Chat
02-17-2016, 03:32 PM
I have 3 goats with very different body types.
Shelby is a pure Alpine. He's got that bony-hip, tight gut, long-legged pack goat body. Classic. You'd be tempted to think he was underfed or something but you know how that bony pelvis, raised spine is actually normal.
Then there's Bacchus, another Alpine. Same height as Shelby but he's got some real mass. He's not fat, but he's just heavier. For sure he has horns and you'd think he's bigger because he rules the food, but all of my goats eat their fill and there's always leftovers for the horses to clean up, plus most of the year they can graze and munch. He has little bone showing and is more filled out. He's going to be a little intimidating to oncoming hikers on a narrow trail.
Woodstock is half Alpine and half Boer. A touch shorter in height and length. Rounder in all ways. More mellow personality, as if he had been smoking a lot of weed and listening to Hendricks and going "Yeh dude. What?" And you know, I wont say he's "not as good of a pack goat". So far I've seen zero sign that he's inferior to the full Alpines. But he is certainly a different build.
To be honest, using the same method of measurements to 'weight' a goat on my 3 guys is going to give wonky results. Too much variation in body type (girth, leg, muscle mass). I'm curious about weight but until my next visit to the vet... Who knows. I'd bet there's a good 70% chance that Vincent VanGoat, the LaMancha baby is going to weigh the most when he's grown. His dad was a monster.
In regards to the 2 females I have, they've got very very different body types-- One with the more male build and one with a more gracile build but a bubble gut.
Shelby is a pure Alpine. He's got that bony-hip, tight gut, long-legged pack goat body. Classic. You'd be tempted to think he was underfed or something but you know how that bony pelvis, raised spine is actually normal.
Then there's Bacchus, another Alpine. Same height as Shelby but he's got some real mass. He's not fat, but he's just heavier. For sure he has horns and you'd think he's bigger because he rules the food, but all of my goats eat their fill and there's always leftovers for the horses to clean up, plus most of the year they can graze and munch. He has little bone showing and is more filled out. He's going to be a little intimidating to oncoming hikers on a narrow trail.
Woodstock is half Alpine and half Boer. A touch shorter in height and length. Rounder in all ways. More mellow personality, as if he had been smoking a lot of weed and listening to Hendricks and going "Yeh dude. What?" And you know, I wont say he's "not as good of a pack goat". So far I've seen zero sign that he's inferior to the full Alpines. But he is certainly a different build.
To be honest, using the same method of measurements to 'weight' a goat on my 3 guys is going to give wonky results. Too much variation in body type (girth, leg, muscle mass). I'm curious about weight but until my next visit to the vet... Who knows. I'd bet there's a good 70% chance that Vincent VanGoat, the LaMancha baby is going to weigh the most when he's grown. His dad was a monster.
In regards to the 2 females I have, they've got very very different body types-- One with the more male build and one with a more gracile build but a bubble gut.