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Breed characteristics and personality contrasts in dairy goat breeds.

Article Excerpt
"Sylvia, please be quiet," I muttered to myself, "I know it's milking time but why can't you be quiet and wait patiently the way Edelweiss does?" Then it hit me; of course Sylvia is wailing, she can't help it, after all she is a Nubian! It must be because Edelweiss is a LaMancha that she isn't so noisy. As I brought the two of them to the barn for milking, I pondered the fact that I enjoy the temperament of the LaMancha while other breeders favor the Nubian. Dairy goat breeds have remarkably different personalities and interested breeders can always find a breed that they will enjoy the most.

The six main dairy breeds can be divided more or less into two personality groups, the gentler, more docile group, and the more willful, harder-to-handle group. However, each goat has its own personality. For example, a line of LaManachas might tend to be noisy and stubborn, while some Alpines might be gentler than Alpines tend to be in general.

Personality traits shared by all breeds

All of the different breeds share many traits in common. Goats are one of the most excitable of farm animals, and spook easily, though some breeds are more skittish than others. Because of this, movements around them must always be unhurried and gentle.

Unlike sheep, goats will seldom panic and flee if danger threatens. They will turn and face it. (Jaudas) Mother goats have been seen to form teams to protect their kids, and even a two-month-old kid drove away a gentle dog that it considered a threat.

Even the tamest goat sometimes does not want to be caught. If they see the worming appliance coming toward them, some of them will take off, and it can be extremely difficult to catch them. Goats are similar to horses in their ability to stay just out of reach.

Goats are unsurpassed when it comes to finding ways to escape from the confines of their fencing, and this makes them the most difficult of livestock to contain. Jerry Belanger puts it succinctly, "Goats will jump over, crawl under, squeeze through, stand on and lean against,...

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