Goats
For thousands of years, goats have been used for their milk, meat, hair and skins and can also be used for driving and packing. Goat meat is lower than mutton in fat and cholesterol, and is 50-65% leaner than beef. The US demand for goat meat has been increasing over the past decade from 25.8 million pounds in 1997 to 50.9 million pounds in 2003. The US dairy goat industry continues to be on the rise, up 4 percent from 2007 with over 305,000 head in January 2008. Diary goat breeds are capable of producing over 2000 pounds of milk each year, the majority of which is made into specialty cheeses, and even soaps.
As a member of the bovidae family, goats are closely related to sheep. Some visual differences are that sheep tails hang down and goat tails are held up, and sheep horns tend to curl and spiral while goat horns grow straight up or out. Unlike sheep, goats easily revert back to being feral if given a chance. They are browsers, rather than grazers, and prefer to nibble on tips of woody shrubs and trees as well as the occasional broad leaved plant. Their diet is extremely varied an can include some species which are otherwise toxic to non-ruminant animals.
Breeds
There are over 60 recognized breeds of goats in the world, and they live in climates ranging from high altitude mountains to deserts. Goat breeds have been developed through the years via selective breeding for traits like hair fiber, meat quality, and milk production.
Some common US meat goat breeds include:
The Myotonic Goat (Fainting Goat)
Common dairy goat breeds in the US:
Some goats bred for fleece/fiber:
