I just love these guys.
Those of you who follow our blog regularly will know that somehow the stars and moon aligned in a configuration in 2011 that pushed me into the company of goats…. repeatedly. In 2009 I didn’t know very much at all about goats and frankly hadn’t given them much thought. By now in 2012, goats are one of my favorite topics.
Lucky for us, Virginia State University offers courses for the study of small ruminants … a category that includes goats, sheep, and alpaca. Basically, the term ‘small ruminant’ is used by VSU to describe “mammals that digest a plant-based diet by creating and chewing cud”. VSU keeps a large farm where students can learn how to care for the animals as they help with the animal chores, preparinge for careers such as farming and veterinary work.
As they point out, there are several reasons that small ruminants make an ideal choice for small farmers or first-time beginning farmers.
As well as their size for smaller farms, these animals also have a shorter generational interval than larger animals such as cows, and that allows for more frequent births etc. HERE’S a short video that explains more about VSU’s small ruminant program.
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