Saanen Goat

Facts about Saanen Goat, "Scientific name for Saanen Goat is Capra aegagrus hircus". Saanen Goat is a variety of domestic goat that hails from Switzerland. The Saanen Goats are one of the most popular dairy goat varieties, owing to their high yield and ease of administration. The goat’s placid temperament and strong milk production together with the quantities available had made the breed a popular option among goat keepers. Saanen Goat milk is higher in niacin, calcium and vitamin A than cows milk. A goat is a herbivores, that eats leaves, grass, hay and furns "plant eaters". Capra aegagrus was derived from the Wild Goat (C. aegagrus). In latin "Capra" is the root of the word "capricious" which means whimsical, mischievous, quirky, bizarre and suitable to change fast.

Features of Saanen Goat

The male Saanen Goat attains a maximum height of 32 inches (81 cm), with the bodyweight of 160 pounds 135 pounds (73 kg), whereas the female ones appear with a maximum height of 30 inches (76 cm), weighing (61 kg). The silhouette of the head of this goat breed is dished or straight, with vertical, forward-pointing average-sized to big sized ears. These goats appear with cream or white-colored body.

The Saanen Goat breed has a long and barrel-shaped body, well coiled ribs, deep border extending to udder directly. The legs of the Saanen Goat breed are strong and straight, with front legs showing balanced width to the torso, and their back legs hocks well separated.

The hairs of the Saanen Goat are usually fine and short, with rare longer fringes on the hindquarters and the back. Owing to their light tint, the Saanen Goats can be allergic to hot climates and harsh sunlight. Darker-skinned goats are better capable of handling these conditions. These breeds have black marks on the nose, ears, udder and eyelids.

The eyes of the Saanen Goat are big, with bright amber in color. The Saanen Goat have medium-sized pricked ears, with a well developed muzzle. The lips are broad and the nose of the Saanen Goat breed has spaced nostrils. The neck of the Saanen Goat breed blends easily into shoulders, with or without fringes. The female Saanen Goat breeds have a long and slender neck, whereas the male Saanen Goat ones have a fine and sturdy neck.

Saanen Goat breeds are the biggest of the goat dairy varieties, and one among the major milk producers.

The average lifespan of the Saanen Goat breed ranges from 8 years to 12 years. Mothers Saanen Goat will call their young so they stay close at all times, a baby goat is called a "kid". The Mother and kid goat recognize each others calls as soon as the mother gives birth. Baby Saanen Goats are weaned off their moms after around 6 months. Its called "bleating" how goats communicate with each other. A "doe" or "nanny" is what a female Saanen Goat is called. A "buck or "billy" is what they call a male Saanen Goat. A male castrated goat is called a "wether". "Kidding" is the act of a goat giving birth.

Saanen Goats can even climb trees because they have great balance and some goat species can jump over 5 feet high. A Saanen Goats eyes are rectangular rather than round. At night they have excellent vision and can due just as much at night. A goat herder notice how much energy his goats had, after eating bush and and it ended up being a coffee bush and that's how coffee was first discovered. Saanen Goats have no teeth in their upper front jaw. Saanen Goats have 24 molars and 8 incisors. Both sexes, female and male goats can have beards. Male Saanen Goats reach puberty at the age between 4 to 8 months and the female Saanen Goat is between 7 to 10 months. Male Saanen Goats at the beginning of mating season go through a period called a "rut". The "rut" is the beginning of the courting for a doe, a very strong foul musky odor and fighting between bucks begins.

Goats can be born without or with horns "polled". Saanen Goats have a four chamber stomach, goats are "Ruminant" is any hoofed even-toed mammal, that digests its food in two stages. First by eating the raw materials and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as "cud" (ruminating: chewing the cud.) then eating the cud. "Wattles" is that little tufts of hair that dangles from the goats throat. The goat is one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Tetanus is something to watch out for in Saanen Goats and what are the proper shots to give them, (Tetanus-is an illness that is caused by Clostridium Tetany). Also do the research on de-worming your young Saanen Goats (kids) and do the research on the proper doses. Also look up "Cocci" (If your fecal test shows an high rate of cocci (over 200 per gram) you need to take action quickly with your young (kid). These are important facts so do your research on this if you are raising Saanen Goats, especially young goats (kids).