Our Animals
Alpaca
A female alpaca is called a hembra.
A male alpaca is called a macho.
A baby alpaca is called a cria.
Gestation length for an alpaca is 335 days (11 months).
The lifespan of an Alpaca is 20 years.
There are 2 breeds of Alpaca, Suri and Huacaya.
Alpaca stand approximately 3 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 100 to 150 pounds.
The primary function of alpaca is fiber production. Alpaca fiber is very valuable. The fiber is lanolin-free and very soft.
There are 22 internationally recognized colors of alpaca fiber.
Alpacas should be shorn once a year.
Cattle
All "cows" are female. Male cattle are bulls or steers. Baby cattle are called calves.
Cattle normally stay in groups called herds.
Cattle are commonly referred to as "cows."
Cattle are large mammals with two-toes or cloven hooves
Gestation length for cows is 280 days (40 weeks).
New born calves are normally up and walking with in 30 minutes of birth.
Average lifespan for cattle is 18 to 22 years.
Worldwide there are over 800 recognized breeds of cattle.
There are over 1 billion cattle in the world. They are found on every continent except Antarctica.
In India cattle are considered sacred and are allowed to roam freely. There are over 300 million cattle in India.
Dairy cows produce more than 90% of the worlds milk supply.
There are over 9.2 million dairy cows being milked at 110,000 dairy farms in the United States. 99% of these dairy farms are family owned and operated.
Cow milk is used to make butter, cream, ice cream, and cheese.
Cattle can go up stairs but not down.
Depending on the breed of cattle, both male and females can have horns.
Cattle can run up to 35 miles per hour.
Cattle have an excellent sense of smell. They can smell things 5 miles away.
Cattle can see color.
Cattle naturally thick skin and hair protect them from the cold in winter months.
Cattle have 32 teeth but no upper front teeth.
Cattle are herbivores. Their diet consists of grass, hay, plants and grain.
Cattle have one stomach with four compartments. The rumen, reticulum, omasum and the abomasum.
Cattle are ruminants which means they are cud chewing mammals. Cattle will spend up to eight hours each day chewing cud.
Cattle don't bite grass. Instead they use their long tongues to rip it off, ball it up into bolus and swallow it nearly whole. In the rumen compartment of their stomach, enzymes and bacteria will breakdown the bolus to be regurgitated as cud.
Cattle drink approximately 35 gallons of water each day.
Cows will use their tongues to lick their new born calf dry. This also helps stimulation circulation and respiration in the new calf.
Poultry
Chickens
Chickens are living descendants of dinosaurs
Chickens aren’t completely flightless
Chickens can dream
Chickens have better colour vision than humans
Chickens have complex communication
Chickens have great memories
Chickens bathe by covering themselves in dirt
Chickens have a pecking order
Egg shell colour can be determined by the hen’s earlobe
Chickens are very intelligent animals
Ducks
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the waterfowl family Anatidae. Swans and Geese are also part of the Anatidae family.
There are more than 40 different breeds of domestic ducks. The most common is the Pekin duck.
The male duck is called a drake. The female duck is called a hen. A baby duck is a called duckling.
Ducklings are precocial. When they hatch they are relatively mature and mobile and can find their own food.
It takes a duck about 2 weeks to lay a nest full of eggs before she starts sitting on them. The first egg may be 2 weeks old before it is warmed up and development starts.
Duck eggs typically take between 28 and 35 days to hatch.
Ducks lay between 60 and 300 eggs per year depending on the breed. The average is 180 eggs per year.
Duck eggs are good in the refrigerator for about 6 weeks.
Duck lives between 2 and 12 years depending on the breed.
Ducks do not have nerves or blood vessels in their feet. This allows ducks to swim in cold water, walk on ice or in snow because they don't feel cold.
Ducks have 3 eyelids. In addition to having an upper and lower eyelid, ducks, as well as all birds, have a third eyelid called nictitating membrane. The nictitating membrane is a thin fold of skin that is nearly transparent and whitish in color. Its purpose is to moisten, clean and protect the surface of the eye.
Ducks have three types of feathers: contour, flight and down.
Down feathers serve as an inner layer of insulation that traps warm air against the ducks body. Down feathers are used to line blackest, clothing and sleeping bags.
Contour feathers serve as the protective outer shell. They overlap one another forming a barrier from wind and moi
sture.
Flight feathers serve as an aid in the generation of both thrust and lift and enabling them to fly.
Ducks waterproof their feathers by coating themselves with an ointment that’s secreted from the uropygial gland (aka. preen gland) at the base of their tail.
During the egg-laying process, hens pull more and more down feathers from their body to create a bare patch on their abdomen called a “brood patch.” This allows the hens to more efficiently transfer heat from their bodies to their eggs. When they briefly leave their nest they will pull a layer of down feathers over the eggs with their bills to protect them and keep them warm while they are away.
