Owners of young goats are often faced with the question of how to correctly determine the sex of a newborn kid. Since signs of sexual dimorphism appear from the first days of an animal’s life, there will be no difficulties in determining the sex. Both in adults and in small kids, there are a number of differences that make it easy to determine their gender.
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How to distinguish a goat from a goat?
Goats are capable of bearing their offspring until the end of their lives, but goats inseminate a female only until the age of 3-4 years. If the goat is older, it is recommended to castrate it so that it gains weight and can be used in the future for meat.
Since a goat is largely bred as a dairy animal, the presence of an udder is the main criterion that distinguishes a female from a male. As the goat gets older, the udder becomes larger and increases in volume. In goats, the udder consists of two lobes and is pear-shaped. The formation of this part of the body depends on the conditions of keeping the dairy animal and diet.
However, if the shape of the developed udder differs from the norm, this does not mean that the goat’s reproductive functions of the body are impaired.
Males can also be distinguished from females by their more massive build, large horns, long hair and a strong musky odor.
How to determine the sex of a newborn goat?
Newborn goats have neither horns nor udders, and their physique is not much different from each other. All this greatly complicates the task of determining gender. Since signs of sex differences are visible from birth, to clarify the sex of animals, you should check the genitals of animals or observe them.
To determine the sex of a small goat, run your palm over the abdominal cavity and between the hind legs. In goats, two small milkings are found; in goats, a small seed sac covered with hairs is felt. In females, the genital slit is also clearly visible under the tail below the anus.
In the process, the male simply spreads his hind legs, lowering his lumbar region. The female spreads her hooves and crouches a little. The direction of the stream of urine also indicates the gender of the animal - in a goat it is visible in the belly area, in a female it is visible from under the tail.
