We toured Harley Goat Farm in Pescadero, CA yesterday. I highly recommend it — you need to make reservations in advance since it is busy baby goat season. I did, for a time, live and work on a goat farm, so I didn’t expect to learn anything new.
[Update] I learnedwas told that this breed of goats (I forget the name) wear their tonsils on the outside of their neck. However, a friend who has Nubian goats tells me they also have them and they are called “wattles.” Other web sources say they are also called “bells” or “skin tags” and appear to be found in many kinds of goats. “They serve no purpose and are believed to be a genetic trait ‘left over’ from evolution.” Hmmm. Does this mean they are not tonsils or just that the tonsil is inside the wattle? I suspect the former, so I’ve updated the picture below. I desperately hope that one of my readers is an expert in goat anatomy and can help clear this up.
I also learned that llamas are effective guards against predators. They will spit at and kick coyotes to protect the goats!
