Other goat breeds

La Mancha
This breed was developed in the United States of a Spanish breed that was
crossbred with other breeds. This breed is distinguished by having very short ears.
Oberhasli
Oberhasli, another Swiss breed, is colored Chamoisee, ranging from light to a deep
red bay with black facial stripes, muzzle and forehead. Oberhaslis can also be black
in color.
Pygmy goat
The Pygmy Goat was originally called the Cameroon Dwarf Goat. The goat is mostly
restricted to the West African countries. Similar forms of Pygmy goats also occur in
all of
northern Africa, in the south western African countries, and also in east Africa. The
breed originated in the former French Cameroon area. The Cameroon goats were
exported from Africa to zoos in Sweden and Germany where they were on display as
exotic animals. The first Pygmys probably arrived in the United States in 1959 from
Sweden. Pygmy goats are primarily kept as pets as they do not produce milk of any
significant quantity.
angora
Angora: The most valuable characteristic of the Angora as compared to other goats
is the value of the mohair that is clipped. The average goat in the U.S. shears
approximately 5.3 pounds of mohair per shearing and are usually sheared twice a
year. The mohair is very similar to wool in chemical composition but differs from
wool in that it is has a much smoother surface and very thin, smooth scale.
Consequently, mohair lacks the felting properties of wool. Mohair is very similar to
coarse wool in the size of fiber. Mohair has been considered very valuable as an
upholstering material for the making of plushes and other covering materials where
strength, beauty, and durability are desired.
Native goat
anglo Nubian

Saanen goat

toggenburg goat

Housing of goats

How to Control External Parasites on Your Goats

By Cheryl K. Smith from Raising Goats For Dummies
A green lifestyle that includes goats doesn't mean you have to live with ticks, mites,
and fleas. External parasites are often just an annoyance, but they can lead to
bacterial infections of the skin. You can prevent such infections by routine grooming,
avoiding indoor overcrowding of your goats, and identifying and treating
infestations early.

Lice
Goats can get two kinds of lice: sucking lice and biting lice. Biting lice eat dead skin
cells on the goats and make them itch. Sucking lice are more serious they not
only cause itching, but they suck the goats' blood, which can lead to anemia.
Lice tend to take up residence on a goat in winter months. You can usually tell that a
goat has lice because it shows signs of itching. Its coat may begin to look rough,
and the goat will rub on fences (more than usual), have dandruff, lose patches of
hair, and chew on itself.
You can see the lice or their grayish eggs (called nits) by inspecting the top of the
goat's back with a magnifying glass. You need a microscope to determine whether
you're dealing with sucking or biting lice. Sucking lice have large heads, and biting
lice have small heads.
The head of a biting louse (left) is smaller than that of a sucking louse (right).
The head of a biting louse (left) is smaller than that of a sucking louse (right).
You can often control lice just by regularly brushing your goats or clipping them
when the weather is warmer. If the goats aren't severely infested experiencing
intense itching and hair loss the lice will leave on their own, even without
grooming, when the weather is warm and goats spend more time in the sun.
For more severe infestations, treat goats twice over a two-week period using an
insecticide dust such as Co-Ral or a pour-on such as UltraBoss.
Mites
Like lice, mites infest goats mainly during colder months. They come in two types:
burrowing and non-burrowing. The non-burrowing mites usually start in hairy areas
of the body, such as the tail, and then work their way along the body. They attach to
the skin and puncture it, releasing body fluid. You may see crusty patches and hair
loss on a goat under attack from mites.
Some mites live in goats' ears. These ear mites more commonly cause problems in
LaManchas because their small external ears are not as protective as the longer
ears. Use mineral oil in the ears to smother mites there.
Burrowing mites are related to the mite that causes scabies in humans. They start in
areas that are hairless or have little hair, such as the goat's face or ears. They cause
itching and bare burrows in the skin and eventually may lead to thickened skin and
extensive hair loss.
You can get rid of both burrowing and non-burrowing mites with subcutaneous
(under the skin) injections of ivermectin. For best results, treat the whole herd and
do a second treatment to ensure that all eggs that hatch after the initial treatment
are dead.
Fleas and keds
Fleas and keds (also called louse flies) are wingless, jumping bugs that can infest
goats, usually in the spring or summer. All of them are bloodsuckers, but they

