Erwer bfgegs bndfgs sg sg s hh gh g hg y y y y o I I uy g r57 rr r6e 46e ytf 8yg g9 g87 t87 t 9yu 86r 67r 7r 75r 57 6 67r 67 r6r 67r 67r 67 t68 68r r68 68 68r 68r 6r 6 67 68r 68r r6 67r 67 r67 r6 67r r r68 6 68 r68r 6r 68 68 68 r 6r 68r68 r68 86 r68r 6 8r68 5 65 4 4e45 w 34w 4 s4 s 4wecds4ed vf dr56b n t6gn fg6 trf 5e c 543 4 he domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia andEastern Europe.
The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamilyCaprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat.[1] Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world.[2] In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.[3]
Female goats are referred to as "does" or "nannies", intact males as "bucks", "billies", or "rams" and their offspring are "kids".Castrated males are "wethers". Goat meat from younger animals is called "kid" or cabrito (Spanish), and from older animals is simply known as "goat" or sometimes called chevon (French), or in some areas "mutton" (which more often refers to adultsheep meat).
Contents
[hide] * 1Etymology * 2History * 3Anatomy and health * 3.1Reproduction * 3.2Diet * 3.3Behavior * 3.4Diseases * 3.5Life expectancy * 4Agriculture * 4.1Worldwide goat population statistics * 4.2Husbandry * 4.3Meat * 4.4Milk, butter and cheese * 4.4.1Nutrition * 4.5Fiber * 4.6Land clearing * 4.7Use for medical training * 5Breeds * 6Showing * 7Religion, mythology and folklore * 8Feral goats * 9See also * 10References * 11External links
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Etymology
The Modern English word goat comes from Old English gāt "she-goat, goat in general", which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz (cf. Dutch/Icelandic geit,German Geiß, and Gothic gaits), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰaidos meaning "young goat" (cf. Latin haedus "kid"),[4] itself perhaps from a root meaning "jump" (assuming that Old Church Slavonic zajęcǐ "hare", Sanskrit jihīte "he moves" are related).[citation needed] To refer to the male, Old English used bucca (giving modern buck) until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century. Nanny goat (females) originated in the 18th century and billy goat (for males) in the 19th.
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History

Horn cores from the Neolithic village of Atlit Yam
Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans.[5] The most recent genetic analysis[6] confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today.[5]
Neolithic farmers began to herd wild goats for easy access to milk and meat, primarily, as well as for their dung, which was used as fuel, and their bones, hair, and sinew for clothing, building, and tools.[1] The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga Mami[7] Djeitun and Çayönü, dating the domestication of goats in Western Asia at between 8000 and 9000 years ago.[5]
Studies of DNA evidence suggests 10,000 years BP as the domestication date.[6]
Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also been used to produce parchment.
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Anatomy and health
Goats are considered small livestock animals, compared to bigger animals such as cattle, camels and horses, but larger than microlivestock such as poultry, rabbits, cavies, and bees. Each recognized breed of goats has specific weight ranges, which vary from over 140 kg (300 lb) for bucks of larger breeds such as the Boer, to 20 to 27 kg (45 to 60 lb) for smaller goat does.[8] Within each breed, different strains or bloodlines may have different recognized sizes. At the bottom of the size range are miniature breeds such as the African Pygmy, which stand 41 to 58 cm (16 to 23 in) at the shoulder as adults.[9]

