Today's Letter of the Day, is 'G'. And since we have several breeds of goats on our mini-ranch, I thought 'Goat' would be perfect for a word beginning with 'G'.
You might not know that domestic goats are one of the oldest domesticated species. A goat is useful to humans both alive and dead, as a renewable provider of milk and fibre as well as meat and hide. Some charities provide goats to impoverished people in poor countries, because goats are easier and cheaper to manage than cattle. Goats are also used for driving and packing. And in the last century goats have gained some popularity as pets, too.
Just in case you didn't know, female goats are called does or nannies, intact males as bucks or billies and their offspring are kids. Castrated males are wethers. Goat meat from younger animals is called kid, and from older animals is often called chevon.
Goats are ruminants. They have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum.
Goats have horizontal slit-shaped pupils, which increases peripheral depth perception. Because goats' irises are usually pale, the pupils are much more visible than in animals with horizontal pupils with very dark irises, such as sheep, cattle and most horses.
Both male and female goats have beards, and many types of goats may have wattles, one dangling from each side of the neck.
First up to talk about is our fiber goat, an Angora doe, named Luna. We rescued her a year ago from living a life all alone in a tiny mud-filled enclosure being fed only a few scraps of dusty alfalfa crumbs every day.
The Angora breed of goat produces long, curling, lustrous locks of mohair. The entire body of the goat is covered with mohair and there are no guard hairs.
The locks constantly grow and can be four inches or more in length.
the Angora goat usually gets shorn twice a year with an average yield of about 10 pounds.
The fiber is made into products such as sweaters and doll's hair. Mohair is warmer per ounce than most other types of wool and are not as scratchy, itchy or as allergenic as wool. Mohair fiber commands a higher price than other types of wool.
Here's Luna, unshorn, with our llamas, Cataleya and Catlinite.
And here's Cataleya, our female llama, with Luna when Luna first came to live on Laughing Orca Ranch. Cataleya and Luna are both quite close and share a special bond.
Here's Luna, after being shorn. She's the matriarch of the goats and sheep and likes to play Queen of the Hill.
And here she is again, unshorn.
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Next up is our meat/pet Boer goat, named Pepper. We saved him from a sad place last Spring. He came to us brain damaged from being disbudded when he was 2 months old. It's recommended to disbud a goat's horns when they are less than 2 weeks old. Apparently disbudding too late can cause the horn to be too difficult to stop from growing and can cause brain damage due to excessive heat trying to kill off the horn bud. And usually the horn grows back anyway.
Even with brain damage and horns, we love our goofy boy anyway.
One of the most popular goats grown for meat is the South African Boer. Goat meat is lower than mutton in fat and cholesterol, and comparable to chicken. It also has more minerals than chicken, and is lower in total and saturated fats than many other meats. One reason for the leanness is that goats do not accumulate fat deposits or "marbling" in their muscles. It is popular in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, northeastern Brazil, the West Indies, and Belize.
Pepper won't be served up on our plates, though. He's primarily a pet, as you can see.
In addition, Boer goats have a high resistance to disease and adapt well to hot, dry semi-deserts. Boer goats commonly have white bodies and distinctive brown heads. Like the Nubian goat, they possess long, pendulous ears. They are noted for being docile, fast growth, and having high fertility rates.
Mature Boer bucks weigh between 240-300 lb, and mature does between 200-220 lb. Pepper is probably a Boer/angora or nubian cross goat, and is the goofiest, people loving goat you'll ever meet.
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Next goat to talk about, on our little ranch, are Nigerian Dwarf Goats, of which we have two, Mud Pie and Moon Pie. They are twin brothers and serve as our cute, affectionate pets. Don't you love that cute face?
The Nigerian Dwarf goat is a miniature dairy goat breed of West African ancestry. Originally brought to the United States on ships as food for large cats such as lions, the survivors originally lived in zoos. Nigerian Dwarf goats are popular as hobby goats due to their easy maintenance and small stature.
Nigerian Dwarfs are gentle and easily trainable goats. This, along with their small size and colorful appearance, makes them popular as pets. Many breeders sell bottle-fed babies (kids) that are bonded with humans and easy to manage. Here I am the first time I held Moon Pie, he was a little kid about 8 weeks old.
Nigerians can easily be trained to walk on a leash and some enjoy coming into the house with their owners. Nigerians' small size also makes them excellent 'visitor' animals for nursing homes and hospitals. Moon Pie lived in our house and was bottle-fed for several weeks, before going out to the barn to live. He was a very well-behaved little goatie.
He wants nothing more than to cuddle in your lap and is such a sweetie.
Nigerian Dwarfs give a surprising quantity of milk for their size, with an average of 2.5 pounds per day. Their milk has a higher butterfat content than milk from full-sized dairy goats, making Nigerian Dwarf goat milk excellent for cheese and soap making.
Mud Pie was a rescue situation. The breeder asked me to take him in, because the people who had originally bought Mud Pie allowed him to get hurt by their dogs and horse and then neglected him. We thought it would be great to have Moon Pie's twin brother live here, too. You can see the family resemblance between Moon Pie and Mud Pie. Mud Pie has spots.
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Some goats are bred for milk. Goat's milk is commonly processed into cheese, goat butter, ice cream, cajeta and other products. Goat's milk can replace cow's milk in diets of those who are allergic to cow's milk. However, like cow's milk, goat's milk has lactose (sugar) and may cause gastrointestinal problems for individuals with lactose intolerance.
Goat's milk is naturally homogenized, which means the cream remains suspended in the milk, instead of rising to the top, as in raw cow's milk.
Many dairy goats, in their prime, average 6 to 8 pounds of milk daily (roughly 3 to 4US quarts. Goat butter is white because goats produce milk with the yellow beta-carotene converted to a colorless form of vitamin A.
And our last breed of goat to share with you is our dairy goat which will be bred soon for a late Spring freshening. This goat is a relatively new breed, but recognized and registerable with the
The Miniature Dairy Goat Association, and is called a Mini La Mancha. The breed is noted for a generally calm, quiet, and gentle temperament.
Mini-goat is a term misunderstood by many. They are created by crossing a Nigerian Dwarf Goat with some other type of standard breed. A mini-dairy goat is a Nigerian dwarf that has been crossed with one of the six standard dairy breeds -- La Mancha, Oberhasli, French Alpine, Sanaan, Toggenberg, or Nubian. Mini-goats have the benefit of providing large quantities of milk and not needing a lot of space. They have been reported to produce approx. 2 lbs of high butterfat milk per day.
It is often assumed that the terms “pygmy goat” and “mini-goat” are interchangeable. Pygmy goats are small meat goats, so they are a poor choice for anyone who wants to milk a little goat.
Our doe is named Latte.
The LaMancha breed is a type of dairy goat noted for its apparent lack of, or much reduced, external ears. There are two types of LaMancha ears. In does, neither type of ear has an advantage over the other.
Gopher ear: The external ear is very small and appears to be 'shriveled'. There is no fold and the external ear must always exceed 1 inch. This is the only type of ear which will make bucks eligible for registration.
Elf ear: An approximate maximum length of 2 inches is allowed. The end of the ear must be turned up or turned down, and cartilage shaping the small ear is allowed. LaManchas with a fold exceeding the allowed length cannot be registered as purebred animals.
The reason only gopher eared bucks are allowed to be registered is because two 'elf' eared animals bred together can create an erect eared kid. Some breeders prefer the gopher ears on all of their animals, but the type of ear is purely cosmetic.
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And here's our little flock of 'Woolies' on their way to the barn for dinner.