usually are more of a pest than a serious health problem. Goats can get fleas from
dogs and cats, and they can get keds from sheep.
If your goats have fleas or keds, you probably notice them rubbing, scratching, and
chewing, and you will be able to see the bugs upon inspection. You can treat the
goat with one of the products that work on lice, such as Co-Ral dust or UltraBoss
Pour-on.
Ticks
If your goats are pastured in or near woods, they're a target for ticks. Ticks can be
more than just pests because they can spread Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain
spotted fever, and other diseases that affect goats and humans. Ticks burrow into
the goats' skin, so make sure to remove them as soon as you see them. A tick that
has attached to a goat looks like a skin tag and can be as big as a pencil eraser.
To remove a tick, grasp it with tweezers as close as possible to the head or mouth
and pull gently until it lets go. Drop the tick into a jar of alcohol to kill and preserve
it in case you want to have it examined later for disease. To prevent future ticks,
you can treat the goat with a pour-on or spray that contains the natural insecticide
permethrin.
Acaricides
Acaricides are pesticides that kill members of the arachnid subclass Acari, which
includes ticks and mites. Acaricides are used both in medicine and agriculture,
although the desired selective toxicity differs between the two fields.
Internal Parasites to Watch Out For in Your Goats
By Cheryl K. Smith from Raising Goats For Dummies
Raising goats can be part of a green lifestyle, but you have to learn to deal with the
internal parasites that are common in goats. They mainly affect the goats' digestive
system, although a few migrate to other parts of the body. Here are some of the
parasites to watch for.
Coccidiosis
These single-celled organisms are always in the goat's environment and are
normally carried by all goats. When they reproduce and overwhelm a goat that isn't
resistant to them, they become a problem. Kids under the age of six months are at
highest risk of coccidiosis. The main sign of coccidiosis is diarrhea, although in some
cases, an affected goat becomes constipated and dies.
If an adult goat suddenly dies for no apparent reason, have it checked by a
veterinarian for coccidiosis and treat the whole herd if coccidiosis is found.
If you are bottle-feeding kids, you can add Deccox to the milk to prevent coccidiosis.
Common worms
The worm that causes the biggest problem, particularly in rainy, warm areas, is
Haemonchus contortus, or the barber pole worm. It is red and white striped, and it
sucks the goats' blood and reproduces rapidly. Anemia is the most common
symptom produced by the barber pole worm. Barber pole worm can cause bottle
jaw, a swelling below the lower jaw.

Other worms that may take up residence in your goats include the following:
Brown stomach worm and bankrupt worm: More common in fall and winter, these
stomach worms cause diarrhea, rough coat, and thinness and inability to gain
weight. Treatment of these worms depends on dewormer resistance.
Tapeworms: Tapeworms are easy to identify without a microscope because they
drop off white sections about the size of a grain of rice in the feces. They cause
young goats to get pot-bellied and to develop poorly because the parasites absorb
their food. They can also cause diarrhea. A cold freeze can stop the tapeworm cycle
in a pasture, but otherwise they can survive in the ground for a year. Treat
tapeworms with Valbazen.
Valbazen can cause birth defects if you give it to does in the first 30 days of
pregnancy.
Meningeal worm: This worm is more common in the fall and winter and needs wet
weather. The meningeal worm causes neurological problems in goats, including
partial paralysis, circling, blindness, and difficulty walking. If your goat develops
these symptoms, contact a veterinarian.
Liver fluke: This fluke invades the liver, where it causes internal bleeding and
anemia. These parasites affect goats in the winter and spring. In severe cases, the
goat will lose its appetite, lie down and not get up, and ultimately die. Less severe
cases can cause thinness, rough coat, rapid heart rate, and bottle jaw. The only
dewormer that is effective against all stages of liver fluke is Chlorsulan. Valbazen
can be used to treat mature liver flukes.
Lungworms: Lungworms are cool-weather parasites; hot weather and freezes kill
them. Lungworms can cause painful breathing, chronic cough, failure to gain weight,
and death. When you have a goat with a chronic cough and no fever or other signs
of pneumonia, consider lungworms.
Deworming
Few dewormers are manufactured specifically for goats. Instead, you must use
dewormers sold for sheep, cattle or horses, adjusting the dosage as necessary.
Always ask your veterinarian about the appropriate dosage of a particular dewormer
for your goat. Since goats vary so much in size, the appropriate amount of
dewormer for a pygmy goat differs from a full-size animal. If you breed goats,
deworm your does right after they give birth, which gives the kids some immunity
through the milk. You should also deworm does during their dry periods, when they
aren't nursing and their udders aren't full. To reduce the odds of worm eggs
contaminating fresh pasture, deworm your goats prior to moving them to a new
field.
Hemorrhagic septicemia
Hemorrhagic septicemia is an acute pasteurellosis, which occurs notably in cattle
and water buffalo, and to lesser degrees in other ruminants as well as other
animals. It is caused by Pasteurella multocida bacteria, and can be rapidly fatal.[1]
It is "characterized by a sudden onset of high fever, dyspnea, salivation, hot painful
subcutaneous swellings and submucosal petechiae and death in about 24 hours.

Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms
of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals. Effective
vaccines against anthrax are now available, and some forms of the disease respond
well to antibiotic treatment.
Sulfa drug
Sulfa drug, also called sulfonamide, any member of a group of synthetic antibiotics
containing the sulfanilamide molecular structure. Sulfa drugs were the first chemical
substances systematically used to treat and prevent bacterial infections in humans.
Their use has diminished because of the availability of antibiotics that are more
effective and safer and because of increased instances of drug resistance.
Sulfonamides are still used, but largely for treating urinary tract infections and
preventing infection of burns. They are also used in the treatment of certain forms
of malaria.
hmd
A head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a
display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display
optic in front of one (monocular HMD) or each eye (binocular HMD).
Tetanus
Tetanus (from Ancient Greek: tetanos "taut", and teinein "to
stretch") is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal
muscle fibers.[1] The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin
produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium
Clostridium tetani.[2]
Infection generally occurs through wound contamination and often involves a cut or
puncture wound. As the infection progresses, muscle spasms develop in the jaw
(thus the name lockjaw) and elsewhere in the body.[2] Infection can be prevented
by proper immunization or post-exposure prophylaxis.[3] In 2010 it caused about
61,000 deaths, down from 272,000 in 1990.[4]
...The proper name for a group of goats is a trip.
...Baby goats are kids.
...males are called bucks.
...females are called does.
...A domestic male is sometimes called a billy; a female, a nanny.
...Goats are great swimmers.
...If bottled raised, goats will become bonded to their caregivers.
...Goats were domesticated around 7000 B.C.
...Domestic goats are found worldwide.
...Pygmy goats are a goat species, not a breed.
...There are six recognized dairy goat breeds in the United States: Alpine, La
Mancha, Oberhasli, Nubian, Saanen, Toggenburg.
...Each breed of dairy goat gives a different tasting milk. Oberhasli goats give milk
that tastes closest to cow's milk.
...Anything you make with cow's milk, you can make with goat's milk.
...Goat's discovered coffee beans.
...Goat milk has a higher butterfat content than cow's milk.
...Hearty seafarers, goats were kept by sailors for milk.
...Ancient Greeks used goat skins to make vellum and parchment.
...Goats are depicted in Paleolithic art.
...True wild goats are found throughout southern Asia.

...The Ibex (another wild goat species) populates Europe, Asia and Africa.
...Matriarchal herds of goats consist of 5 to 20 individuals.
...Goats are browsers, not grazers.
...Goats are extremely picky about what they eat.
...Goats DO NOT eat tin cans.
...Goats have only bottom front and side teeth, the top jaw does have a large back
molar for crushing things.
...Goats have rectangular eyes - this allows them to see very well in the dark.
...Goats contribute to desertification in Africa.
...The Rocky Mountain "goat" is not a true goat; it is closer to a sheep.
...Wild goats don't sleep.
...Goats use straw to scratch their backs.
...Cashmere comes from the undercoat of the Asian Kashmiri goat, with the average
annual yield per animal being less than one pound.
...Mohair comes from the Turkish Angora goat.
...Most mohair now comes from Angora fleece raised in the U.S., with the average
annual yield per animal being four pounds.
...Goats catch colds and can succumb to pneumonia.
...The fat molecules in goat milk are five times smaller than the fat molecules in cow
milk. Goat milk is broken down in the stomach in twenty minutes; it takes an hour
for the stomach to break down cow's milk.
...Goats are great as stock animals. Goats are easier on the trail than other
pack/stock animals. Properly conditioned, a goat can carry up to 25%-30% of its
body weight.