Goat Related Terms
| Banding | A type of castration. This entails using a tool to put special heavy duty little rubber bands around the scrotum leading to the testicles. The blood circulation stops and in about 10 to 14 days, the scrotum and testes will slough off. |
| Billy | An intact male goat. Not as polite as saying "buck". |
| Browse | Broad-leafed woody plant, shrub or brush. |
| Buck | The polite term for a male goat. |
| Buckling | A young male goat. |
| Burdizzo | A type of bloodless castration. Involves a clamp-like tool tool which crushes the spermatic cord and blood vessels leading to the testicles. The effect is to prevent blood reaching the testicles so that they gradually wither away and die. |
| Butting | Method of fighting among goats in which they hit each other with their heads. |
| CAE | Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis. Click here for more info |
| Chlamydia | Small organisms associated with pneumonia, abortion, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, arthritis and encephalitis. |
| CL | Caseous Lymphadenitis, a disease where the goat develops puss filled abscesses, especially on their throat in the lymph glands |
| Coccidiosis | A condition caused by a protozoan parasite that destroys the lining of the small intestine causing diarrhea and possibly death. Click here for more info |
| Colostrum | The first milk that a new mother produces. It is full of important antibodies for the young and is essential to their life. |
| Cutting | A type of castration. Entails cutting the bottom of the scrotum off and pulling out the testicles. |
| Dam | The mother. |
| Disbudding | Removing the horns "buds" on a young goat so that they will not grow horns. |
| Doe | The polite term for a female goat. |
| Doeling | Young female goat. |
| Drenching | The oral administration of medication. |
| Estrus | The period of time when the female is sexually receptive to the male. Also known as "heat". |
| Forage | Fiber-containing feedstuffs such as hay, browse and pasture. |
| Freshen | To give birth and start producing milk. |
| Heat | The period of time when the female is sexually receptive to the male. |
| IM | To give a shot Intramuscularly- in the muscle. |
| Johnes | A wasting disease of ruminants. |
| Ketosis | Pregnancy Toxemia/Ketosis is caused by a build up of excess ketones in the blood (urine & milk), due to the incomplete metabolic breakdown of body fat. It occurs in a doe (before or after kidding) because of an inability to consume enough feed to meet her needs. Ketosis can be caused by either too much, or too little grain, or the wrong type of grain and also poor quality hay/forage. Click here for more info |
| Kid | Baby goat. |
| Kid | To give birth. |
| Kidding | Giving birth. |
| Lactation | The period of time when a doe is producing milk. |
| Mastitis | An inflammation of the udder, almost always caused by germs but also can be a result of injury. Click here for more info |
| Milk Sack | The proper term is "udder" not "milk sack". |
| Nanny | A female goat. Not as polite as saying "doe". |
| Necropsy | Examination of a dead animal to determine cause of death. |
| Orifice | The hole in the end of a teat where milk comes out. |
| Pinkeye | A highly contagious disease that affects the eyes of goats (also contagious to humans). |
| Pregnancy Toxemia | Pregnancy Toxemia/Ketosis is caused by a build up of excess ketones in the blood (urine & milk), due to the incomplete metabolic breakdown of body fat. It occurs in a doe (before or after kidding) because of an inability to consume enough feed to meet her needs. Ketosis can be caused by either too much, or too little grain, or the wrong type of grain and also poor quality hay/forage. Click here for more info |
| Roughage | Coarse, bulky feed high in fiber such as hay, straw and silage. |
| Rumen | The large first compartment of a ruminant's stomach containing microbial population that is capable of breaking down forages and roughage. |
| Ruminant | An animal that chews their cud and has a four compartmented stomach. |
| Rumination | The process of "bring up" food (cud) to be rechewed. |
| Scours | Diarrhea |
| Sire | The father. |
| Soremouth | A highly contagious (also to humans), viral infection that causes scabs around mouth, nostrils, eyes and may effect udders of lactating does. |
| SubQ SQ |
To give a shot Subcutaneous- under the skin. |
| Urinary Calculi | Metabolic disease characterized by the formation of stones within the urinary tract. For more info, click here |
| Vaccination | An injection, given to healthy animals (and humans), used to stimulate immunity to specific diseases. |
| Wattles | Waddles are "goat jewelry". Some goats have them, some do not. They serve no purpose but adornment. |
| Wether | Castrated male. |
| White Muscle Disease | A disease caused by a deficiency of selenium, Vitamin E or both that causes degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscles of goats. |
| Yearling | A one year old goat. |