Boer Goats are imported to the United States through South Africa and are raised for meat. They have distinctive coloring with a light neutral tone body and red head. The Nigerian goat is a miniature dairy goat of West African origin and they were originally called Pygmy's. They love to battle each other, but it is all friendly battles.
Last year we doubled the size of our animal pen and in the future we plan to add a better access pathway from the road as well as a new parking lot close to the pen.
Our goats love socializing with the other animals and dart to the gate when visitors arrive. We currently don’t use them for milk production, but as our farm grows this may change.
Did you know goats have rectangle pupils and have excellent night vision? We found there was a lot about goats we didn’t know about as we were gathering information for this blog. There are even goats that faint when they get excited. Did you know goats have four stomachs so they can eat just about anything? Let us know if you know any interesting goat facts not included here. We hope you are as fascinated with them as we are.
Interesting and fun goat facts:
Goats are a member of the Bovidae family
They are one of the oldest domesticated species
There are over 300 distinct breeds
Female goats are does or nannies and male goats are bucks or billies. Under one year they are bucklings and female babies are doelings.
Goats are able to breed all year long
They are ruminants, which means they have 4 stomachs and can eat almost any diet. Some even love peanut butter.
Their longer guard hairs are used in the textile industry to make cashmere.
Goats typically live for 8-12 years, but some can live up to 20 years.
Goats can have 1-6 kids per litter
There are over 500 million goats in the world
The U.S. has 3 million goats with Texas leading the production.
It is estimated that 72 % of the world’s milk consumption is from goats
Goat milk is naturally homogenized
Goat meat is called chevon or cabrito
Along with the octopus, goat pupils are rectangular and they have great night vision
They are good swimmers
They love socializing with other goats
Goats are one of the first animals to be domesticated as far as 6000 years ago
Goats have no teeth in the upper jaw
They are very athletic and some goat species can jump over 5 feet
Goats are herbivores (plant eaters)
They have no tear ducts
They are good climbers and have great balance which is why you always see them standing on rocks and steep slopes
Race horses are often given a 'goat friend' so they are not lonely in the stall
Goats have 15,000 taste buds, which is 5000-6,000 more than humans
Goat kids stand minutes after birth
Goat horns never stop growing.
Some say goats even discovered coffee in Ethiopia
Goats have natural oils that help repel ticks
Enjoy this hilarious video of funny goats. We look forward to expanding our animal pen, so let us know what additions you would like to see us add to the pen. They love visitors so please come see them when you stop by the farm.
Written by Lightning Consulting