Equine
Horses can’t breathe through their mouth
Horses can sleep standing up
Horses have excellent hearing
Horses have a nearly 360-degree field of vision
Horses have lightning fast reflexes
Foals can walk and run within a few hours after birth
Horses are highly intelligent animals
There are many colours and patterns of horses
The earliest ancestor of the horse is estimated to have lived 55 million years ago
Horses are very social animals
Goats
Female goats are called does or nannies. Intact males are called bucks or billies. Castrated male goats are called wethers. Baby goats are called kids.
Gestation length is about 150 days (a little less than 5 months).
Birthing is known as kidding.
Twin births are most common followed by single birth and triplets.
Freshening is when a female goat starts producing milk.
Goats live between 15 and 18 years.
Goats are considered small livestock animals.
Goats come in many different sizes depending on the breed. African Pygmy does weigh about 40 pounds while a Boer buck can weigh up to 300 pounds.
Most goats have two horns but some have up to eight horns.
Both male and female goats can grow a beard.
Goat horns are made of living bone.
Goat’s eyes have horizontal slit shaped pupils. Their pupils allow them to see in dim light and enhance their view of objects directly in front of them.
Goats don’t have upper front teeth. They use their lower teeth and tongue to “bite.”
Goats are ruminants, meaning they have four chambers in their stomach called the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.
Goats can be used for milk, manure, fiber, meat and their hides.
Goats produce 2% of the world’s total annual milk supply.
Dairy goats in their prime average 6 to 8 lbs of milk production per day.
Goat milk is commonly processed into cheese, butter, ice cream and yogurt.
There are approximately 360,000 dairy goats found in the United States.
Wisconsin has the largest number of dairy goats in the United States, followed by California.
The premier meat producing goat is a Boer. Other meat goats are Kiko, Nubian, Pygmy and Spanish.
Goat meat is called either Cabrito or Chevron,
Goat meat is generally leaner than other red meats and less tender.
Goat meat is a healthy alternative to other red meats. It has comparable protein content, less fat and calories, and more iron.
It estimated that 75% of the world’s population eats goat meat.
Llamas
Llamas are member of the camelid family.
Llamas and Alpacas are both members of the Lama genus. The differentiating characteristics between llamas and alpacas are that llamas are larger and have elongated heads and alpacas have more luxurious wool.
Baby llamas are called crias. Female llamas are called females. Llamas that are freshly weaned but less than one-year-old are called weanlings. Llamas that are at least one-year-old but not yet two-years-old are called yearlings.
There are no distinct Llama breeds.
Llamas will spit at other llamas to establish dominance.
Llamas communicate with each other by ear position, body language, spitting and humming.
Llamas make different types of humming noises when they are tired, stressed, hot, uncomfortable, curious or concerned.
Llamas, usually the male, make an Alarm Call when they feel their herd is threatened in some way.
When llamas are heavy in wool coverage (prior to shearing) they are called Woolies.
Full grown llamas are between 5.5 feet and 6 feet tall at the top of their heads.
Full grown llamas weigh between 280 pounds and 450 pounds.
At birth, a cria weighs between 20 pounds and 30 pounds.
The average life span of a llama is between 15 and 20 years.
Gestation for a llama is between 331 and 359 days.
Crias are typically born during daylight hours.
Crias are standing and walking within the first hour of birth.
Female llamas do not lick off their new born babies instead they will nuzzle them and hum to them.
Llamas are frequently used as a livestock guards. Llamas will bond with the livestock they are charged with guarding and very effectively prevent predation.
Llamas are used for breeding stock, packing, driving, fiber production, livestock guards, therapy and pets.
Llamas can be used to carry 25 to 30% of their body weight.
Llama fiber is light-weight and warm.
Pea Fowl
Only the males are actually “peacocks.”
The collective term for these birds is “peafowl.” The males are “peacocks” and the females are “peahens.” The babies are called “peachicks.”
A family of peafowl is called a “bevy.”
A group of the birds is also sometimes called an “ostentation,” a “muster,” or even a “party.”
The male peachicks don’t start growing their showy trains until about age three. In fact, it’s hard to tell the sex of a peachick because they’re nearly identical to their mothers. At around six months, the males will begin to change color
The peacocks shed their train every year after mating season, so the feathers can be gathered and sold without the birds coming to any harm. The average lifespan of a peacock in the wild is about 20 years.
They can fly, despite their massive trains.
A peacock’s tail feathers can reach up to six feet long and make up about 60 percent of its body length.
Thanks to selective breeding, it’s common for captive peafowl to buck the iridescent trend for all white feathers. This is called leucism, and it’s due to a genetic mutation that causes loss of pigmentation. These peafowl are often mistaken for being albino, but instead of having red eyes, animals with leucism retain their normal eye color.
Peacocks were a delicacy in medieval times, but tasted terrible.
What makes the peacock’s feathers so brilliant? Microscopic “crystal-like structures” that reflect different wavelengths of light depending on how they’re spaced, resulting in bright fluorescent colors. Hummingbirds and shimmering butterflies have mastered a similar visual effect on their own wings.
A peacock's crest acts as a sensor for mating