Facts About Goats

Here is something a little different for our website! (Fits very nicely with our recent project at the Buttercups Goat Sanctuary of course.)

1. Goats were the first animals domesticated by man in 10,000 B.C

2. Goats were the first animals to be used for milk by humans.

3. The female goat is called a “doe” or “nanny.”

4. The male goat is called a “buck” or “billy.”

5. A castrated male goat is called a “wether.”

6. A baby goat is called a “kid.”

7. The act of giving birth is called “kidding.”

8. Goats do not have teeth in their upper front jaw.

9. Both male and female goats can have beards.

10. Goats can be born with or without horns (polled).

11. Goats are bovines and are closely related to cows and antelopes.

12. Goats are quite agile creatures and in some cases they can jump over 5 feet.

13. A large group of goats is called a herd.

14. Azalea bushes are poisonous to goats.

15. Wattles are those little tufts of hair that covers the skin that dangles from the throat of some goats. Wattles serve no function and are thought to be remnants of gill slits that mammals shared somewhere back down the evolutionary tree.

16. Goat’s milk is easily digestible and less allergenic than cow’s milk.

17. Goat’s milk is higher in calcium, vitamin A and niacin than cow’s milk.

18. Goat meat is lower in fat and cholesterol compared to beef, pork, mutton and poultry.

19. Mahatma Gandhi consumed goat milk everyday for more than 30 years.

20. Goat’s milk is naturally homogenized and it can be digested in less than 20 minutes where as cow’s milk can take almost all day.

21. The early explorers used goat skins for water and wine bottles when they travelled.

Wendy