i-Lanoaster Farming, Saturday, November*!, 2003
10-
£id. s » Korner
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Did You Know These Facts About Funny, Playful Goats?
earning About Goats
Study Questions
l er the following questions Be sure to use complete sentences
How long have people been keeping tame goats 9
What is a baby goat called' 1 What do we call a female goat 9 A male goat 9
>oats eat 9
What do
How can goats be used to control unwanted vegetation'
Name two ways goats help the environment
What kind of habitat are goats adapted to living in''
How are goats protected from predators’
How many people in the world eat goat meat on a regular basis’
toat meat health'
What else can goat milk be used for besides drinking 7
What are the two types of fibers that we get from goats that can be used to make clothing 7
Whs do you think early settlers to North America chose to bring goats instead of
cows? Give two possible reasons. _
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/Jakmg a Goat Habitat B
Color the scene on the box
Assemble as follows
A Cut out box on solid lines
B Cut the tab openings
C Fold toward the center on the dai
lines
D Fit tabs into openings to close
E Put your name on the back
5 Put the cards inside your assembled box
SAN ANGELO, Texas
Goats may have been one of the
earliest hoofed animals domesti
cated. For thousands of years
goats lived on steep hills and
mountainsides. Because goats are
very agile and sure-footed, they
can survive on lands that are hot
and dry, or cold and barren with
few plants, where other livestock
cannot survive.
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Domesticated goats are known
to have existed in North Africa
and Asia Minor thousands of
years before Christ.
Goats provide milk and meat
and were brought to American by
the early settlers.
Goats are cud-chewing, even
toed, hoofed animals with four
compartment stomachs. Goats
have hollow horns that are di
rected upward, backward, and
outward. Male goats have beards.
Goats are playful and like to
jump and climb with their herd
mates. A male goat is called a
buck or a “billy” goat. Female
goats are does or “nanny” goats.
Baby goats are referred as kids.
Most breeds of goats give birth
to a single kid, but twins or even
triplets are common in some
breeds. A kid can stand on its
own within minutes of birth and
can move with the herd within a
few days.
Predators such as mountain
lions, coyotes, bobcats, golden ea
gles, and even domestic dogs prey
on goats, particularly young kids.
Often specialty trained guard
dogs and even guard donkeys are
used to protect goats from preda
tors.
Some people say that goats eat
tin cans. That isn’t true, but they
will eat the labels off tin cans. It
is this ability to utilize any kind
of plant material for food that
makes goats so useful in control
ling unwanted vegetation.
Goat milk is very nutritious,
easy to digest, and used to make
many different kinds of cheese.
Goats that are raised primarily to
give milk are Alpine, LaMancha,
Nubian, Oberhasli, Toggenburg,
and Saanen breeds.
Goats raise for meat produc
tion are Spanish and Boer breeds.
Goat meat is very low in fat and
cholesterol. For more than 80
percent of the people in the
world, goat meat is the most
often consumed meat.
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Learning About Goats^_
Angora I lie tvpe of goat that produces mohdu
Biliv goat Another name used to refer to d male goat
Buck A male goat
Cashmere The short soft dovsn-ltke fiber from goats used to make expeoiive
and luxurious t>pes of clothing
Doe A female goat
Fleece Ihe coal of hair that is removed from a goat when it is sheared
Herbicide: A chemical used to kill or control unwanted vegetation
Herd A group ol goals Also means to gather animals together into a group
Kid. A babv goat
Mohair ihe fine fiber used most often in clothing (hat comes from angora goats
Texas produces 90% of the mohair in the U S
INanov goat Another name for a female goat
Predators Animals such a» covoies wolves mountain lions and bobcats that
hunt other animals for food
Range Ihe countryside over which goats and other tvpes of grazing animals
roam
Shearing The process ot clipping the coat ol hau from goals or sheep
Learning About Goats
Across:
1 Male goat
4 The process of removing the hair
from goats
6 Food product from goats
8 Type of goat that gives us very fine
fiber used most often in clothing
9 A female goat
10 State where most mohair comes from
11 Animal that hunts and kills other
animals for food
Some goats are raised not for
their meat of milk, but for their
hair. Although all goats have
hair, the hair from Angora and
Cashmere goats is particularly
soft, warm, luxurious, and de
sired by many people.
Fiber goats have their hair
clipped or sheared twice a year.
Hides from goats are used as
rugs, the skin is used for fine
leather. Gelatin, fertilizers, surgi
cal supplies, medicines, soaps, ce
ramics, pet foods, horn, and bone
handles, luggage, and footwear
are just a few of the other prod
ucts we get from the natural, re
newable, and earth-friendly goat.
The information on this page is
from Texas Sheep and Goat
Raisers’ Association, San Angelo,
Texas.
If you would like to raise goats,
contact your county Penn State
Extension office. Most counties
have 4-H goat clubs, which help
to make raising goats fun and
easy.
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Si«<t Qunttoii
1 People have been keeping time goats for as far back as 6 000 to 7 000 BC
- A babv goal is called a kid A female goat is called a doe or a nanny goat and a male goat
is called a buck or a Billv goat
3 Goats will eat most an> kind of vegetation Thev eat grass leaves twigs berm* lichens
and bitter desert plants
4 Goats will eat plants that other animals will not or can not eat
5 Goats help (he environment b\ clearing out unwanted or exotic vegetation by reducing the
need for hmbicides This also saves monev for farmers and ranchers
b Goats are adapted to rough. dry mountainous tvpes of habitus when other livestock or
crops cannot be grown
7 Dogs help to protect goals (rum predators
I Eighty percent of uw world s population eats goal meai on a regular basis
9 Goat matt is health) for you because it is low m fat and cholesterol
10 Goat milk is used extensiveh in making different types of cheese
11 Mohair and cashmere are the two (vpes of fiber that we get from goats u> use m making
clothing
1 2 Early settlers to North America took goats with them because goats took up list space
aboard the ships Because of their diets goats were also easier to feed and care for in ihe
Mew World while slid providing them with meel and milk .
Goat Habitat Boa jjUpV
All items arc necessary Plants t Jr. V* *>
provide food Dog provides '•J Jr ') * ( |
protection from predatots S* Ja m ¥ 1
provides water HtUstd r provides „
range and habitat fiomprovides v*' ,(i
shelter in severe weather ijj
Crointord Puztlr
Acnta
I buck
4 thearmp
<3 meal <« rtulk
V angora
Q doe
]0 Tevai;
11 predator
Down;
Short, soft, down-like fiber
Another name for a female goat
Animal that gives us meat, milk,
and fiber
Hair from an Angora goat
A baby goat
2 Cashmere
t Nannv
< Goal
f> Mohair
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