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Goats: The Overview

© Kara Ceraolo

A female goat is called a doe, a male is called a buck, and a baby is called a kid. A doe's gestation is about five months (130-180 days, 151 average). Does can have between one and six kids at a time, depending on her age and breed. Kids are born with their eyes open. They stand up soon after birth and are running and playing after two or three days. With the exception of Angora goats, which are weaned at about four months, kids no longer depend on milk after about eight weeks of age.

Kids are capable of breeding after 10 weeks, and are sexually mature at about 6 months . Although they can live up to 20-30 years, the average lifespan of a goat is 8-12. Goats evolved 12 million years ago and were first domesticated in Israel or Iran about 10,000 years ago.

Identifying a goat is only difficult in comparison to certain breeds of sheep. Generally, sheep have curly horns while goats have straight ones; and they have thick wool coats, while goats have thinner, coarse hair and beards. Sheep almost always have concave foreheads, while a goat's is convex. Sheep also have scent glades by their eyes and hooves, which goats lack (their scent glands are primarily on the neck). Both caprine and ovine animals, as well as goat-antelopes, bison, cattle , and antelope, evolved from a common ancestor, the Eotragus.

Although both male and female domestic goats are born with horns, a majority of keepers disbud them. Some goats are also now polled (born without horns), although this is not common because breeding two polled animals often results in fertility problems of the offspring. Some goats have furry flaps of skin which hang from their neck called wattles. They have a short, pointed tail (as opposed to sheep, which usually are born with long tails that are later cropped).

Domesticated goats are used for milk, fiber, meat, packing, pets, carts, skins, and lawn-mowers . There are about 220 breeds currently, which vary in size, coat, horns, coloration, milk and meat production.

The five most common dairy breeds are Nubian, Saanen, La Mancha, French Alpine, and Toggenburg . Nubians are relatively large, with long ears that hang down and bend out and a Roman nose. Saanens are usually solid white, but recently a variety called Sables has been registered and bred. The French Alpine is the largest dairy breed in America. It comes in several color varieties, with Cou Blanc (white necked with black body) perhaps the best known. Toggenburgs are slightly smaller, and are some variety of brown or black with white or cream contrasting markings on the face and legs. La Mancha are known for not having visible ears, although there are varieties among their ear sizes.

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