| Abortion |
Abnormal or early termination of pregnancy |
| Accredited Herd |
One that has been annually tested for Tuberculosis and found free from this disease. |
| ADGA |
American Dairy Goat Association |
| AGS |
American Goat Society |
| AI |
Artificial Insemination |
| Anemia |
Deficiency of RBC (red blood cells) and/or a quantity of pigment known as hemoglobin. The eyelids and gums can be very light, grey or white. Often a sign of parasitism and a need for deworming. |
| AR |
Advanced Registry |
| Bleat |
A goat's vocal expression |
| Bloat |
An acute indigestion. May result from sudden overeating of new legume or grain. |
| Buck |
The male goat |
| Butterfat |
The fat content, or cream of the milk. Often expressed in percentage of milk. |
| Capriculture |
Goat Husbandry |
| Certified Herd |
One that has been annual tested for Brucellosis and found free of this disease. |
| CGS |
Canadian Goat Society |
| Chevon |
Goat meat |
| Chewing Cud |
As with all ruminants, digestion is accomplished by a long process in which the food is subjected to bacterial action and then is regurgitated for more chewing. Just as the saying goes, "Swallow now and chew later!" |
| Colostrum |
The first milk of the doe after freshening. It is rich in antibodies, which aids the kids in getting off to a good start. It is usually very thick and should not be warmed over direct heat. For preventing CAE transmission, colostrum is heated to 135F and held for one hour. It must not go over 145F, or the antibodies are destroyed. |
| Creep |
A feeding area which allows kids, but not adults to eat. |
| Dam |
The mother |
| Dental pad |
Part of the gums on the upper jaw. It is basically a substitue for top front teeth. |
| Disbudding |
Removing the horn buds. This is usually done by a hot disbudding iron or caustic paste. Dehorning is usually the term used when a horn has matured, and the process is by cutting. |
| Doe |
The female goat |
| Doeling |
The female goat usually between six months and one year. |
| Estrus |
The period of time when an animal is "in season" or "in heat". This is the breeding period. |
| Freshening |
Giving birth, or kidding |
| Lactation |
The functioning of the glands which produce the milk. The lactation period is simply the time when a doe is milking. |
| Open Doe |
A doe not bred |
| Overshot or parrot mouth |
The lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw. |
| Ovulation |
Egg released from the ovary. |
| Polled |
A naturally hornless animal. Polled animals have two "bumps" near the area where horns would be. |
| Precocious Milker |
Does that come into milk without being bred. |
| ROP |
Record of Performance (Canadian) |
| Scours |
Acute diarrhea |
| Scurs |
Incomplete horn growth resulting from inadequately removing the horns. Usually these are just short pieces, but sometimes have to be removed if they begin to grow into the goat's skull. |
| SNF |
Solids-Non-Fat. These are the proteins, minerals and other ingredients in milk when water and fat are removed. |
| Stanchion |
A device used to contain goats for feeding, milking, or other work such as hoof trimming or AI. Usually has a method of locking the head in place. |
| Stripping |
Removing the last bit of milk from the udder. This should be done quickly and gently. |
| Undershot |
Lower jaw is longer than the upper, and teeth extend past dental pad. |
| Wattles |
Hair-covered appendages of flesh hanging from the throat area. Sometimes there are "misplaced" wattles on other parts of the body. They serve no real function. |
| Wether |
A buck that has been castrated or neutered. |
| Yearling |
Generally, a buck or doe between 6 and 15 months. |
