http://www.photonette.net/

 

 

Domestic goat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Reproduction

In some climates goats, like humans, are able to breed at any time of the year. In northern climates and among the Swiss breeds, the breeding season commences as the day length shortens, and ends in early spring. Does of any breed come into heat every 21 days for 2–48 hours. A doe in heat typically flags her tail often, stays near the buck if one is present, becomes more vocal, and may also show a decrease in appetite and milk production for the duration of the heat.

Bucks (intact males) of Swiss and northern breeds come into rut in the fall as with the doe's heat cycles. Rut is characterized by a decrease in appetite, obsessive interest in the does, fighting between bucks, display behavior, and, most notably, a strong, musky odor. This odor is singular to bucks in rut and is caused not only by the glands on their heads but by their habit of urinating on their beards and front legs — the doe does not have it unless a buck has rubbed his scent onto her or she is in actuality a hermaphrodite — and is instrumental in bringing the does into a strong heat.

Mother goat eating placenta

Mother goat eating placenta

In addition to live breeding, artificial insemination has gained popularity among goat breeders, as it allows for rapid improvement because of breeder access to a wide variety of bloodlines.

Gestation length is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, with single and triplet births also common. Less frequent are litters of quadruplet, quintuplet, and even sextuplet kids. Birthing, known as kidding, generally occurs uneventfully with few complications. The mother often eats the placenta, which, with its oxytocin, gives her much needed nutrients, helps staunch her bleeding, and is believed by some to reduce the lure of the birth scent to predators.

Freshening (coming into milk production) occurs at kidding. Milk production varies with the breed, age, quality, and diet of the doe; dairy goats generally produce between 660 to 1,800 L (1,500 and 4,000 lb) of milk per 305 day lactation. On average, a good quality dairy doe will give at least 6 lb (2.7 L) of milk per day while she is in milk, although a first time milker may produce less, or as much as 16 lb (7.3 L) or more of milk in exceptional cases. Meat, fiber, and pet breeds are not usually milked and simply produce enough for the kids until weaning.

Feeding goats

Goats are reputed to be willing to eat almost anything. Many farmers use inexpensive (i.e. not purebred) goats for brush control, leading to the use of the term "brush goats." (Brush goats are not a variety of goat, but rather a function they perform.) Because they prefer weeds (e.g. multiflora rose, thorns, small trees) to clover and grass, they are often used to keep fields clear for other animals. The digestive systems of a goat allow nearly any organic substance to be broken down and used as nutrients.

Contrary to this reputation, they are quite fastidious in their habits, preferring to browse on the tips of woody shrubs and trees, as well as the occasional broad leaved plant. It can fairly be said that goats will eat almost anything in the botanical world. Their plant diet is extremely varied and includes some species which are toxic or detrimental to cattle and sheep. This makes them valuable for controlling noxious weeds and clearing brush and undergrowth. They will seldom eat soiled food or water unless facing starvation. This is one of the reasons why goat rearing is almost often free ranging since stall-fed goat rearing involves extensive upkeep and is seldom commercially viable.

Goats do not actually consume garbage, tin cans, or clothing, although they will occasionally eat items made primarily of plant material, which can include wood. Their reputation for doing so is most likely due to their intensely inquisitive and intelligent nature: they will explore anything new or unfamiliar in their surroundings. They do so primarily with their prehensile upper lip and tongue. This is why they investigate clothes and sometimes washing powder boxes by nibbling at them.

The digestive physiology of a very young kid is essentially the same as that of a monogastric animal. Milk digestion begins in the abomasum, the milk having bypassed the rumen via closure of the reticular/esophageal groove during suckling. At birth the rumen is undeveloped, and as the kid begins to consume solid feed, the rumen increases in size and in its capacity to absorb nutrients.

Goats will consume, on average, 4.5 pounds of dry matter per 100 lbs of body weight per day.[citation needed]

Goat products

A goat is said to be truly useful both when alive and dead, providing meat and milk while the skin provides hide. A charity is involved in providing goats to impoverished people in Africa. The main reason cited was that goats are easier to manage than cattle and have multiple uses.

