How to determine the age of a goat: methods by teeth, horns and external signs

When buying a goat, a novice farmer often experiences doubts and anxiety. A person can be understood, because the productive period in the life of an animal comes to an end after 8 years of life. Knowing how to determine the exact age of a goat will help to avoid disappointment. In order to make a choice, an experienced breeder carefully examines the teeth and evaluates the appearance of the horned beauty.

Determination of age by the condition of teeth

The state of the incisors of the horned beauty can give the most accurate picture of the age and productivity of the animal.

The passage of time is inexorable, and biological processes are reflected, first of all, on the skeletal system and teeth of the pet.

1. As befits babies, a kid is born defenseless and toothless. When feeling the gums in the oral cavity of the cub, the rudiments are guessed - tubercles of future incisors. The first teeth, called hooks, appear by the end of the first week. After another 5-6 days, the baby has internal and external teeth - incisors.
2. By the end of the first month of life, the goat's jaw acquires new teeth - edges. At this stage, all milk incisors line up in a slender row.
3. Within 90 days from the moment of birth, the pet is actively forming teeth. As a result of the continuous work of the body, the edges take on their final shape.
4. The onset of 4 months of age is associated with the appearance of a new type of teeth - molars. At this stage, the rate of development of the molars in the lower jaw is somewhat ahead of the upper part.
5. 5-9 months. This is a difficult period for determining the age of a kid.At this point, the state of the incisors depends entirely on the diet of the animals. Depending on the types of food, animals erase their teeth with different intensity. Delicate, soft food does not require effort to chew, while the roughage of the animal must be carefully ground. It is not uncommon for negligent owners to find a pet with completely worn incisors.
6. Guessing the age of a 9-month-old pet is much easier. It is at this moment that the pet grows the second row of back teeth - molars.
7. The next notable milestone in pet development is between 1.3 and 1.4 years. During this period, there is an active replacement of milk hooks with permanent, molars.
8. By 18 months, the main formation of the dentition ends. The pet has clearly visible third back molars. A pair of permanent incisors are clearly visible in front.

An adult has 32 young, he althy teeth. 8 of them remain dairy, and 24 are indigenous. Milk incisors are easily distinguished by their white coloration. The shade of the molars is yellowish, sometimes creamy.

In the future, the approximate age of the animal is calculated from the location and appearance of the teeth. It is not difficult for an experienced farmer to get a picture of the daily diet and he alth of the animal.

By the wear of the teeth, one can judge his chewing activity and appetite. With accurate information, it is not difficult to draw conclusions about the quantity and quality of milk produced by a goat.

Changes in the condition of the teeth occur throughout the life of the animal. By the age of 2 years, the pet grows a new pair of lateral incisors.

1. By the age of 3, a pet boasts 6 permanent teeth. Up to the age of 4, lost milk teeth are replaced by permanent ones.
2. At 4 years old, the front teeth located in the lower part of the jaw are large, wide, without signs of destruction and disease. Edges reach the same level with incisors.The dentition is closed. Literally after 6 months, the teeth are erased, and the tops of the middle incisors look beyond the gums
3. In a 5-year-old animal, the outlines of the incisors are rounded. This effect is achieved due to the pronounced wear of the teeth. The gaps are already visible between the incisors. The degree of erasure largely depends on the diet of the animal. If the pet is given mainly coarse food (coarse hay, hard branches), the teeth deteriorate very quickly. The introduction of crushed grain and soft hay into the goat's diet helps to prevent trouble.
4. After 6-7 years, the teeth take on a tubular shape. They kind of “spread” to the sides.
5. 8-9 years old is a critical age for a pet's dental he alth. They become brittle and literally crumble when chewing food. It is difficult for an animal to grind ordinary food. Age-related changes have a deplorable effect on milk yield and milk quality.

If the breeding animal is of value to the farmer, the pet is transferred to a special feed. A sparing diet includes chopped feed, chopped hay or steamed herbal granules.

It is worth noting that in rare cases there are unique people who have retained their teeth until the end of their lives. The condition of the pet is affected by the quality of food, water and climatic conditions.

How to determine the age of a goat by the horns

Swindlers love to tell the tale about the unmistakable determination of the age of an animal by the ring patterns that adorn its horns. If you believe the "specialists", by the number of rings you can judge the number of years lived and lambing. Of course, this statement is not true. A goat is not a tree, and it cannot boast of annual rings on its horns, so it is unlikely that with the help of a pattern it will be possible to find out all the ins and outs about the pet.However, there is one small nuance here. If large growths are clearly visible on the horns of the animal, most likely the goat has reached a respectable age. In addition, in a one-year-old animal, the horns are even in shape and provocatively directed upwards. An older specimen has antlers that curve back.

By appearances

When buying a goat, you should pay attention to the condition of the animal's coat. The owner of a shiny, silky vegetation, most likely, is young and he althy. It doesn't look like the old one at all. After the animals reach 8-9 years of age, the coat becomes dull and sparse. However, this method cannot be called reliable. The quality of the pet's coat largely depends on the conditions of detention and the quality of the diet.

The age of the pet is also indicated by the features of the physique.

1. The young hooves are still soft. Adult animals often suffer from deformity of the hoof horn.
2. The body of an old animal is bony. The protruding spine, protruding makloks, thickened joints on the limbs leave no doubt about the venerable age of the goat.
3. In nulliparous pullets, the udder appears only towards the end of pregnancy. A few weeks before the birth, the notch begins to swell. After the first lambing, the goat's udder is small, round, without pigmentation. The nipples are small.
4. Adult goats have droopy, large udders.
5. The outline of the body of a young individual is square, while the body of a mature animal resembles a rectangle.
6. The small head of a young goat is somewhat small compared to the size of the body.
7. In young animals it is difficult to determine breed characteristics. This is due to the peculiarities of the development of animals. The appearance of the pet is finally formed only by the age of 4.

You can distinguish young animals from older individuals by observing the behavior of pets in the herd. The young generation of goats spend time playing with their peers, actively running and jumping. Adult animals are not prone to such agility, they graze measuredly in the place allotted for them.

Wrong methods

Often people try to determine the age by the presence of a beard. This is a mistake, not only an adult goat can have a beard, but also a young goat. It is also impossible to know the exact age of a goat from the size of the udder.

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