Most Beautiful Goats Competition
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Udderly unbelievable but true, goats were on the catwalk for the Most Beautiful Goat at the Mazayen al-Maaz competition yesterday in Riyadh, capitol of Saudi Arabia. A Damascene goat — or Maaz Al Shami — named Qahr was the beauty queen who won title for first prize.
Qahr takes 1st place for “Most Beautiful Goat.” Photo Xinhua / Reuters
Winners are selected on the basis of a combination of factors and overall appearance, not simply by their color — but the head, nose, mouth, ears, breast and eyes — with the most important factor being the size of the head and the whiteness of their eyes.
The Damascene goats were also judged on their rarity and auctioned off.
Also known as Aleppo, Halep, Baladi, Damascene, Shami, Chami, the Damascus is a breed raised in the region of Syria and Lebanon, primarily for milk production. They’re of the Nubian type and typically red or brown but can also be found in pied or grey. The goats can be either horned or polled.
The Al-Shami breed of goat was introduced to Kuwait from Saudi Arabia.
Qahr with owner Muhammad Hawas of Saudi Arabia. Photo Xinhua / Reuters
Pet Goats
Typically considered a farm animal, some say that goats are friendly by nature and make good pets — particularly the dwarf of pygmy variety — although they’re not recommended as a house pet, not to mention the fact that bylaws usually classify them as an agricultural species which prevent city dwellers from owning them.
First and foremost, think about whether you can meet the needs of a goat and whether goats will meet your expectations as a pet before owning any, as they require considerable attention and commitment.
Damascene goat Qahr. Photo Xinhua / Reuters
Some say that goats can be a close runner-up to dogs as pets and easily trained to be led by a leash for walks if you dedicate plenty of time to them on a daily basis, making them a great hiking companion.
Disciplining these creatures may not be an easy task, but they respond well to positive behavior modification versus negative — using a gentle and loving approach, soft tones of voice, and coercion with food. Don’t make sudden and unexpected motions, no force of your will, and never strike them with your hand or an object.
While they may not run to greet you like a dog when calling them by name, they will learn to recognize their name and acknowledge by looking at you, and even have the capacity to learn a few words.
Oahr at the Mazayen al-Maaz competition in Riyadh. Photo Xinhua / Reuters
Since goats are herding animals, you should always get more than one, as they require the companionship of their own kind and will be very unhappy creatures otherwise.
A decent amount of space for a yard or pasture is necessary, depending on the breed and number of goats, so they’re best suited for farms or acreages.
Goats are susceptible to a number of infectious and chronic diseases — vaccinations and routine preventative treatment is necessary, so you should consult a veterinarian in your area for their requirements. For a list of vets in the U.S. provided by other goat owners happy with their services, check Caprine Veterinary Resources.
Damascene goats at the Mazayen al-Maaz, Photo Xinhua / Reuters
Only purchase goats from a high-quality breeder that practices good preventative medicine, and try to visit the breeder so you can see what sort of conditions their goats are kept in. Do not consider wild goats thinking you will tame them, as it’s near impossible to do so.
You will want to ensure that the goats are approachable, friendly, and touchable before you purchase them.
Winning the trust of a goat requires a lot of patience, caring, love and food treats like corn chips or raisins, as they respond to food. Taken slowly and patiently you will be to convince them that you’re their friend. The younger the goat is, the easier it is — the older they are, the more patience you will need, but there are no guarantees that they’ll be ‘tamable.’
Damascene goat Qahr. Photo Xinhua / AFP
Goats require shelter from the elements — a draft free 8′ x 10′ shed furnished with elevated sleeping and feeding places will accommodate 4 adult pygmy goats. An attached outside enclosure with at least a 4-foot (120 centimeter) high fence will provide the fresh air and exercise these active, fun-loving goats need.
A basic diet of roughage in the form of legume and grass hay, bark, brush, and dry leaves may need to be supplemented.
