Working on a glossary for my goat book and thought I should ask all of you if there were any words that confused you when you first got interested in goats -- like "scours" instead of diarrhea or "settle" instead of get pregnant.
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
Replies
Milk test! I kept hearing people at my goat club talking about being on "milk test," and I thought, "is that like the SAT's?"
Standing heat.
Oh yeah, that's it! :)
Margaret Langley said:
Oh yea, "cover", I bet that one throws a bunch of newbies! Make sure you don't forget "standing heat" either.
I know! I just want to make sure I don't miss anything. "Settle" and "cover" were a couple that made me crinkle my brow the first time I heard it. Why can't we just say breed and get pregnant?
What's not confusing about all goat terminology at first! LOL I say stuff to non goat people sometimes and they give me the funniest looks.
Very good ones! Are you talking about the term "horn buds"?
What really confused me is the term for the marks on the goat's head after you disbud. Still can't remember what you call them, but I know there's a term for that. It's the little skin-like bumps on top of their head where horns would have grown if you didn't disbud them. Different than polled bumps. What are they anyway? I know Mike or Katherine has corrected me once on that....still can't remember! :)
Also, a term that seems to really confuse people I meet is "polled" for a naturally horness goats. Many seem to think that means they were dehorned. I've always known that one from hearing it about cattle and sheep, but apparently its not a very common term.
- WG4
As someone who grew up studying horses, I see your point! It really is funny! I think I would have called them capes/caped instead of buckskins! That varies some among goat breeds too! I still can't get over buying my nubians and when inquiring about the color of one I purchased, being told she was PINK! Say What? For real, but the funny part is that I now own a PINK ND! Of course her papers say cream! In all fairness she was cream looking as a kid!
Now about the terminology, hummm! I think you should not forget the word poll, as in meaning the spot on the head! That one, because it seems that people do learn what polled means, eventually at least, but don't always get the poll meaning.
And make sure they understand that drench is more a method than a specific thing! Remember that one? people give their goats a drench...but of WHAT?
Not sure if this would be a confusion, but it was a surprise :) Nigerian Coat colors!
I've owned horses before and found that the name of coat colors for goats was not the same name that I knew to be for horses. For example a particular colored Chamois in some goats can look like what I would call a Bay on some horses. Same for a Buckskin colored goat, and you know the variety of colored buckskins on a goat is all over the map, sure doesn't match what I know to be a buckskin on a horse.....lol! I remember when I first heard about these colors I thought what the heck is a Chamois, looks like a bay to me! And you call that a Buckskin, what? Are you sure? LOL! I was put straight about goat colors after that!