Using teeth to determine age

Divide the teeth down the middle and count all large teeth to the right of the line.

 

This is not an exact science.  Goats get teeth at different times just as children do. 

In overgrazed areas of the world, where goats are eating too close to the ground, goats 

will wear their teeth down very early in life, so it will be difficult to determine age. 

(Steve Weerts, Ethiopia Interview)  

 

       (adapted from http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/evaluatinggoatbrstock.html)  

 

Broken mouth in an old goat.  

University of Pennsylvania Disease Image Gallery

http://www.das.psu.edu/goats/health/gallery/

	Temporary Teeth	Permanent Teeth
First Incisors	1st week	13-15 months
Second incisors	2nd week	18-21 months
Third incisors	3rd week	22-24 months
Fourth incisors	4th week	27-32 months
Premolars	2-6 weeks	18-24 months
First molars		3-5 months
Second molars		9-12 months
Third molars		18-24 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Agfacts)

 

Fetal age determination by presence of body parts  

20 days	heart beat apparent
28-35 days	limb buds visible
35-42 days	differentiation of digits
42-49 days	nostrils and eyes differentiated
49-56 days	eyelids close
77-84 days	horn pits appear
98-105 days	hair around eyes and muzzle, tooth eruption
119-126 days	hair covering body

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

(Lazarro)

 

Fetal age determination by fetal length

 

Fetal length at 30 days	14 cm
Fetal length at 145 days	43 cm

             (Lazarro)

 

Links:

How To Tell The Age of Goats  (examination of teeth to determine age.  Pictures and text.) http://www.animalethics.org.au/reader?MIvalObj=18690&doctype=document&MItypeObj=application/pdf&ext=.pdf

 

Selecting Foundation and Replacement Goats (page 3 diagram) (meat goat article, but general 

enough to apply to dairy)

  http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/goats/presentations/selectingfoundationandreplacementgoats04.pdf

 

Teeth and Age of The Dairy Goat  http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/4H/dairygoats/factdg11.pdf

Links:

Anatomy and Physiology of The Goat http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/goat-health/anatomy.pdf  

This is an Excellent quick-to-read overview of goat anatomy (digestive system, reproductive system, feet, embryology, udder) and physiology (liver function, kidney function, reproduction, digestion.)  Diagrams of goat, skeleton, moveable joints, stomach and intestinal tract, reproductive tract, reproductive organs, skin, lower leg and foot, normal hoof, egg fertilization, fetus, cross section of udder and position of fetus in abdomen.

Anatomy of the buck reproductive organs http://kinne.net/fertbuck.htm    

Anatomy of the Digestive System (words only, no photos)

http://vetmedicine.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vetmedicine&zu=

http%3A%2F%2Fedis.ifas.ufl.edu%2FBODY_DS061

 

Anatomy of the goat (video) with Test your Knowledge quiz 

http://vetmedicine.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vetmedicine&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.

imagecyte.com%2Fanimations%2Fbones.html

 

Biology of The Goat, Goat Nutrition, and Goat Parasite videos

(for sale but can be previewed on line)  http://vetmedicine.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vetmedicine&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.

imagecyte.com%2Fanimations%2Freproduction.html

 

Guide to Regional Ruminant Anatomy Based On The Dissection Of The Goat  (book)

By Gheorghe M. Constantinescu (Professor of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia) Hardback, ISBN: 9780813814933, Pub Date RoW 27 April 2001, Pub Date US 01 June 2001, Pub Date Aus 01 August 2001 

 

Illustrations of The Goat Book http://caltest.vet.upenn.edu/grossanat/  (Vet can access this)

Anatomical illustrations of the goat.  Includes sites for administration of anesthesia.

 

Parts of a Dairy Goat  http://www.goatweb.com/discover/goats/parts.shtml

"Goats have horizontal slit shaped pupils. The narrower the pupil, the more accurate the depth perception of peripheral vision is, so narrowing it in one direction would increase depth perception in that plane.  Animals with pupils like goats and sheep may have evolved horizontal pupils because better vision in the vertical plane may be beneficial in mountainous environments...." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat

 

Pictures of acceptable and unacceptable udders, p. 5 of http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/em4894/em4894.pdf

The following diagram illustrates what you are feeling under the skin when you body score goats.