Fias Co Farms provides a comprehensive overview for their basic care and needs, diet requirements, issues of selecting and owning goats, and further information is available on housing requirements for goats.
Damascene goat Qahr. Photo Reuters
Goat Factoids
Goats are among the cleanest of animals, and more selective feeders than cows, pigs, and even dogs.
They eat many different varieties of plants, but don’t like food that’s been contaminated or been on the floor or the ground.
Coffee was first discovered when goat herders noticed them acting very energetic after nibbling on the coffee beans.
Goats were the first animals to be domesticated according to many historians.
Damascene goats at the Mazayen al-Maaz, Photo Reuters / Ali Jarekji
Before coins were used for money, goats were regarded so valuable that they were traded for silver.
12,000-year-old paintings of goats gave been found on cave walls in Europe.
Christopher Columbus brought goats to America in 1493.
Pharaoh Cephrenes regarded his goats so highly that he had 2,234 buried with him.
Carl Sandburg’s wife was a world-famous goat breeder, and loved his goats so much that when Life magazine wanted him to pose for a picture with his favorite dog on a 1938 issue, he insisted the picture be taken with his goats.
Sources: Arab News, About.com, and India Times
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Fainting Goats now HOT Pets
Hippopotamus Lives as a Pampered House Pet
Worlds Craziest Horse Does Everything But Talk
Adorable Rare Miniature Donkey Twins Need Loving Care
I have just found some new respect for the goats that roam free here. But still it will be difficult to imagine holding a beauty contest for them…
el mee animal happy super
Thanks for sharing this article! I was amazed looking through the photos of goats. It’s my first time to see that goats are having a beauty contest also.
Wow, I have more respect for goats now than ever. Nice photos; I like the one with the goat giving the quizzical look, fifth from the top.
been watching this blog since morning and it’s coming out looking AWESOME!
way to go guys… your hard work is paying off 
Oh NOOO I don’t look anything like that avatar next to my name Deb ;-P
LOL, Pearl… it is true, you look much cuter. I wonder about my face… he he… Deb will have to make the MBL avatars work.
I think she went for a nap after all the hard work today.
Got it now… it is generated by http://en.gravatar.com/ – you just need to create an account associated with the email address you use when you leave comments.
Wow Deborah! This new look is awesome. This suits you very nicely, and now your great articles are complimented with a sweet little business suit of a theme
Always,
Phil
P.S. I hope I do not look like a goat in my avatar
@Mig: I signed up with Gravatar long time ago but never activated the account and now they merged with wordpress.com. Now someone else with the same name exists and they are asking me to choose another name! that doesn’t make sense does it? Names are supposed to be on a first come first serve basis nowadays… so now what? may be I’ll start calling myself pearlygates LOL
@Phil – your avatar still looks cool with glasses on, mine looks like it’s crying
It was surprising to me to discover there is a beauty competition myself, Curacao
Thanks Martin, glad you enjoyed it
Thanks Richard, hehe, that is an amusingly captured photo isn’t it
You’ve been watching since this morning Pearl? Holy … it’s come a long ways from start to finish. Mig has done an amazing job. I’m glad you like it
We’ve been in the works with this since late last week.
Hmmm, odd that this Gravatars plugin hasn’t captured your MBL avatar … but it’s some kind of open ID plugin, not the typical MBL plugin that I used to have here. It still looks kinda kewl on you
I wasn’t aware I had to do anything, Mig. Guess we’ll have to touch base on that once we’re both online, I’m sure you’re sleeping by now. I’ll check that the plugin is activated for MBL as well.
Oh, thanks for the info on registering with Gravatar. I had thought your MBL avatar was working, I was wrong. But mine appears to be. The former template/plugin had not been working for months to be able to capture MBL avatars.
