Goats (2024)

23/10/2022

What kind of goats are raised on farms?
Goats are mainly raised for milk and meat. Many people also raise goats as pets. Finally, a small number of farmers raise goats as working animals (for example, to pull wheelbarrows), and some others use goat hair and waste.

Do goats have horns?
Yes, some breed-specific goats have horns, so you can't tell the gender of a goat based on the presence or absence of horns.

Do goats have beards?
Yes, just like horns, some goats of certain breeds have beards, so you can't determine the gender of a goat based on the presence or absence of a beard.

Does the goat eat everything?
No, in some cases, healthy mature goats choose their food more carefully than other domestic animals. However, keep in mind that especially young goats will try to eat a lot of non-edible things (like plastic, clothes, etc.).

How long do domestic goats live?
Usually goats live 10-13 years, but can breed (and females produce milk) from 1-1.5 to 7-9 years. There are, of course, exceptions to these age limits. As a rule, goats live a little longer than goats.

How much does a typical domestic goat weigh?
No one can name the average weight of a goat, because the weight depends on the breed, s*x and age. There are more than 230 different breeds in the world, and no one knows the number of animals of each breed. Most adult goats weigh 55 - 77 kg, and most adult goats weigh 70 - 90 kg. Some adult goats raised for meat can weigh over 130 kg.

Can goats eat meat?
Some farmers claim that they give meat to their goats every day and they always look healthy. Any herbivore can eat meat, but it doesn't need it to stay healthy. It's just a waste of resources.

Are goats herd animals?
Yes, and you should treat them like herd animals. This means that you should not raise just one goat, because that goat is likely to become depressed, leading to more health problems.

How many breeds of goats are there in the world?
About 230

What do wild goats eat?
Pasture, young trees, grapes, hay, fruits.

What is the normal body temperature of goats?
38.5-39.7°C

23/10/2022

Interesting but little-known facts about goats

If you've ever thought about starting your own small farm, you've probably thought about goats anyway. These delightful, intelligent and curious creatures are a kind of transitional link between small and large animals. First, a person begins with the breeding of chickens, then moves on to goats, and after that he proceeds to larger cattle. Goats provide milk that is used to make cheese, butter and even cosmetics, according to From Scratch Magazine. Here are some facts about these pets that you probably did not know.

1. Goats come in completely different sizes. The weight of the dwarf species starts at 35 pounds, while the Boer goats reach a weight of 230 pounds. Both species are raised exclusively for meat, but dwarf animals are also known for their high quality milk.

2. Genetic tests have shown that all these domestic animals are descended from a wild browless goat from the Anatolian Zagros mountain range (Middle East region). Scientists have found that it was the goat that became one of the first animals tamed by man. There are facts that prove that the first goat was domesticated about ten thousand years ago.

3. These animals are naturally very curious. And although you are unlikely to see a goat that tries to eat a tin or paper, but they often eat all sorts of small items to learn more about their palatability. Scientists believe that in this way animals develop and try to discover new edible products.

4. Such a curious feature of animals most likely formed the basis of the legend about goats and coffee. The fictional story about the discovery of coffee for mankind goes like this: Kaldi, an Ethiopian shepherd, decided to try these beans himself after his flock began to dance after eating the beans.

5. The largest number of goats in the US are raised in Texas. But they can be bred in other regions of the country.

6. A group of animals can be called a "herd", but the more common name is "family" or "tribe".

7. Soft and pleasant, cashmere is used to make a variety of products. It is obtained by shearing a special variety of cashmere goats. After shearing the animals, the hair is shaved to separate the coarse outer pile from the soft inner fluff. The softest wool is used for the production of yarn and threads for the textile industry. Initially, such animals were raised only in Nepal and the Indian state of Kashmir, but now they are bred all over the world.

8. Famous goat syncope is not actually fiction. When an animal is in a panic, the central nervous system suffers from a special condition: myotonia congenita, in which the animal's muscles are temporarily paralyzed. This condition does not cause pain at all, but the goat usually falls down. But old and experienced animals prepare in advance for this state and come closer to the wall or other support so as not to fall to the ground.

9. The London Telegraph ran an article last year saying that goats have accents. Scientists from the Queen Mary University of London have found that the bleating of animals changes with age or when moving to another herd. The more time the animals spend together, the more similar their voices are to each other.

10. Animals for milk production should be divided by gender. Females should be kept in separate pens away from males. Otherwise, the milk will acquire a specific and not too pleasant "goat" flavor. However, this opinion causes a lot of controversy among farmers. Some claim they never separate animals. And others argue that it is wrong to keep females and males in the same pen, as this is contrary to the laws of selection and negatively affects the taste of milk.

20/10/2022

Interesting Herbivore Facts

Fact 1. There are not so many "absolute herbivores" in the world, that is, animals that eat only plants. Even ordinary cows, for example, digest insects along with plant foods, which they swallow along with grass, and reindeer, on occasion, can easily eat a small rodent or a chick that has fallen out of the nest.

