Farm Animals

GOATS

Goat, common name for any of eight species of cloven-hoofed, horned mammals closely related to the sheep. The two differ in that the goat's tail is shorter and the hollow horns are long and directed upward, backward, and outward, while those of the sheep are spirally twisted. The male goats have beards, unlike sheep, and differ further by the characteristic strong odor they give off in the rutting season.

The female goat, or doe, which has smaller horns than the male, in ordinary usage is often termed goat or nanny goat. The young are called kids. The male goat is called buck, or, colloquially, billy goat.

A number of breeds of goat are raised domestically throughout the world. These animals probably descended from the bezoar goat. Several million are raised in the United States. The goat is used for meat, as a milk producer, as a pet, and as a beast of burden. Many parts of the animal are economically valuable for a variety of purposes, such as the skins for leather and the pelts for rugs and robes. One variety of domestic goat, important for its commercial value, is the Angora. The most valuable Angora is covered, except for the face and the legs below the knees, with long, fine, silky hair called mohair. The brilliant, transparent texture of mohair has made it a valued material. 

Goat's milk compares favorably in nutritive value with cow's milk.