Goat Terminology
- naturaldaysfarm
- Jul 23, 2018
- 2 min read
If you own a goat or plan to at some point it is always a good idea to be educated. It is never good to head to a farm and ask to buy a baby goat or a girl goat. You sounds uneducated and it can make the seller question whether you are a suitable owner. Don't stress though there isn't that much terminology that is considered really important to know and it is pretty simple stuff to learn. Here is a list of basic terminology that I feel are the things you really should know.
Doe - mature female goat
Doe in Milk - when a doe has been freshened and is now producing milk
Buck or Billy - mature male goat who is able to breed and father kids
Doeling - young female goat
Buckling - young male goat who is able to breed
Wether - young male goat who is NOT able to breed. He has been castrated
Kid - young or newborn goat
Dam - mother
Sire - father
Kidding - act of giving birth
Polled - naturally hornless, this is due to specific breeding over time
Disbudded - a goat who has had it's horns removed at a young age
Scours - a sickness that consists of diarrhea among other things.Can be life threatening.
Scurs - small pieces of horn that have grown back or were not fully removed at disbudding
Bottle Baby - a baby goat being bottle fed instead of nursing off mom
Open - female goats that are not pregnant
Weaned - a goat that is no longer nursing off mom or being bottle fed
Banded- a way of castrating a male goat
Rut - when bucks are ready to breed
Rumen - part of the goats digestive system
Freshen - for a doe to come into milk
CL/CAE/Johne's/ TB/ Brucellosis- the major diseases goats can get. Herds can be tested for this yearly
ADGA- American Dairy Goat Association
AGS- American Goat Society
MDGA- Miniture Dairy Goat Association
Registered- A goat who is generally pure bred and has been certified and given registration papers with one of the 3 major associations.
Wattles - hair covered appendages of flesh generally hanging from the throat area. These are similar to a skin tag. They serve no purpose and can be removed for a cleaner look
If you want a bit more information about your goat here is a diagram that tells you the different body parts.
Have I missed something you think should be included? Comment and let me know.
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