Animal
Domestic goat
Goats are farm animals that love to climb and nibble. A baby goat is called a kid. Many goats have a beard and horns.
Domestic goats are lively farm animals that came from a wild goat of Asia. They reach up to nibble leaves, twigs and weeds that other farm animals leave behind, and people keep them for milk, cheese, meat, wool and leather.
Capra hircus, the domestic goat, descends from the wild goat or pasang, Capra aegagrus, of Asia. A browsing ruminant that thrives on thin, rough vegetation, it is one of the most widespread livestock animals and is farmed in almost every habitat except tundra, true desert and water.
Photo: Wilfredor, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the goat
Goats are busy, curious farm animals.
A boy goat is a buck, a girl goat is a doe and a baby is a kid. Many boy goats have a beard on their chin. Many goats have horns.
Goats are hoofed farm animals related to sheep. Compared with sheep, goats are lighter and slimmer, with horns that sweep backward, a short tail that turns up and straighter hair. Males, called bucks or billies, usually have a beard. Females are does or nannies, and the young are kids.
There are many breeds. A typical adult weighs about 45 kilograms, but tiny breeds weigh less than 10 kilograms and the biggest more than 100. Coats can be black, white, red, brown, spotted or striped.
The domestic goat belongs to the genus Capra, ruminant, hollow-horned bovids that also include the ibex and markhor. Animal Diversity Web gives an average adult mass of about 45 kilograms and shoulder height of about 64 centimeters, with breeds ranging from about 9 to 113 kilograms and 26 to 107 centimeters.
Males are larger, bearded and horned, with a strong odor from scent glands used in courtship. Horns are hollow and grow in scimitar or corkscrew shapes. Breeds differ even in their ears: European breeds have erect ears, many Indian breeds drooping ones, and the LaMancha has almost no external ear.
Quick facts
- Group
- Mammal
- Height
- 0.26 to 1.07 m
- Weight
- 9 to 113 kg
Where goats live
Goats live on farms all over the world.
They live in hills, on mountains and in dry, rocky places. Goats are good at climbing on steep rocks.
Goats are domesticated, so they live with people. Their wild ancestor came from Asia, and since then people have taken goats almost everywhere: they are farmed on every continent except Antarctica.
Goats can live on land with very thin grass and scrub that would not feed sheep or cows. The only places they really cannot live are tundra, the driest deserts and water. Goats that have escaped and gone wild usually live in rugged mountains, rocky crags and alpine meadows.
Animal Diversity Web traces the domestic goat to Capra aegagrus of Central Asia; Britannica calls the ancestor the pasang and notes that the earliest records of domestic goats are Persian. People have since spread goats worldwide, into temperate, tropical and mountain regions.
Goats tolerate sparse vegetation that cannot support other grazers, which is why they are kept in many dry and mountainous places. Feral populations, such as those on Hawaii and other islands, typically occupy rugged mountain country. Because goats are domestic, the map shows continents where they are farmed, not a wild range.
Continents
Its habitats
Where can you find this animal?
- Kept by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Kept by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Goats are domesticated: farmers keep them on every continent except Antarctica. This is not a wild range. Their wild ancestor, the wild goat or pasang, is probably native to Asia.
Places: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Australia and Oceania.
Source: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Capra_hircus/ · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Australia, Chile, UK, Kenya, Spain, United States, France, New Zealand and 130 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
What goats eat
Goats eat plants.
They like leaves, twigs and weeds. They stretch up high to reach them. Then they chew their food again later, just like cows.
Goats are browsers. Instead of only eating grass near the ground, they like to keep their heads up and nibble leaves, twigs and shrubs. They will happily eat woody plants and weeds that other farm animals refuse.
Goats are ruminants, like cows and sheep. Their stomachs partly break down their food, then they bring it back up as cud and chew it again to get every bit of goodness out of it. Grown goats have no top front teeth, just a hard pad.
Goats are browsers that feed with the head raised, on foliage, shrubs, woody plants and weeds; Britannica notes that they are valued precisely because they turn cheap, low-quality food that other livestock will not eat into milk and meat. They still need some grazing but can live on very thin grass.
