A sketch displaying labeled body parts of a meat goat fills the screen, accompanied by a small image of a meat goat in the right corner. The scene transitions to sketches and images of a dairy goat.
It’s important to know the words used by goat producers. When you know and use the right words, other people who own goats will be able to understand you. So, when selecting goats, you should use the anatomical terms used in the industry.
An Angora goat stands in a field, transitioning to a front-facing image of an Angora goat.
Goats are raised primarily for meat or milk, but some goats produce the highest quality natural fiber available, namely angoras. After choosing your area of production, you can begin researching each breed’s characteristics.
A woman stands with a goat, inspecting it. She taps the goat's back, highlighting it, then the loin. The front end of the goat is shown, emphasizing the front legs and displaying the goat's legs from various angles—front, side, and back.
When selecting a goat for meat production, begin with a visual appraisal of the animal. Look for an animal with a long body with leg and cannon bone in proportion with the animal. The goat should also have a strong and level back, from the neck to the hook bones.
The width and length of the loin should be large, showing a good volume of meat in the carcass. The back should be wide from the rump to the withers, and it should have smooth shoulders. The front end of the goat should be wide and smooth. The front legs should be wide spaced, showing a wide chest, and perpendicular to the ground. The feet should point straight ahead. The rear legs should be wide apart and straight when viewing from the rear. The side view should project a vertical line from the pin bone to the point of the hock, then touching the ground just behind the hind hoof.
A white doe with a brown neck stands on the ground, transitioning to an image of a buck.
A doe, or female goat, should look feminine with good depth of body, which indicates good volume. and a long, elegant neck that blends smoothly into the back. Bucks should have two large, well-formed, and symmetrical testicles in a single scrotum.
The woman examines the goat's teeth by opening its mouth, followed by a series of images depicting goat teeth.
The length of the upper and lower jaw of a goat should be equal. The teeth should hit the dental pad within the goat’s mouth. You can determine the age of a goat by looking at its teeth. The older the goat, the more teeth it will have. Mature goats have twenty teeth, or “ten pairs” of teeth.
An animated sequence featuring a black dairy goat transition to an image of a healthy white dairy goat.
When selecting a dairy goat, you are looking for some of the same characteristics of a meat goat. Although they will have less muscling, and generally be smaller overall, you still want goats with straight backs, strong legs and feet, and an overall healthy look.
A series of images showcases udders of different goats, transitioning to an image of hand milking a goat.
With a dairy goat, it is very important to pay special attention to the udder. There should be a maximum of two, with a preference of one teat on each side of the udder. It should be large enough to carry a good volume of milk, but not hang so low that it may be difficult or impossible to milk over time. The teat of the doe should be a good size to fit in the hand when milking, and the hole at the end of the teat should be large enough to provide good milk flow.
A lone black dairy goat roams inside an animal cage.
It is also a good idea to check into the temperament of the goat, so you don’t introduce one that kicks you, other animals, or the pail of milk.