mikey
FARM MANAGER
Hero Member
Posts: 4361
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« on: November 22, 2007, 04:35:40 PM » |
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Raising your goat(s) requires more than a knowledge of feeding,breeding and management.Goats are social animals.Getting to know your goat or herd takes alot of pratice.Under natural conditions,goat herds will establish a pecking order or dominance pattern.This pecking order helps to limit aggression among the herd members and may change from day to day.Dominance of a herd member is determined by 3 factors:AGE,SEX,and the absence or presence of HORNS.The doe will always be dominant over her female kids,even after several years.The buck is usually dominant over the female when bucks and does are allowed to run together.The presence of horns as a dominance factor becomes obvious when goats in a herd go through their daily ritual of butting heads.The goat that does not back down after the ritual is considered dominant.A goat with no horns will usually be dominated by a goat with horns.
By Dr. E.A.B. Oitenaru,Cornell University,New York
Independant Producer Region 7
mikey
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