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Barnyard Animals
Welcome to Barnyard Animals! We hope you enjoy your time here and come back and visit us again.
Cats
(We don't always think of cats as barnyard animals but they play a very important role on the farm)
- Cats are predators which means they hunt. They do a good job of keeping the barn free of rats and mice.
- Cats tend to be solitary. Although there may be other cats in the barn they do many things by themselves.
- Kittens are born helpless and are totally dependent on their mother.
- A un-spayed female cat, her offspring, their offspring and so on, can produce as many as 420,000 cats in the lifetime of the original cat or about 20 years.
- The father plays no part in taking care of the kittens, in fact he usually is not around.
Cattle
- Bulls are adult male cattle.
- We commonly refer to cattle as cows however, the true definition of a cow is an adult female cattle.
- The milk that we drink comes from cows. We can also drink goats milk.
- A young cattle is known as a calf. Calves are a group of more than one calf.
- Cattle live in a group called a herd.
- Calves are able to stand, walk and move with the herd soon after they are born. That is amazing when you think about it!
- Steer are neutered or castrated males. Once again, this the same concept as our neutered dogs and cats.
- A cow younger than two years old that has not produced a calf is known as a heifer.
- A lactating (milk producing) cow must drink two gallons of water in order to produce one gallon of milk.
Chickens
- Chickens live in a group called a flock.
- Roosters are adult male chickens. The rooster is usually the one that crows however, sometimes the hen will crow.
- Hens are adult female chickens and the one that lays the eggs. They usually lay one egg a day.
- After the hen lays her egg she calls out making a lot of noise as she moves away from the nest. The hen does this to call attention to herself and distract any would be predators from the nest with the eggs. What a great mother to be.
- Baby chickens are called chicks or peeps.
- Chicks are hatched from an egg.
- Eggs come in all different colors depending on the breed of chicken. We usually buy brown or white eggs are the grocery store but eggs can be other colors like blue or green.
- Chickens "scratch" or dig in the dirt looking for bugs to eat.
- A young male chicken less than a year old is known as a cockeral.
- A pullet is a female chicken less than a year old.
- Chickens rid themselves of parasites by taking dirt baths. A chicken does this by digging a small hole that they lay in and then throwing dirt all over themselves. It is like us taking a shower, only with dirt.
- Capons are male chickens that have been neutered or castrated. We neuter dogs and cats so they don't have puppies and kittens. This is the same concept.
Dogs
(We don't always think of dogs as barnyard animals but they play a very important role on the farm)
- Dogs are predators by nature, which simply means that they hunt.
- A group of dogs is called a pack. A single dog or a pack of dogs can be bad news for animals like sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and other prey animals. Remember they are hunters by nature, and therefore must be well trained if they are to live on the farm or ranch.
- Have you ever heard of a "livestock guardian dog"? Well, a livestock guardian dog is bred to live with the livestock or farm animals. Their job is to protect the livestock from any wild predators, such as coyotes and foxes. They act like a shepherd with his flock. Anatolian Shepherd, Akbash, Kuvasz, and Great Pyrenees are examples of breeds that were originally developed to be livestock guardian dogs.. These dogs are a huge asset on the farm when they are well trained. Livestock guardian dogs are different from guard dogs. They were bred for different jobs.
- Herd dogs have a very important job as well. They herd or move the sheep. Sheep move together following the lead or dominant sheep. The dogs herd the sheep following the farmer or rancher's commands. An example of herd dog breeds are Shelties, Border Collies, and Australian Cattle Dogs. These dogs must be very well trained following the farmer or rancher's every command.
Donkeys
- Donkeys are part of the horse family.
- A mature male donkey is called a jack.
- A jennet or jenny is a female donkey.
- Foals are young donkeys.
- The call that a donkey makes is known as a bray.
- Other names for a donkey are Burro, Jackass, Mini Donkey, Mammoth and Ass.
- When a donkey jack breeds with a horse mare the offspring is called a mule. Mules are sterile, not capable of reproducing, except in extremely rare cases.
- A hinny is the offspring of a donkey jennet bred with a horse stallion. Likewise, hinnies are sterile except in very rare cases.
- We've already learned about livestock guardian dogs. Well, there are other livestock guardian animals and a donkey is one of them. Donkeys have a natural dislike for dogs and other predators and will severely discourage attacks on the herd that they are protecting. The donkey will severely bite, shake and strike out at predators. They can be trained to leave the farm dog alone.
Ducks
Ducks are covered in the Feathered Friends section
Geese
Geese are covered in the Feathered Friends section
Goats
- Goats live in groups called herds.
- The adult male goat is a buck or billy goat.
