Small Ruminants (Exam 2) Flashcards
Define: Browsing
How goats eat
Ingest material at the level of the shoulder or higher (shrubs, leaves at head height)
What type of foraging do goats vs sheep do?
Goats: browsers (level of shoulder or higher)
Sheep: grazers (grass low to the ground)
Define the anatomic features that allow you to distinguish a sheep from a goat when viewed from a distance
Goats: erect tail
Sheep: no visible tail if it has been docked very short, otherwise tail hangs down
Describe the process of tail docking. Why is this performed on sheep in certain locales?
Conducted to limit changes of myiasis in areas where invasive blowflies exist
To limit contamination of udder with fecal material = increase nursing lamb’s change of developing diarrhea from ingestion of fecal pathogens
If docked too short = resultant atrophy of perineal musculature may contribute to rectal prolapse
Optimal practice = docking where 3 palpable caudal vertebral joints are left on stub, or left long enough to cover vulva in ewe lamb
Describe the process of tail mulesing. Why is this performed on sheep in certain locales?
Wool industry (not in US, but AU or NZ)
Cutting crescent shaped flaps of skin from around lamb’s breech and tail using sharp sheers, when wound heals creates area of bare, stretched scar tissue
Scar tissue has no folds or wrinkles to hold moisture and flees = less likely to attract blowflies which lay eggs, larvae feed on flesh = flystrike
Describe the process of facing. Why is this performed on sheep in certain locales?
Hair cut around the face
Improve ability to see and function
Describe the process of tail crutching. Why is this performed on sheep in certain locales?
Hair cut around the tail, between the rear legs
Hygiene + access to udder for kids
Describe the optimal means of moving a large group of sheep into a shearing shed or tractor-trailer for transport (6)
Sheep prefer to move
(1) towards the horizon
(2) toward other sheep
(3) avoid unfamiliar animals
(4) uphill better than downhill
(5) follow sheep in front
(3) prefer lighted areas to dark
Describe the two annual surges in the number of sheep slaughtered in the US and explain how each surge reflects supply and/or demand for lamb
Spring = early peak in lamb numbers = DEMAND driven = religious holidays (high demand = high prices, fall born lambs)
Fall = late peak in lamb numbers = SUPPLY driven (high supply = low prices, spring born lambs)
Explain the recent increase in the number of goats and goat farms in the US - what products from goats have driven this increase and which goat product has recently tapered off in demand?
Increase in demand = popularity of meat goats (Boer goat) = importance in ethnic culinary cuisines, increases in US population of these groups = increase demand for goat meat
Only livestock industry to experience increase in both farm number and animal inventory over past decade
Decrease in demand = angora goat numbers declined = competition in mohair production by US trading partners and slight reduction in world mohair demand
Where are most goats raised in the US?
Texas (50%)
Tennessee
California
Oklahoma
Where are most goats slaughtered in the US?
East
Mainly in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut
Where demand is
Describe the timing of the natural breeding season for small ruminants
Natural breeding season = fall breeding with spring kidding
Lactation begins with kidding = national goat milk supply peaks in summer
Explain the rationale for out of season breeding, what is it?
Out of season breeding: requires AI or hormone treatments in induce kidding in the fall (spring breeding)
Advantage = supply milk at a time when national supply is dwindling (fall) to take advantage of better milk prices
Define: Allelomimetic Behavior
Goats
Move together to do the same thing together
Strong social hierarchy = cause problems with butting injuries from fighting and unequal feed intake - why they dehorn goats to protect them from inflicting injury on each other