Fact 2. Such cute animals as koalas feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, and they are just true herbivores. But such a low-calorie diet has led to the fact that, firstly, they cannot live outside the eucalyptus habitat, and secondly, in the process of evolution, their brain has significantly decreased in size.

Fact 3. Sloths, which are also not entirely herbivorous (they can eat some gaping lizard or insect), are so inactive for one reason - they have to save energy. The basis of their diet is leaves, which are digested for a long time and have little nutritional value.

Fact 4. The evolution of plants and the herbivores they feed on are usually interconnected. Plants develop protective properties (thorns, poisonous juice, etc.) to protect themselves from being eaten, and the animals that eat them, on the contrary, adapt to this protection.

Fact 5. Some invertebrates can even digest cellulose. These include certain types of worms and insects. And they can also be classified as phytophages, that is, herbivores, although they are not mammals.

Fact 6. In all herbivorous mammals, the assimilation of the absorbed plant food does not occur by itself, but with the help of symbiotic protozoa that live in their digestive system. They cannot assimilate the same cellulose by themselves.

Fact 7. Most of the animals traditionally considered herbivores do not really limit their diet. Flying squirrels, which feed mainly on nuts, can also eat insects, goats and sheep also eat them along with grass ... The list will be very long.

Fact 8. Herbivorous dinosaurs were probably the largest land animals on Earth that ever existed. They grew to huge sizes, but at the same time they were distinguished by a slow nervous system and low mobility, which made them easy prey for not so huge, but agile predators.

Fact 9. “100% herbivorous” living creatures that really eat only plant foods include earthworms, some centipedes and a significant number of gastropod mollusk species.

Fact 10. The only continent on which there are no herbivores is Antarctica. Which is not surprising, given that 98% of this continent is covered with ice and snow, and the scarce flora here is represented mainly by mosses, algae and lichens.

18/10/2022

This list provides readers with fun facts about the lives and abilities of goats from a compassionate sanctuary perspective.

18/10/2022

Goat pupils are rectangular to give them a larger range of vision, however they’re unable to look up or down without moving their head.

18/10/2022

Interesting facts about roe deer

Fact 1. From the point of view of biology, the roe deer belongs to the deer family, and these animals received this name for their external resemblance to goats. On the territory of Russia, among some peoples, these herbivores are called “roe” or “wild goat”, and the name “roe deer” is probably a modified version of “roe”. Another version claims that these animals owe their name to their oblique pupils.

Fact 2. If you see a roe deer with horns, then you have a male in front of you - the females of these animals do not have horns. But even in males they are usually small, much more modest than in many other genera of deer. Although this does not apply to Siberian roe deer - they themselves are quite large (up to 80 cm at the withers), and their horns are branched, widely spaced.

Fact 3. There are only two species of these animals in the world, and both of them live only in the expanses of Eurasia. These are Siberian and European roe deer, and they are so similar to each other that scientists of the past even considered them one species. Subsequently, they were classified as different species, but there are still many similarities between them, and the Siberian roe deer differs from the European, by and large, only in size.

Fact 4. These animals are able to survive in a wide variety of temperature and climatic conditions. In Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria, for example, they are found even on the shores of the warm Black Sea, but at the same time they also live in northern Europe, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. European roe deer are found even in Greenland, although this island, the largest on Earth, already geographically belongs to North America.

Fact 5. People in the past often believed that roe deer are divided into many subspecies, since their color and even body size are highly dependent on their habitat. Their coat color really can vary from gray to red and brown, although it also depends on the time of year - before winter, roe deer molt in order to stand out less against the background of snowy nature.

Fact 6. Roe deer horns usually grow after 3 years, although their first rudiments appear after the first molt. At the same time, in rare cases, females also acquire horns, but they are always short, small and irregular in shape. Scientists believe that females occasionally have horns due to some kind of genetic mutation.

Fact 7. In the wild, a roe deer can become a victim of a large predator like a lynx. Therefore, it is distinguished not only by incredibly fine hearing, but also by an extremely developed sense of smell, which gives this animal the opportunity to smell a predator at a considerable distance. There are 10 times more olfactory cells in the nose of a roe deer than in a human nose (about 300 million versus 30 million), and the area of the olfactory surface is 35 times larger than that of ours - 90 cm2 versus 2.5 cm2.

Fact 8. Large Siberian roe deer are noticeably larger than their European relatives. They grow up to 40-48 kg in weight and have a body length of up to 1.2-1.4 meters, although this is still smaller than most other deer. In some regions of Russia, these animals are listed in the regional Red Book, as their population is gradually declining.

Fact 9. Each roe deer has a tail, however, it is very short, its length usually does not exceed 2-3 centimeters. And since it is hidden in wool, which can exceed 5 cm in length, visually it may seem that these animals do not have tails at all.