A white Irish goat with horns

Eye with horizontal pupil
Most goats naturally have two horns, of various shapes and sizes depending on the breed. Goats have horns unless they are "polled" (meaning, genetically hornless) or the horns have been removed, typically soon after birth.[10] There have been incidents of polycerate goats (having as many as eight horns), although this is a genetic rarity thought to be inherited. The horns are most typically removed in commercial dairy goat herds, to reduce the injuries to humans and other goats. Unlike cattle, goats have not been successfully bred to be reliably polled, as the genes determining sex and those determining horns are closely linked. Breeding together two genetically polled goats results in a high number of intersex individuals among the offspring, which are typically sterile.[10] Their horns are made of living bone surrounded by keratin and otherproteins, and are used for defense, dominance, and territoriality.[11]
Goats are ruminants. They have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and theabomasum. As with other mammal ruminants, they are even-toed ungulates. The females have an udder consisting of two teats, in contrast to cattle, which have four teats.[12] An exception to this is the Boer goat, which sometimes may have up to eight teats.[13][14][15]
Goats have horizontal, slit-shaped pupils. Because goats' irises are usually pale, their contrasting pupils are much more noticeable than in animals such as cattle, deer, most horses and many sheep, whose similarly horizontal pupils blend into a dark iris and sclera. This adaptation allows goats to see at least 320 degrees around their heads with no blind spot in front of them.[citation needed]

Goat tails versus sheep tails
Both male and female goats have beards, and many types of goat (most commonly dairy goats, dairy-cross Boers, and pygmy goats) may have wattles, one dangling from each side of the neck.[16]
Some breeds of sheep and goats look similar, but they can usually be told apart because goat tails are short and usually point up, whereas sheep tails hang down and are usually longer and bigger – though some (like those of Northern European short-tailed sheep) are short, and longer ones are often docked.
Reproduction

A two-month-old goat kid in a field ofcapeweed
Goats reach puberty between three and 15 months of age, depending on breed and nutritional status. Many breeders prefer to postpone breeding until the doe has reached 70% of the adult weight. However, this separation is rarely possible in extensively managed, open-range herds.[17]
In temperate climates and among the Swiss breeds, the breeding season commences as the day length shortens, and ends in early spring or before. In equatorial regions, goats are able to breed at any time of the year. Successful breeding in these regions depends more on available forage than on day length. Does of any breed or region come into estrus (heat) every 21 days for two to 48 hours. A doe in heat typically flags (vigorously wags) her tail often, stays near the buck if one is present, becomes more vocal, and may also show a decrease in appetite and milk production for the duration of the heat.

A female goat and two kids
Bucks (intact males) of Swiss and northern breeds come into rut in the fall as with the does' heat cycles. Bucks of equatorial breeds may show seasonal reduced fertility, but as with the does, are capable of breeding at all times. Rut is characterized by a decrease in appetite and obsessive interest in the does. A buck in rut will displayflehmen lip curling and will urinate on his forelegs and face. Sebaceous scent glands at the base of the horns add to the male goat's odor, which is important to make him attractive to the female. Some does will not mate with a buck which has been descented.[18]
In addition to natural, traditional mating, artificial insemination has gained popularity among goat breeders, as it allows easy access to a wide variety of bloodlines.
Gestation length is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, with single and triplet births also common. Less frequent are litters of quadruplet, quintuplet, and even sextuplet kids. Birthing, known as kidding, generally occurs uneventfully. Just before kidding, the doe will have a sunken area around the tail and hip, as well as heavy breathing. She may have a worried look, become restless and display great affection for her keeper. The mother often eats the placenta, which gives her much-needed nutrients, helps stanch her bleeding, and parallels the behavior of wild herbivores, such as deer, to reduce the lure of the birth scent for predators.[19][20]
Freshening (coming into milk production) occurs at kidding. Milk production varies with the breed, age, quality, and diet of the doe; dairy goats generally produce between 680 and 1,810 kg (1,500 and 4,000 lb) of milk per 305-day lactation. On average, a good quality dairy doe will give at least 3 kg (6 lb) of milk per day while she is in milk. A first-time milker may produce less, or as much as 7 kg (16 lb), or more of milk in exceptional cases. After the lactation, the doe will "dry off", typically after she has been bred. Occasionally, goats that have not been bred and are continuously milked will continue lactation beyond the typical 305 days.[21] Meat, fiber, and pet breeds are not usually milked and simply produce enough for the kids until weaning.
Male lactation is also known to occur in goats.[22]