A brown-and-white domestic goat standing on a tree stump. — Photo: Armin Kübelbeck, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Domestic Goat

Capra hircus

One of the oldest farm animals, a curious, climbing grazer that comes in many breeds, sizes and colors.

🐐 Farm Animals 🦓 Hoofed Mammals

Checking teacher reviews…

Teacher? Sign in to review this page →Report a mistake

About the Domestic Goat

Domestic goats vary a lot by breed, from about 20 to 250 pounds and from 2 to 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder. Their hollow horns grow in a corkscrew or a curved point, and their coats can be solid, spotted, striped or blended. They eat grasses, shrubs, weeds, bushes and trees, and they would rather reach up for leaves than graze close to the ground.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Capra hircus^[1]
Size: 2 to 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder.^[1]
Weight: About 20 to 250 pounds, depending on breed.^[1]
Lifespan: 10 to 15 years.^[1]
Diet: Herbivore. Grasses, shrubs, weeds, bushes, tree leaves and hay.^[1]
Habitat: Pastures and fields; almost any habitat except tundra and desert.^[1]
Where it lives: Worldwide.^[1]
Group life: Herds with a ranking order. Active during the day.^[1]
Babies: 1 to 3 kids.^[1]
Conservation status: Domestic. Not evaluated by the IUCN.^[1]

Fun facts

Goats prefer to reach up for leaves rather than graze low.^[1]
Goat horns are hollow inside.^[1]
Goats settle arguments by butting heads.^[1]

Vocabulary

ruminant: A hoofed animal that chews cud and has a stomach with several chambers.
cud: Food that an animal brings back up from its stomach to chew again.
browse: Leaves and twigs that animals eat from bushes and trees.
kid: A baby goat.
domesticated: Tamed and raised by people over many generations.

See it in person

Oakland ZooOakland, California · Children's ZooSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Oakland Zoo. “Domestic Goat.” https://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/domestic-goat/ (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Farm Animals

American BisonBison bisonA huge, shaggy grazer of North America that once numbered in the tens of millions and nearly disappeared.Babydoll Southdown SheepOvis ariesA small, teddy-bear-faced sheep breed from England's South Downs with some of the finest wool of any British breed.Bactrian CamelCamelus bactrianus (domestic); wild relative Camelus ferusA two-humped camel of Central Asian deserts, domesticated thousands of years ago as a pack animal that can go a long time without food or water.Black RhinocerosDiceros bicornisA critically endangered two-horned rhino of eastern and southern Africa that browses on shrubs with a pointed, grasping lip.Chacoan PeccaryCatagonus wagneriA pig-like hoofed mammal of South America's dry Gran Chaco, known only from fossils until it was found alive in 1975.Cochin ChickenGallus gallus domesticusA big, fluffy, calm chicken breed with feathers all the way down its feet.Domestic RabbitOryctolagus cuniculus (domestic)The pet and farm rabbit, descended from the wild European rabbit and bred into many sizes and colors.Dromedary CamelCamelus dromedariusThe one-humped Arabian camel, built for hot deserts, that can go days without drinking.Greater One-Horned RhinocerosRhinoceros unicornisA huge, armor-looking rhino of India and Nepal with a single horn, whose numbers have recovered from about 150 animals to thousands.Guinea HogSus scrofa domesticus (Guinea hog breed)A small, black American heritage pig breed known for its intelligence and calm temperament.Gulf Coast Native SheepOvis ariesThe oldest type of sheep in the United States, a hardy breed descended from Spanish settlers' flocks that handles heat and humidity well.Huacaya AlpacaVicugna pacosA fluffy domestic alpaca first raised by Andean people in Peru more than 6,000 years ago for its soft, warm fleece.Kunekune PigSus scrofa domesticusA small, round, short-snouted pig breed kept by the Maori people of New Zealand, often with two tassels hanging from its chin.Nigerian Dwarf GoatCapra aegagrus hircusA small, easygoing dairy goat breed of West African ancestry known for rich milk, often born three or four at a time.Nubian GoatCapra aegagrus hircusA tall dairy goat breed with long, floppy ears and a rounded nose, developed in England from British, African and Indian goats.Oberhasli GoatCapra aegagrus hircusA reddish-brown Swiss dairy goat breed with black markings, prized for its milk and its sturdy, fearless nature.Plains ZebraEquus quagga (subspecies include Grant's zebra)The most common zebra, a grass-grazing striped horse relative of eastern and southern Africa whose stripe pattern is one-of-a-kind on every animal. Grant's zebra is one kind.Przewalski's HorseEquus ferus przewalskiiThe last truly wild horse, a stocky dun-colored horse of Mongolia that was extinct in the wild and has been brought back.Pygmy HippopotamusChoeropsis liberiensisA small, shy, endangered hippo that lives alone in the forests and swamps of West Africa, mostly in Liberia.Reticulated GiraffeGiraffa reticulata (also listed as Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)An endangered giraffe of northern Kenya with orange-brown patches outlined by a network of bright white lines.Shetland SheepOvis aries (Shetland breed)A small, hardy sheep breed from Scotland's Shetland Isles that comes in more colors than almost any other breed.Southern White RhinocerosCeratotherium simum simumThe largest rhino, a wide-lipped grass grazer of southern Africa that came back from near extinction to about 20,000 animals.TakinBudorcas taxicolorA big, shaggy Himalayan mountain animal with a moose-like nose and horns like a wildebeest, most closely related to sheep.