As ruminants they regurgitate partly digested food as cud and rechew it. Kids are born with six lower incisors and have a full set of milk teeth by about four weeks; the upper jaw has no front teeth, only a hard plate that the lower teeth bite against.
Did you know?
Goats have rectangle-shaped pupils.
A goat's pupils are wide, flat rectangles that help it watch the ground all around for danger.
Horizontal pupils are thought to help prey animals scan for predators and escape routes at the same time.
Amazing goat eyes and horns
Goats have eyes with a long, flat dark middle part.
It helps them look all around for danger. Their horns keep growing. Strong hooves grip the rocks when they climb.
Look closely at a goat's eyes. The dark pupil in the middle is a wide, flat rectangle, not a circle like yours. Scientists think this shape helps goats watch for danger and spot an escape route at the same time.
If they are not removed, a goat's horns keep growing all its life, usually to about 20 to 30 centimeters. Goats have split hooves and are nimble climbers. Some breeds, such as Angora and Cashmere goats, grow soft wool that people spin into fine yarn.
Goats have horizontal, rectangular pupils. Britannica reports the explanation of vision scientist Martin Banks: the shape suits a prey animal that must scan the ground around it for predators and escape routes at once.
Horns are hollow and, if left on, grow throughout life, typically to 20 to 30 centimeters in domestic goats. Britannica describes how farmers can stop horns growing by disbudding young kids or dehorning older goats. The hair is usually straight, but some breeds have a woolly undercoat: Cashmere goats are raised for wool obtained from their undercoat, and Angora goats for their thick fleece. The short tail curls upward.
Growing up
Baby goats are called kids.
Twins are very common. A few hours after they are born, kids can walk and follow their mother. They drink her milk for months.
Goats usually breed between late summer and early winter, though in the tropics some breeds breed all year. A mother goat carries her babies for about five months.
Twins are very common, and sometimes there are one or three kids. They can walk and follow their mother just hours after they are born. Kids drink milk for several months while learning to nibble plants. Females can be old enough to breed at about a year old.
Breeding is seasonal in most breeds, from late summer to early winter, with an estrous cycle of about 18 days; some tropical breeds breed year round, and farmers can shift the season by controlling light. Gestation is about 145 to 152 days.
Twins are extremely common, otherwise singles or triplets. Kids are precocial, walking and following the mother within hours, and nurse for several months (Animal Diversity Web's figures disagree: its data table gives weaning at four to five months and independence at about ten, while its text says mothers nurse for about ten months). Females mature at about a year; males can be fertile at about five months. Domestic goats typically live to about 15 years, with a record of 22.
Goat society
Goats like to live in groups.
A goat alone feels lonely. Boy goats push heads to see who is the strongest. Goats are very curious and love to explore.
Goats have a strong herding instinct and like to be with at least one other goat. In a herd, each goat has a rank. Bucks compete for top rank by butting their heads together until one gives up.
Goats are curious and agile climbers that reach up high for leaves. Because goats are easy prey for predators such as coyotes and dogs, farmers usually keep them in fenced fields.
Goats are gregarious, preferring groups of two or more, and herds are organized by rank. Left to themselves, males compete by head-butting until one yields, and the highest-ranking males mate most; scent glands produce pheromones used in courtship. Grown young usually stay in the herd and compete for rank themselves.
As a domestic species goats are very vulnerable to predators, so they are usually kept fenced. In the wild, predation and parasites are the main limits on how long feral goats live.
Did you know?
Goat twins are very common.
Twins are extremely common in goats.
Litters are usually twins, otherwise single kids or triplets.
Goats and people
People drink goat's milk and make cheese from it.
Some goats grow soft wool for warm clothes. One or two goats can give a family milk all year.
Goats are not endangered, because people keep huge numbers of them. In many countries goats are kept mainly for milk, and a lot of it is made into cheese. Britannica notes that one or two goats can give a family enough milk for the whole year, in a space too small for a cow.
Goats also give meat, wool and soft leather. Famous breeds include Saanen and Toggenburg dairy goats from Switzerland, Nubian goats with long ears, and Boer meat goats from South Africa.
