Keeper's Korner
Kelly Campbell - Animal Keeper
Hello everybody. my name is Kelly and I would like to take some time to introduce you to our newest attraction at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, the Children’s Farmyard. We have 14 Nigerian Dwarf Goats so far in our farmyard. Nigerian Dwarf Goats are dairy goats that came to the United States from Africa. They are not true dwarves because they are proportionate in size, looking like a smaller version of regular sized goats. There are some things I have learned about goats, such as how smart of an animal they can really be. They can be very affectionate, just like your dog or cat at home. Another thing I have learned is that the herds have leaders and followers. Goats are much like chickens in that they form a “pecking order”. Every goat herd has a dominant female or doe, known as the herd queen. She usually leads the way, and gets the best sleeping spot in front of the feeder. It is the herd queen that should be greeted first. She will retain her position until she dies, or another doe fights her and wins the position. Our herd queen is Miss Dottie. She is a pleasant goat, who is identified by her spotted coat, beard and waddles.
Goat herds will also have a head male or buck, who is the counterpart to the herd queen. He is usually the biggest and strongest buck. The head buck takes up the rear of the herd, defending against any danger. Bucks also fight for top position, and like the queen, retains his position until death or defeat. We only have 1 large adult male in our herd, and his name is Billy. Billy was one of the first 2 goats to come to the zoo, so he does have a special place in my heart and I couldn’t imagine the herd without him. He was not part of our 12 goat herd that arrived later so I think Billy is still trying to establish his mark as head buck, you will notice him from time to time, being noisy and chasing the other goats around, but this is normal. Billy is identified by his tri-coloured coat, horns and beard.
The rest of the herd does have a rank, but it’s really hard for me to tell who is where in the ranking system, so I will just tell you a bit about all of them. Springtail, or Springer as I like to call her, has to be one of the sweetest goats. She has a very soft voice and seems to like to talk or ball when you talk to her. She is a very small goat which makes me think she may be a pygmy goat, based on her short stature. She is identified by her complete brown coat and beard, and a white stripe down her face and a white tip on her tail.
Next we have Copper Penny, or Penny for short. She has the same build as Springer but has a brown and white coat. She seems to be a quiet goat for the most part, I can’t really recall her making too much noise at all.
We also have Ava. Ava is a bit of a talker and probably makes the most noise out of all the goats. She is also the mother of 2 of our kids, Hope and Phoenix. Ava is identified by her black and white coat.
We also have Pride, she is a very pretty goat, not really outgoing yet, but we’re working on it. She is also a mother to 2 twin kids, Rio and Asia.
Lastly for the adult goats, we have Dottie. She was the other goat that arrived with Billy. She is very shy, and still moves away when someone wants to touch her. It will take a bit yet, before she feels completely relaxed around people, but she’s come along way. She is identified by her brown and white coat and short horns.
We have 7 kids here as well. I don’t have pictures of all of them yet, but will tell you how to identify them. We have 1 little male or buck, he goes by the name Indiana, after his daddy. He is a nice looking goat. He has blue eyes with a black and white coat. We have Hope, a black and white female with blue eyes. We have Phoenix, another black and white female with blue eyes, but she has a lot more white on her face than the others. We have Zaire, another black and white girl, but she has brown eyes and is pretty shy. Rio is the only brown and white female. Her twin sister is Asia, who is all brown with a white patch on her head. Lastly, we have Persia. She is a real heart stealer. She is very friendly and tends to follow me around. Persia and Asia were both bottle fed so are extremely friendly. I have had Persia trying to suckle on my fingers and parts of my clothes. The kids range in age from about 2.5 months to 3.5 months.
You will notice that 12 of the goats have no horns. Goats are often disbudded for safety. If they have horns, they can get their heads stuck in fences or feeders. Horned goats are prone to rubbing and banging horns on structures. Horns can often inflict damage to other goats when fighting for rank.
One other noticeable trait about the goats is their eyes. Instead of vertical or round pupils, they have horizontal pupils. At first glance, they can be a bit eerie, but I have learned that the goats have excellent night vision and can almost see 360o. They cannot see the tops of their heads, so tend to not like being touched there unless they know and trust the person touching them.
Well, there’s not much more I can tell you about them, other than that I love them all very much. I enjoy spending my time with them, learning more about them every day. Please feel free to stop by and visit with them. We are open 10am-5pm every day until Labour Day, then just weekends for the month of Sept. I look forward to seeing you, and please feel free to ask me any questions. I will do my best to answer them for you. My name is Kelly, and you can find me in the Children's Farmyard at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.