Cheryl K. Smith

Goats are mammals and are similar to other mammals in some ways. But they also have unique features that indicate whether they are healthy, tell you how old they are, and even give clues about their parents. © Milya Shaykh / Shutterstock.com Parts of the body You can own goats and not know the names of parts of their bodies.

The average length of time that a person owns goats is only around five years. One reason is that they have unrealistic expectations of what owning goats requires. So what exactly do you need to understand before becoming a goat owner, and what are some of the common missteps you can avoid? © lakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.

Goats make great pets. And as more and more people look for ways to live sustainably and grow their own food, goats are a wonderful option for raising meat and milk. You can harvest their fleece, as well. Whether you want to raise goats for food or as the smart, lovable pets they can be, you need to know what questions to ask.

Grooming a goat is pretty basic, and keeping a goat's hooves trimmed is one of the easiest, least expensive, and most important parts of goat care. Regular trimming takes very little time and cuts down on health care expenses in the long term. How often you trim depends on each goat and the conditions it lives in.

Goats are very smart and, despite their independence, can be taught to do much more than follow on a lead or come when called. Start training when goats are kids if you want to succeed with advanced training. Older goats can sometimes learn tricks or to pack, but they're more resistant than younger ones. Training success depends on your spending a lot of time with the goat and being consistent with your teaching.

Dairy goats are generally disbudded, although a minority of goat owners prefer horns because they believe it is more natural. Fiber goats are often left with horns, which are believed to help with temperature regulation, as a consideration for animals with a heavy coat. Some meat goat shows also require that the animals have horns.

If you're raising goats as part of a green lifestyle, you need an overall feeding program to keep your goats at maximal performance, but at times you need to make exceptions for certain goats or categories of goats. Pregnant goats, milking does, kids, and senior goats need special attention and modified diets.

Heads up: This is an article full of goat owner jargon — we're not kidding! Okay, let's jump in.Disbudding a goat means removing the horns when they are mere buds in a kid (baby goat). Dairy goats are generally disbudded, although a minority of goat owners prefer horns because they believe it is more natural.If you've decided to disbud your goats, you have to consider whether to use a veterinarian, have a goat-experienced friend disbud, or do it yourself.