Goats are not assessed by the IUCN, being domestic, but they are among the most useful livestock. Britannica notes that for large-scale milk production goats are inferior to cattle in temperate climates but superior in very hot and very cold ones, and that one or two goats can supply a family's milk where a cow would be uneconomical.
The same hardiness lets goats survive without people. Feral groups live on Hawaii and other islands, usually in rugged mountain country, and in the wild their numbers are limited mainly by predators and parasites. Young goats also give kid leather, and kid meat is prized for its tender, delicate flavor.
Did you know?
Some goats grow very soft wool.
Cashmere wool comes from the soft undercoat of Cashmere goats, and Angora goats grow a thick, flat fleece.
Angora and Cashmere breeds are raised for fiber; cashmere is obtained from the undercoat.
Amazing facts
-
Goats have rectangle-shaped pupils.
A goat's pupils are wide, flat rectangles that help it watch the ground all around for danger.
Horizontal pupils are thought to help prey animals scan for predators and escape routes at the same time.
-
Goat horns keep growing.
If they are not removed, a goat's horns keep growing throughout its life, usually reaching 20 to 30 centimeters.
Domestic goat horns grow continuously, typically to 20 to 30 centimeters; wild relatives such as the markhor grow horns over a meter long.
-
Goat twins are very common.
Twins are extremely common in goats.
Litters are usually twins, otherwise single kids or triplets.
-
Some goats grow very soft wool.
Cashmere wool comes from the soft undercoat of Cashmere goats, and Angora goats grow a thick, flat fleece.
Angora and Cashmere breeds are raised for fiber; cashmere is obtained from the undercoat.
Words to know
- kid
- a young goat
- buck
- a male goat, also called a billy
- doe
- a female goat, also called a nanny
- browser
- an animal that eats leaves, twigs and shrubs, often reaching up to them
- ruminant
- an animal that brings up its food and chews it again
- feral
- living wild after escaping from people or being set free
Discovery challenge
-
What is a baby goat called?
What is a baby goat called?
What are young goats called?
- A kid
- A lamb
- A calf
Show the answer
A kid
A baby goat is a kid.
Baby goats are kids; males are bucks and females are does.
Young goats are kids; a lamb is a young sheep and a calf is a young cow.
-
What shape is the dark middle of a goat's eye?
What shape are a goat's pupils?
What is the proposed advantage of the goat's pupil shape?
- A wide, flat rectangle
- A star
- A tiny dot
Show the answer
A wide, flat rectangle
It is a wide, flat rectangle.
Goat pupils are horizontal rectangles that help them see all around.
Horizontal pupils help a prey animal scan the ground for predators and escape routes at once.
-
What do goats like to eat?
Why are goats called browsers?
Why are goats valued in places with poor pasture?
- Leaves, twigs and weeds
- Fish
- Insects only
Show the answer
Leaves, twigs and weeds
Goats like leaves, twigs and weeds.
They keep their heads up to nibble leaves, twigs and shrubs, not only grass.
They browse woody plants and weeds other livestock refuse, turning low-quality food into milk and meat.
-
When can a baby goat walk?
How soon after birth can kids walk?
Which describes goat young at birth?
- A few hours after birth
- After one year
- Never
Show the answer
A few hours after birth
Kids can walk just a few hours after they are born.
They can walk and follow their mother within hours.
Kids are precocial, walking and following the mother within hours of birth.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain that goats are domesticated and where their wild ancestor lives.
- Explain the difference between a grazer and a browser.
- Describe the goat's eyes, horns and hooves and how they help.
- Discuss what goats give people and why they suit harsh places.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a farmer in a dry, rocky place choose goats instead of cows?
- How might rectangle-shaped pupils help an animal that is often hunted?
- Why might one or two goats suit a family with a small yard better than a cow?
Try at home or in class
- Cut a wide, flat slot in a piece of card and a round hole in another; look through each at the room and talk about what you can see.
- Taste-test (with permission) a cow's-milk cheese and a goat's-milk cheese and describe the difference.
Key vocabulary: kid, buck, doe, browser, ruminant, feral
Where these facts come from
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Goat , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Capra hircus (domestic goat) , Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 28, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.