Meat

The taste of goat meat, called chevon (which, like many meat names, is from the French word for the animal, in this case chèvre), is similar to that of lamb meat. However, some feel that it is has a similar taste to veal or venison, depending on the age and condition of the goat. It can be prepared in a variety of ways including stewed, baked, grilled, barbecued, minced, canned, or made into sausage. Goat jerky is also another popular variety. In India, the rice-preparation of Biryani uses goat meat as its primary ingredients to produce a rich taste.

Nutritionally, it is healthier than mutton as it is lower in fat and cholesterol, and comparable to chicken. It also has more minerals than chicken,[4] and is lower in total and saturated fats than other meats.[5] Chevon is therefore classified as a white meat.[6] One reason for the leanness is that goats do not accumulate fat deposits or "marbling" in their muscles; chevon must ideally be cooked longer and at lower temperatures than other red meats.[7] It is popular in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, northeastern Brazil, the West Indies, and Belize. Chevon, as yet, is not popular in most western nations, though it is among the fastest growing sectors of the livestock industry in the US, mainly due to immigrants.[8]

Other parts of the goat including organs are also equally edible. Special delicacies include the brain and liver. The head and legs of the goat are smoked and used to prepare unique spicy dishes and soup.

Milk and cheese

Goats' milk is more easily digested by humans than cows' milk and is recommended for infants and people who have difficulty with cows' milk. The curd is much smaller and more digestible. Moreover it is naturally homogenized since it lacks the protein agglutinin. Furthermore, goats' milk contains less lactose, which means it will usually not trigger lactose intolerance in humans.

Contrary to popular belief, goats' milk is not naturally bad tasting.[citation needed] When handled properly, from clean and healthy goats, in a sanitary manner, and cooled quickly, the flavor is unremarkable and inoffensive. Also, it is necessary to separate the strong smelling buck from the dairy does, as his scent will rub off on them and will taint the milk.

Goats' milk is also used to make popular cheeses such as Rocamadour and feta, although it can be used to make other types of cheese.

Fiber

Cashmere goats produce a fiber, Cashmere wool, which is one of the best in the world. Cashmere fiber is very fine and soft, and grows beneath the guard hairs. Ideally there is a proportionally smaller amount of guard hair (which is undesirable and cannot be spun or dyed) to the cashmere fiber. Most goats produce cashmere fiber to some degree, however the Cashmere goat has been specially bred to produce a much higher amount of it with fewer guard hairs.

The Angora breed 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. Goats do not have to be slaughtered to harvest the wool, which is instead sheared (cut from the body) in the case of Angora goats, or combed, in the case of Cashmere goats. However, the Angora goat usually gets shorn twice a year with an average yield of about 10 pounds while the Cashmere goat grows its fiber once a year and it takes about a week to comb out by hand, yielding only about 4 ounces.

The fiber is made into products such as sweaters and dolls hair with the mohair. Both cashmere and mohair are warmer per ounce than wool and are not scratchy or itchy or as allergenic as wool sometimes is. Both fibers command a higher price than wool, compensating for the fact that there is less fiber per goat than there would be wool per sheep.

In South Asia, Cashmere is called pashmina (Persian pashmina = fine wool) and these goats are called pashmina goats (often mistaken as sheep). Since these goats actually belong to the upper Kashmir and Laddakh region, their wool came to be known as cashmere in the West. The pashmina shawls of Kashmir with their intricate embroidery are very famous.

Skin

Goat skin is still used today to make gloves, boots, and other products that require a soft hide. Kid gloves, popular in Victorian times, are still made today. The Black Bengal breed, native to Bangladesh, provides high-quality skin. The skin also used in Indonesia as rugs and native instrumental drum skin named bedug.

Other parts of the goat are also equally useful. For instance, the intestine is used to make catgut, which is stil the preferred material for internal human sutures. The horn of the goat, which signifies wellbeing (Cornucopia) in also used to make spoons etc.[9]

Goat breeds

Goat breeds fall into four categories, though there is some overlap among them; meaning that some are dual purpose.

Feral

Dairy

Fibre

Meat

Pet

Skin

Wild

 

 

 

Wikipedia

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Domestic_goat&action=history

 

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html