- The billy goat has a strong smell during breeding season. This is to attract the females. When it is breeding season the mature male is in "rut". Quite simply put when the male is in rut his main focus is to breed the does. The bucks will have bloody battles with each other for breeding privledges. The buck is so focused on breeding that eating becomes secondary if at all.
- A doe or nanny goat is an adult female goat.
- When goats cry out that is known as bleat.
- A wether is a male goat that has been neutered.
- A young male goat less than one year old is called a buckling.
- A doeling is a young female less than, you guessed it, one year old.
- Most goats don't like to get wet and run for shelter when it rains.
- Goats are browsers which means they like to eat the leaves off the trees. Although goats do graze they prefer to browse.
Horses
- A young horse is known as a foal.
- A colt is a young male horse under four years old.
- A female horse under four years old is a filly.
- An adult male horse is a stallion. Stallions are rarely kept with the herd except to breed.
- The mare is an adult female horse.
- A gelding is a neutered or castrated male horse. Geldings are allowed to stay with the herd since they can not produce offspring.
- A pony is not a young horse. Ponies are usually smaller and heavier than a horse.
- Horses breathe through their nose not through their mouth. Did you know that?
Llamas
- Llamas are part of the camel (camelid) family along with their cousins: alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos. Did you know that camelids originated in North America, then migrated to South America, Africa and the Middle East?
- A baby llama is called a cria, and usually weighs between 20-30 pounds on an average at birth.
- Llamas live in a group called a herd.
- In establishing a pecking order, llamas sometimes spit at each other.
- Llamas defecate or poop in a specific area, a community fecal pile. They are referred to as specific defecators. This certainly makes it easy to clean up their pen!
- Llamas are another example of a livestock guardian animal, protecting animals such as goats and sheep from harm. The llama will sound an alarm call when they think that danger is near. Whenever possible, they will move the herd to a safe area, such as a barn.
- Llamas have many other uses as well. They are used as pack animals, fiber production for clothes and blankets, and they pull carts, just to name a few things.
- Llamas make a humming sound when they are content.
Pigs
- A male pig is called a boar.
- A sow is a female pig that has had at least one litter of pigs.
- A female pig that has not had any babies is known as a gilt.
- A neutered male pig is called a barrow. Our pig, Arnold is a barrow.
- Pigs live in groups called herds. So far we have learned that cattle, goats, horses and pigs live in a herds.
- Piglets are young pigs. Piglets are the fastest growing animals on the farm.
- Pigs are the fourth smartest animal. Our pig, Arnold, comes when you call him. He is housebroken and he sits when we ask him to. He reminds us of a dog. I bet you never thought about a pig like that did you?
- When it is hot outside, pigs need a pool or mud wallow to cool off in because pigs do not sweat. A mud wallow is a pool of water in the dirt that the pig lays in to cool themselves off. When the pig rolls in the mud, the mud coats the pigs skin and helps stop sunburn and fly and mosquito bites. Now that is smart!
Rabbits
- An adult male rabbit is a buck. Can you name any other males called bucks?
- A doe is known as mature female rabbit. Remember, we also call mature female goats does.
- Baby rabbits are known as kits or bunnies.
- Kits that are born at the same time to the same mother are known as a litter. The kits are born helpless and are completely dependent on their mother. This is called altricial. What a difference from the precocial animals, i.e. horses, that are able to stand, walk, run and/or swim.
- A group of rabbits is called a herd.
- When rabbits are feeding in the wild, one rabbit stays on guard watching for predators. When he sees a predator, the guard rabbit stomps his feet as a warning that danger is near, and all the rabbits run for cover.
- A rabbit doe will adopt kits from another litter if they are about the same age and size. WOW!
- Rabbits can produce a litter every 28-35 days, usually on the 31st day. The average litter size is 4 - 6 kits. That's a lot of rabbits!
Sheep
- A mature male sheep is called a ram.
- An adult female sheep is known as a ewe.
- A lamb is a young sheep under one year old.
- A group of sheep is called a flock. What other animals have we learned about that live in a flock?
- Most, but not all sheep, have hair called wool. Barbados sheep have hair, not wool. The wool is usually cut or sheared once a year. We can use the wool for many things, including clothes and rugs.
- Bleating is the sound a sheep makes.
- When we move sheep together in a group, referred to as a herd, it is called "herding" the sheep.
- If one sheep is known as sheep, then two or more sheep is known as, you guessed it again, sheep. Whether it is one, two, three, or a hundred sheep, they are all called sheep.
- A castrated or neutered sheep is known as a wether, just like a castrated goat. This is done so no offspring will be produced.
- Sheep are called grazers because they eat grass.
Turkeys
Turkeys are covered in the Feathered Friends section
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