GOATS

Goats are friendly animals, intelligent, curious, mischievous and playful. There are more than 4 million goats in the United States.

Millions more people drink goat milk than drink cow milk. It is more easily digested than cow’s, therefore, it is often used for infants and invalids. A goat can produce milk 8 to 10 months a year at the rate of 1 gallon per day. They can produce milk equivalent to 10 times their body weight. Goats are often called the “poor man’s cattle.”

Goats are ruminants meaning they “chew their cud.” They have 4 chambered stomachs similar to cattle and deer. The first chamber is referred to as rumen and is where roughage is stored for later chewing.

Goats can survive when land is poor, terrain rugged and in climate conditions that are adverse to cattle. Goats are considered browsers which means they prefer to eat overhead then underfoot. They are often used for clearing brushy land and roof trimming. They eat trees, grass, grain and bark. Contrary to popular belief, they do not eat everything. They are very fussy eaters. However, they do love flowers, so if you have goats, you will soon learn to keep them in a pen!

BUCK or BILLY = male goat
WETHER = castrated male
DOE or NANNY = female goat
KID = baby goat
GESTATION = 5 months
AVERAGE LITTER SIZE = 2-3 kids

There are many varieties of goats. Some have horns, some have beards, some have wattles, some have all three, and some have none! Following is a list of some of the species we have on our farm:

• Nubians have droopy ears and can be many different colors.
• LaManchas are earless. They only have stubs for ears and are born this way.
• French Alpine have upright ears.
• Toggenburg have upright ears and are brown with white stripes near the eyes.
• Pygmies are small in size and are usually dark gray and white. They are unusual in that they will breed anytime which is why we use them to get rare October kids.
• Boars have white bodies with a brown or red head and neck with floppy ears and a stocky build.

Pigs ::Cattle :: Poultry :: Llamas :: Goats :: Sheep :: Equine