You know, there's more to a goat than just its funny-looking rectangular eyes. Here's a list of 30 fascinating facts about goats you probably weren't aware of. There's also a bonus factoid at the end which is quite repulsive!
GOAT FACTOIDS 1 to 5
Goats were the first animals to be tamed by humans and were being herded well over 9,000 years ago.
Goat meat is by far the most consumed meat per capita worldwide.
Goats can be taught to recognise their name and to come when called.
Goats can reach 15 to 18 years of age, with 8 being the average lifespan.
Goats have a gestation period (pregnancy) of 150 days (five months).
GOAT FACTOIDS 6 to 10
Goats have sensitive lips, which they use to mouth things in search of clean and tasty food.
Most goats will often refuse to eat hay and other food that has been walked on.
Goats are herding animals and soon become depressed if kept without any goat companions. If you are thinking about owning a goat as a pet, you should get at least two, preferably three.
Goats are mountain animals and are very good at climbing; they've been known to climb to the tops of trees and up the steep sides of dams.
You can't sneak up on a goat. Like many hoofed animals, goats' pupils are rectangular. This gives them 320 to 340 degrees vision (compared to humans with 160 to 210 degrees). This enables a goat to look around them without having to move.
GOAT FACTOIDS 11 to 15
Goats have excellent night vision.
Goats are browsers, not grazers. It is unnatural to graze goats on grasses. It also increases the likelihood of them picking up harmful internal parasites.
In their natural habitat, goats roam mountaintops and reach up as high as possible to pick out choice bits of forage around them. The higher the food is, the more they want it.
Goats have four stomachs. Their food first moves into the rumen (from which it is periodically regurgitated for more cud-chewing). Then onto the reticulum, later to the omasum, and finally to the abomasum (which is most like a more sensitive human stomach).
How rude! Goats burp a lot! This is due to the role of the rumen. The rumen, which holds four to five gallons of plant material in a mature goat, breaks down cellulose begins fermentation. Fermentation, of course, produces gas, and this gas escapes in the form of loud burps.
GOAT FACTOIDS 16 to 20
Goats don't have upper teeth; instead, they have a robust dental pad that grips forage tightly. Their upper lips are incredibly mobile that helps them to sort through spiny, thorny twigs to find plants' tender leaves.
Here's an eye-opener . . . Around the world, more people drink milk from goats than any other animal.
Goats milk is naturally homogenized. This means it doesn't separate out into layers in its original state. It is easier to digest than cow milk. This includes people who are lactose intolerant. The milk is also higher in calcium and vitamin A.
Watch that waistline - Goat milk has five times fewer fat molecules than cow milk.
Myotonic goats, better known as the fainting goats, have a genetic quirk. When they are startled, their muscles temporarily become paralyzed, causing them to keel over. They're not actually fainting. They remain totally conscious, and their muscles return to normal within minutes or seconds . . . but the behaviour has made them Internet favourites.
GOAT FACTOIDS 21 to 25
Abraham Lincoln's loved goats so much he kept two at the White House called Nanny and Nanko. His young son, Tad, used them for chariot rides around the White House gardens.
That incredibly soft and expensive cardigan you like so much probably comes from a goat. Cashmere is produced from the downy winter undercoats of Cashmere goats and Pashmina goats. The price of cashmere is so high due to the hand process of separating the silky material from the goat's wiry outer coat is especially time-consuming. It takes at two goats to make each posh cardigan.
Fancy that swanky pair of mohair flared trousers? Well, thank the Angora goat that gave up its fleece to make them. An Angora goat can produce 4 pounds of mohair per fleece.
Thank goats for your morning caffeine fix. According to Ethiopian legend, the stimulating properties of coffee were discovered by goats. A herder found his flock frolicking with extra vigour after consuming the berries from a coffee plant. The beans had the same uplifting effect on the herder himself, and with that, the tradition of drinking coffee was born.
A goat's voices will vary in cadence and inflexion by geographical region. A goat's bleat will sound different from that of a goat in a different country. It probably explains why a goat here in Thailand can't understand what a Scottish goat is talking about!
GOAT FACTOIDS 26 to 30
Correct names for goats. Buck is the name for adult males, Doe is given for adult females. Male baby goats (less than one-year-old) are known as Bucklings, and Doelings refers to female baby goats less than one-year-old.
The term 'kids' has been used to refer to baby goats since the 1200s. 'Kids' relating to children only began being used back in 1599.
Goats possess the ability to shout like humans. This has made us jump up at night and check the farm for undesirables on more than one occasion.
Goats are quite good swimmers, although they prefer to keep their hooves dry. Maybe our Goat Island wasn't such a good idea, after all!
*** Bonus Repulsive Goat Factoid ***
Mature Billy goats (Bucks) stink! They give off an unpleasant musky odour, which comes from both their scent glands (located near their horns) and their urine.
To make matters worse, they spray urine all over their face and beards. This spraying themselves intensifies during rutting.
Top Goat Tip
Do NOT stroke a Buck around his face. No amount of soap and water will remove that smell from your hands for several day!
Our Herd
Here on Porpeang farm in Thailand, we have a herd of 18 mixed breed goats. At present, they consist of:
1 Buck
1 Buckling
4 Doelings
12 Does
This year will see us develop a designated island for our goats to live on and the construction of a larger raised house for them.
We are aiming to increase the size of the herd to well over 100 strong.
This is with the view to suppling the goat meat industry and other goat farmers in Thailand.
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