 

12. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2007. Domestic Goats.    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat

 

13. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2006. Cabrito.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrito.

collected from:  http://www.jrcnboergoats.com/index.html