Goat | Wildlife

The Wildlife | Goat | Goats are fun because they all have different personalities and have different little habits that can be amusing or interesting. Goats are very affectionate and especially during the summer, when they are too hot to be active, they like to just hang around people and get a good scratch. Most goats' favorite scratchy spot is around their shoulder but some even liked to be scratched in between their toes. It is very rewarding to see a goat you have raised from a baby grow up and have kids and grandkids of her own. With goats that doesn't have too take too long, maybe about 3 or 4 years at most, because they are able to breed when they are just a year old. It's also neat to learn how to milk or trim hooves and other things that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to do.

Female goats are called does. Male goats are called bucks. We primarily raise does because they are easier to manage, they don't have an offensive odor (unlike bucks), and there are more shows for does. A male goat that has been neutered is known as a wether. We usually don't keep dairy goat wethers, but some kids raise and show pygmy wethers. Other domesticated goats include Boer goats that are starting to be raised for meat, Cashmere goats that are raised for cashmere and Nigerian Dwarf goats. Domesticated goats differ from wild goats such as Mountain goats.

Goats are typically found in more barren landscapes and many species of goat tend to prefer mountainous and rocky terrains. The goats that inhabit the mountainous cliff faces are amazingly agile and are able to hold their hold well on small ledges and are very adept at jumping and running around on them. The goat is natural prey to many predators which include leopards, tigers, large reptiles and most commonly humans. Today the goat is also found in parts of South America where the goats are farmed and hunted for their meat and skins.

The goat is most closely related to the sheep and there are many similarities between the two species as well as a number of differences which include the tail length of the goat which is noticeably longer than the tail of the sheep.

 Goat

 Goat

 Baby Goat

 Goat Eating

 Goats