Yes, I had been up for more than 24 hours, working on about 2 hours of sleep at that. Had a nappie and I’m back in the game
Thanks so much Phil! I couldn’t be more thrilled with the job that Mig has done with this new theme
Haha, I think your avatar looks goon on you. But if you want your regular avatar to show up, you should sign up at the link that Mig provided 
Oh no Pearl, an impostor using your name
Well Pearlygates sounds good on you all the same. I’ve always taken to calling you Pearl girl, I like the ring to it 
I’ll see what I can get working with the MBL plugin as well.
And Mig, I’d like to thank you publicly for doing such an amazing job with this theme. You promised that you would make my heart sing and you surpassed that by far
I’d also like to thank Honest Ape at Mixx for doing such a wonderful job with the design of the new logo and header. You can find him at his own site called Happy Ape Design which is actually currently under redesign as well.
Pearlgrrl or pearlygates it is then
yes, it has come a long way since morning and the header images are awesome as well… now now, I’m friends with Bart the Bear on Mixx as well so may be I should bug him for my header image too 
Thanks, he was a real gem to work with and does an incredible job. I’m sure he’d be very happy to work with you, and I highly recommend him. I’m going to promote his work by doing a blurb in my About page which is in dire need of re-working. Everyone that contributed to this new design’s success will be highlighted.
Hi Deb,
Love the post about goats, knew it had to happen sooner or later
. They are actually lovely animals and are pretty easy to domesticate as well, they actualy share similar characteristics to dogs.
Strange, but true.
Well it came to me as a bit of a surprise, but they certainly can be cute
Glad you enjoyed it 
Mig, you were the one who actually found this template for me, and you put many hours and a lot of hard work into it to make it happen. I can’t thank you enough
That was pretty funny. First time did I see such a competition..weird innovation
That would have to be the ugliest goat I have ever seen, not that goats are good looking generally. Personally I love Alpacas, I have 10 and they are the most gentle animal I have ever come across. The only thing they might do is to spit at you, and there’s no harm in that.
Bunch of cross-dressing degenerates. Do they get to marry the winner?
The article never mentions that islam permits the use of goats for sexual purposes. I think this ‘beauty’ contest actually has other motives.
You have got to be kidding me, Kuffar. Shudder!
I wonder if an old goat like me could have entered the contest?
Deborah – great post.
Well based on what Kuffar had to say, you might be getting a whole lot more than you had bargained for if you entered, Morgan
And thank you
This is no different from all the animals shows held round the world – cattle, sheep, dairy goats, rabbits, canaries, etc. It’s just that theirs is a diffrent breed that we’re not used to seeing.
wow…amazing..nice sharing deborah!!..never know that this goat beauty contest exist in this world…interesting..
Adorable, nice to know that animals are still respected in some cultures! I love the white/grey one!
I didn’t ever seen this kind of goats… its amazing and i has to learn many things about goats… My uncle is having goat on his home i should wanna share these things with my uncle it will be make my uncle’s goat very healthy. Thanks Deborah………
Glad you found it of interest Murthy
Wow!!! So goats go to a beauty competition. It is interesting how an animal play an important role in the life and traditions of different cultures. Seems the goat is most celebrated animal in Saudi Arabia. Amazing pictures and many things to learn.
That’s the beauty in life, learning about unusual things in other cultures
Wow its so cute. I wonder when such competition will be held here in Phil.Goats here are merely for milk and meat lol.
it’s a nice and funny article, it’ll be very useful if i could re-post it in my blog with my own language..? would you give the license? please reply via my e-mail..
Hi Masdabar,
Glad you enjoyed it. I sent you an email, so check your spam folder if you don’t find it
thanks much, Deborah, I appreciated it.. have a nice weekend too..
You’re welcome Masdabar, and thanks, wishing you a great weekend as well
WoW! I have to admit — it is quite hard for me to see the beauty in this goat. In Texas,USA, we deal more with a meat breed of goats called boers and milk breeds of goats such as Nubians. I thought that the LaManche milk breed was strange with no ears — but these pictures are proof that is more to the goat these days than just a “pretty face”! Thanks for sharing.
LOL it very funny and cute animal i liked goats
Is this a joke? What an absolute disgrace.