 

(Diagram from http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/meatgoat/pdf_factsheets/matchingforagesmg.pdf)

 

Here is a pictorial summary showing the excellent materials from "How to Body Score Goats" from the E [Kika] de la Garza Goat Research Center at Langston University. Go directly to the site to learn how to body score.  http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/bcshowto.html 

 

 

(Diagram from http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/meatgoat/pdf_factsheets/matchingforagesmg.pdf) E [Kika] de la Garza Goat Research Center at Langston University 

 

When you are first learning to body score, practice with one goat that is obviously too fat and another goat that

is obviously too thin.  

Get to know what they feel like, then bring in other goats and compare them to the two extremes.

 

-Make a fist with one hand. Place the open palm of your other hand over the knuckles.  Feel how boy they are. 

  If you feel this when you body condition score your goat’s backbone, she is too thin. (Nickel, p. 17)

 

-Body scoring allows you to quickly evaluate the nutrition and health of a goat by feeling the bones along the spine.  

 

-Slight pressure is used to feel muscle, fat and bones along the top of the back (spinous processes) and on the side behind the ribs and in front of the pelvis (transverse processes).  

-The amount of bone, muscle and fat that is felt is graded on a scale of 1-5.

	Score	Spinous processes	Transverse Processes	Loin Muscle/Fat
Thin	1	Sharp and stick out	Sharp and finger easily pushes under ends	Loin muscle concave, no fat
OK	2	Less sharp	Fingers can push under with little pressure	Loin muscle concave, no fat
Ideal	3	Stick up slightly.  Smooth and rounded. Firm pressure needed to detect each one separately	Smooth and covered., Firm pressure required to push fingers under ends	Loin muscle moderate depth, no fat
OK	4	Can be just felt. Level with flesh on either side	Ends cannot be felt	Loin muscle full and some fat cover
Fat	5	Cannot be felt at all. Hollows in back.	Cannot be felt	Loin muscle fully developed.  Thick fat cover

Table from Haskell, http://www.rmncsba.org/SMALLRUMINANT.pdf

-The BCS should be 2.5-4.0 at the beginning of breeding season, and should be maintained throughout 

pregnancy.

 

-If a goat has a body score of 4.5 or more, or a BCS under 2, the goat very likely will get pregnancy 

toxemia.  Prepare for it.  Buy Propylene glycol. (See Reproduction section.)  

 

-A goat should enter winter with a body score of 3.0

  (Langston, Training, Nutrition)

 

Record Body Condition Scores, Weight and Parasite Scores on a chart.

 

Links:

How to Body Score Goats  (pictures and description) http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/bcshowto.html

 

Body Condition Scoring For Improved Management 

http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/library/field/Villaquiran05.pdf

 

Evaluating Goat Feeding Management through Body Condition Scoring
http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/animals/EvalGoatFeeding.html

 

You can give a tablet or big capsule (bolus) to a goat with a balling gun.  This will get the tablet or bolus back far enough in the mouth to have some chance of getting the goat to swallow it.  to accommodate different size capsules.  A kid can be held between your knees to deliver the bolus. For an adult goat, you will need a friend to hold the gun for you, and then to help you keep the goat against the wall while you administer the drug.  The following directions are for an adult goat.

 

   

Using a balling (bolus) gun

1. Thoroughly coat the bolus with Vaseline or mineral oil or molasses before you place it into the head of the balling gun.  This will help the animal to swallow the bolus.  Lay it on a clean, safe place. 2. Back the goat into a corner and crowd its left side against a wall.  Encircle it’s upper neck with your left arm.  Have your partner hand the balling gun into your right hand. 3. Insert the thumb of your left hand into the goat’s mouth, and with a combination of prying and pushing, Open it’s mouth wide enough to allow you to insert the neck of the bolus gun with your right hand.  Be very careful not to get your fingers between the grinding teeth or your hand can be seriously inured. 4.  Insert the balling gun into the corner of the goat’s mouth far enough back so that the bolus can be deposited near the back of the tongue.  Tilt the head of the goat so it is looking upward at a 45 degree angle. 5.  When the head of the gun is in position, fully depress the plunger. 6.  Remove the gun.  Hold the goat’s mouth closed, keeping the jaw elevated to 45 degrees and stroke the neck from jaw to top of chest.  This will encourage the goat to swallow the bolus.  Watch her to make sure she has swallowed it.  She may try to spit it out.  If she does, repeat the procedure. (Batagglia,  p. 447)