Fact 10. Depending on the habitat, roe deer can lead both a sedentary and nomadic lifestyle. In Siberia, they usually go to warmer climes for the winter, and in Europe they most often live in the same places. But if there is a lot of snow, and it becomes difficult for them to get food, then European roe deer also migrate. In Finland, for example, this happens every year.

18/10/2022

Interesting facts about whales

Fact 1. Almost the entire body of blue whales is covered with a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, up to 30 cm thick, and up to a quarter of the body weight of this mammal can be fat. It performs two functions at once - firstly, it protects the whale from hypothermia, saving heat, and secondly, it serves as a reserve of nutrients in case of a forced hunger strike. It has been reliably established that, eating at the expense of its fat reserves, a whale can live for more than six months.

Fact 2. Blue whales are known to be the largest creatures on Earth. But what is interesting is that they are even larger than any creatures that have ever existed on our planet. An adult blue whale can weigh up to 150 tons and have a body length of over 30 meters. One of his tongue weighs up to 3-4 tons, and his heart is comparable in size to a passenger car.

Fact 3. For several centuries, whales were actively exterminated, and whaling was completely banned only in 1966. But many scientists fear that it is already too late, and the population of these animals will never be able to recover to its original state. Before the start of the extermination of blue whales in the world, there were 200-300 thousand, but now there are only 2-5 thousand of them left. At the same time, the only natural enemy of whales is the killer whale, which, without posing a threat to adults, may well hunt their cubs.

Fact 4. Today, hunting for some species of whales is still allowed, but this exception is made only for indigenous peoples in some regions of the Earth, since they hunt with traditional methods, and their survival largely depends on the whales. So, whale hunting is allowed for the indigenous people of Chukotka, Greenland and Alaska, as well as citizens of the small Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Fact 5. The huge body of an adult blue whale contains up to 7000-8000 liters of blood, and it is more oxygenated than the blood of any other creatures. It is pumped by the aforementioned huge heart, which on average makes from 5 to 20 beats per minute. But whales have everything huge, even their newborn cubs can drink up to 300 liters of mother's milk per day.

Fact 6. No one still knows exactly how long the pregnancy of blue whales lasts, and how long they can live, since observing them is understandably complicated. Most oceanologists agree that females carry cubs for about a year, and this giant creature can live up to a hundred years. Perhaps even more.

Fact 7. The sense organs of whales are very original. They do not know what smell or taste is, since they simply do not have these senses. Their eyesight is also very mediocre, but their hearing is quite sharp, despite the absence of ears. Instead of ears, they have special organs located on the jaw.

Fact 8. Everyone knows that whales, rising to the surface, emit a fountain of carbon dioxide, and it can “shoot” to a height of up to 5-7 meters. After exhaling, the whale takes a breath, and at a time it sucks one and a half to two thousand liters of air into its immense lungs.

Fact 9. One of the factors negatively affecting the population of whales are ships, both commercial and military. Their mechanisms and engines create noise at the frequencies that these animals use to communicate with their own kind. Due to such high noise pollution, the whales “deaf” and often cannot find their relatives, including breeding partners.

Fact 10. The voices of whales are incredibly loud, but almost always these animals communicate in a low range, creating infrasound that human ears do not perceive. But sensitive instruments often record the voices of whales at a distance of hundreds of kilometers, and the record is as much as 1600 kilometers.

16/10/2022

Interesting facts about goats

1. It was these animals that were sacrificed more often than any others, and among the most diverse peoples.
2. Parchment, which was written on before the invention of paper, was usually made from goat skin.
3.According to some estimates, more goat meat is eaten in the world than pork. It sounds strange, but in fact, in many African, Arab and some Asian countries, goats are the main meat product (see 15 interesting facts about Africa).
4. Goats have a field of view of almost 300 degrees. Their eyes are generally unique, with horizontal rectangular pupils.
5. Domestic goat breeds have the best developed sense of smell and taste, while their wild relatives have the best sense of smell and sight.
6. In the Middle Ages, alchemists usually denoted sulfur with a stylized goat's head, since sulfur was associated with hell, and a goat with the devil.
7. The more goats spend together in one herd, the more their voices become similar to each other. And if the goat is moved to another place, over time its “accent” will also change.
8.Regular consumption of goat's milk significantly reduces the risk of tuberculosis. In addition, goat's milk has another interesting property - it removes radionuclides from the body (see 10 interesting facts about milk).
9. Very expensive fabrics are made from goat hair and down. A product made from Kashmiri sheep's down costs a very impressive amount of money, unless, of course, it is a fake.
10. Dwarf goats - yes, there are some - weigh only 20 kilograms, and Boer goats common in Africa can easily reach a weight of 120 kilograms. At the same time, dwarf goats, by the way, are grown for their meat, which is considered a delicacy.

16/10/2022

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