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Darkseeker
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I think that when the kidds are Maggie's size, or even a little bit bigger, they will figure out how to play <3 Cats have started maturing faster? Oh, boy, do the animals know that we're trying to control the gene pool? :') ~~~ 1)Dehorning is the process of removing a goat's (or any animal's) horns and burning the area and skin around where it was growing to prevent any further growth. 2)It is permanent. 3)Some people choose not to do it, but most dairy breeders (and even meat breeders) choose to do it. If there is even one goat in the entire herd that doesn't have horns while the others do, they are at a serious risk. Since goats headbut all the time, they need to be equally armored or one will suffer consequences. The horns can also end up puncturing another goat, as well as harming the people that handle them (hardly happens, but still). People that choose to keep the horns often have pack goats, or goats used to carry their things for them along trails. The horns help to radiate heat from the goat's body, keeping it cool. They can also be used by the goat to give itself a nice back scratch, and they can be used by handlers as handles when restraining the goat. But, it goats don't need to radiate heat more than the occassional summer day, the horns are often more of a hassel than they're worth. |
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Neutral
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I don't think animals care too much about gene pools X) It's probably reaction to harsher life conditions (I am talking about city cats)-some species like cats reproduce more in order to make specie have more members thus increasing chances of specie survival as whole in case of catastrophe or sudden change, cause 10% from 1000 cats is more then 10% of 100 cats ^^ and the more cats survive bigger are chances of rehibilitation. While some other species like humans resort to limiting their reproduction (human fertily has decreased in past few decades due to stress and hormonal inbalance which are product of modern life we should solve probably, although there are many people in total...but still lack of young is quite an issue and many European countries will face it) and so that human tactic works like this-if adult's body has to fight actively for its survival brain and nature conclude it is bad time for babies cause firstly, pregnancy puts strain on adult specimen so in case of danger it would be more vunerable, secondly, human babies need lot of care to live long enough to mature so if conditions are bad babies most likely won't have good chances of reaching maturity. Nature thinks for humans it is better to have functional adult(that will have baby once bad times are over) instead of temporarily weakened adult plus baby that needs 10+ years to become somewhat self-reliant. So yeah there are 2 tactis's ^^ one prefers quanitity and other quality-only time will show which one works better, maybe both for now? Dunno, evolution favours variability :3 and is low-key cruel sometimes, but we can't do much about that |
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Neutral
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Thou it ain't fun to find 4 months old pregant female cat/kitten .-. like...it harms them to be pregnant that young while still growing. It's kinda weird :/ cause humans can reproduce with 12+ or 14+ too (I think those who live in hotter climates mature faster in that aspect then those who live in colder climates, and that those who are poor as well as mostly hungry mature slower too) although it is checked and concluded that just because someone can reproduce that young it would be better to wait a few years till they finish growing themselves before making babies ;-; weird how we have potential before we are actually ready. |
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Neutral
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About dehorning-I see, so it all works as long as they are equal ^^ do you maybe know in how large herds goats like to be-5, 10, 20 or more or it doesn't matter? |
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Neutral
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And hos many inches of horn would your goats have if they weren't dehorned, is there some set length or they just grow and grow? |
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Darkseeker
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Oh, that's interesting about the city cats. ^^ I also think it's interesting that we have the potential to reproduce before we're really ready, as well. As for herd size, goats prefer there being around 5+ goats in a herd. It gives them more opportunities to make friends. As for the size that a herd needs to be for the goats to be normal mentally (smaller herd means less herd dynamics, thus creating fewer opportunities for them to learn how to behave like a goat) is 3+ Nubians can grow horns up to 2 feet, and they will grow out to 2 feet (like hair) if a little bit is cut off, or even the entire horn is cut off without thorough burning. |
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Neutral
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Those are really large horns XD do they bother them And I just figured out goats are a lot more social then I thought ^^ |
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Darkseeker
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Yeah, those are large horns XD I would assume they don't bother them, they seem to like having their horns, it's pretty convenient. My girls have to crane their necks to reach back and scratch an itch. If they had horns, then they would be able to simply tilt their head and scratch the itch. Yeah, goats are really social creatures. When other goats aren't around, they'll even make friends with horses, cows, dogs, alpacas, etc. Sometimes they'll make friends with these creatures even when other goats are around, especially if they're the herd outcast. ~~~~ Last weekend I had a goat show! Due to COVID, there have been so few recently, so there were top breeders there! Oh my gosh, the goats we were competing against were so gorgeous. They made my top-line girls look like garbage! In the future (after COVID) there will be more shows and less competition so world-class breeders won't bother to come to our local shows, but it was so great to see celebrity goats in person. (I am not joking, there were famous goats at the show. They were all stunning.) However, due to all the amazing breeders that showed up, my girls didn't place so well. Stella is pregnant, so we couldn't bring her (of course it was our best goat that couldn't show), but Catalina placed 4th and Destiny placed 7th. There were 7 does in their age group, meaning that poor Destiny got last. Edit: I'll try to get some pictures of the show up sooner or later. |
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Darkseeker
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Stella could drop out her babies any day now!! :D She is officially due on the 22nd, but I can feel them kicking and moving around inside of her, so maybe she'll deliver early?? (This would be a safe time to deliver, as they would no longer be considered premature) |
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Neutral
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I think she will have 2 kids ^^ Happy to see some more goats~ |
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Winter 
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