Domestic goat

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A goat

sound

The domestic goat (Capra hircus or Capra aegagrus hircus[a]) is a domesticated mammal It comes from the wild goat.[b] A male goat is called a buck and a castrated goat is called a wether, a female is called a doe. Young goats are called kids

People eat their meat, drink their milk, and use their fur and skin. With goat milk, cheese can be made, along with other dairy products like yogurt. Some farmers use goats to eat plants the farmers do not want, such as weeds. Other times, the goats are used to keep grasses and other plants from getting too tall. This also benefits the goat because they get plenty of food to eat.

The goat has cloven hooves, a long beard on its chin, a short tail that turns up, and horns that grow up from the head in an arc. The hair is straight with a woolly coat under it during winter. Goats have rectangular irises. They are one of the few species to have these unique eyes.[1]

The goat is about 70-120 cm (28-48 inches). They weigh from 45-54 kg (100-120 lb.) during adulthood.

The diet of the goat includes eating grass, leaves, shrubs, root vegetables, and other kinds of plants.[2] Some ranchers use goats to clear brush and unwanted plants from their pastures Goats living in the desert, where plants are quite hard to find, have been seen climbing trees to get food

Goats are smart and active. They enjoy playing with other goats and climbing They are social animals that may live in groups or herds

List of goat breeds[change | change source]

Notes[change | change source]

  1. Strictly speaking, domesticated breeds are not part of the Linnaean system of classification.
  2. Mitochondrial DNA reveal that domestic goat (Capra hircus) are genetically affected by two subspecies of bezoar (Capra aegagrus) H Mannen 1, Y Nagata, S Tsuji [1]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Why do goats have rectangular pupils?". curiosity.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.[permanent dead link]
  2. "ANIMAL BYTES - Domestic Goat". seaworld.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.