Goats
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98 free Goats trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free goats trivia questions with answers. Think you know everything about goats? Put your knowledge to the test with our challenging 98-question trivia quiz. From ancient goat history to modern dairy breeds, this quiz covers fascinating facts about one of humanity's most useful animals. Whether you're a farmer, animal lover, or just curious, see how well you score!
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Q 01What is a young goat commonly called?
Kid
A young goat is a kid, from Old Norse kið; 'nanny goat' for the adult female dates only from the 18th century and 'billy goat' from the 19th.
Q 02Which of these fibers is primarily harvested from Angora goats?
Mohair
Mohair is the lustrous fleece of the Angora goat, which grows it over its whole body; cashmere comes from a different goat, merino from sheep and qiviut from muskoxen.
Q 03What is the unique shape of a goat's pupil?
Horizontal slit
Goats, like many prey animals, have horizontal, rectangular pupils. This unique shape provides them with a panoramic field of vision (320-340 degrees) to detect predators, even when their heads are down grazing.
Q 04What is a group of goats typically called?
Herd
Herd is the usual word for a group of goats; older collective nouns such as 'trip' and 'tribe' also survive in word lists, while a pride is lions, a gaggle geese and a pod whales.
Q 05Goats were among the first animals humans domesticated, mainly in which region?
Middle East
The Middle East, specifically Iran, produced the oldest remains of domesticated goats, about 10,000 years old, from Ganj Dareh; DNA evidence agrees on the timing.
Q 06Which goat breed is well-known for its exceptionally long, pendulous ears?
Nubian
The Nubian (Anglo-Nubian) is the long-eared breed; it was created in Britain in the late 1800s by crossing native goats with lop-eared animals shipped from India, the Middle East and North Africa.
Q 07What is the average gestation period for a female goat?
145-155 days
The gestation period for a female goat, known as a doe, typically ranges from 145 to 155 days, which is approximately five months.
Q 08Which wild animal of the Zagros Mountains is the likely ancestor of nearly all domestic goats?
Bezoar ibex
The bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus), a wild goat of the Zagros Mountains, is the ancestor of domestic goats; the mouflon is the wild ancestor of sheep, and the markhor a separate Central Asian species.
Q 09What is the common term for a castrated male goat?
Wether
A castrated male goat is a wether, a word that also covers castrated sheep; a steer is a castrated bull, a gelding a castrated horse and a barrow a castrated pig.
Q 10Which goat breed is famous for 'fainting', a temporary muscle stiffness caused by surprise or fear?
Myotonic
The Myotonic (Tennessee fainting) goat has myotonia congenita: startled, it stiffens or topples without losing consciousness. Four goats of the type were first brought to Tennessee in the 1880s.
Q 11Which dairy goat breed is known for typically producing the highest volume of milk?
Saanen
The Saanen, named for the Saanental in the Bernese Oberland, is the heaviest-milking dairy breed, averaging about 838 kg of milk over a 264-day lactation; it has spread to more than eighty countries.
Q 12What is the primary classification of goats based on their eating habits?
Browsers
Goats are primarily 'browsers,' meaning they prefer to eat leaves, twigs, shrubs, and woody plants, rather than just grazing on grass like cattle or sheep.
Q 13What are the fleshy appendages that dangle from each side of the neck on many dairy goats called?
Wattles
The dangling neck appendages are wattles, hair-covered skin flaps with no known function that appear in both sexes; a dewlap is the loose throat skin of cattle and caruncles are the fleshy growths on a turkey's head.
Q 21Goats have how many lower front teeth?
8
Like other ruminants they have no upper front teeth at all, only a hard dental pad, and anatomists still argue over whether the eight are all incisors or six incisors plus two canines.
Q 22Which mineral, crucial for goat health, is often supplemented where soils are deficient?
Selenium
Selenium is an essential trace mineral for goats, vital for immune function and preventing conditions like White Muscle Disease. It is often supplemented, especially in areas where soil is deficient in selenium.
Q 23The Oberhasli dairy goat breed originated in which country?
Switzerland
The Oberhasli comes from Switzerland, taking its name from the Oberhasli district of the Bernese Oberland; it is a chamois-coloured dairy breed with black dorsal stripe, belly and legs.
Q 14What is an adult female goat commonly called?
Doe
An adult female goat is commonly referred to as a 'doe' or 'nanny goat'. 'Ewe' is a female sheep, 'sow' is a female pig, and 'hen' is a female chicken.
Q 15What is an adult male goat commonly called?
Buck
An adult male goat is commonly called a 'buck' or 'billy goat'. 'Ram' refers to a male sheep, 'boar' to a male pig, and 'stallion' to a male horse.
Q 16Unlike many other mammals, goats have how many chambers in their stomach?
Four
Goats are ruminants, meaning they have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. This complex digestive system allows them to efficiently break down fibrous plant material.
Q 17What is the term for a female goat giving birth, a process that usually passes without trouble?
Kidding
Kidding generally occurs uneventfully; 'farrowing' is for pigs, 'calving' for cows and 'lambing' for sheep.
Q 18Which US president's family kept a goat named Old Whiskers at the White House?
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison's grandchildren kept a goat called Old Whiskers on the White House grounds in the early 1890s; it once bolted through the gates pulling their cart, with the president in pursuit.
Q 19Which of these goat breeds originated in West Africa?
Pygmy
The Pygmy goat descends from the West African Dwarf; animals were shipped from German zoos to American zoos between 1930 and 1960 before the National Pygmy Goat Association formed in 1975.
Q 20What is the average lifespan of a domestic goat?
15-18 years
A domestic goat's life expectancy is 15-18 years; difficult births can cut a doe's to 10 or 11, and the stress of going into rut each year can cut a buck's to eight to ten.
Q 24What is the scientific subfamily to which both sheep and goats belong?
Caprinae
Both sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) belong to the subfamily Caprinae within the Bovidae family, indicating their close biological relationship.
Q 25What characteristic means goat's milk needs no homogenizing and sits gentler on the stomach?
Smaller fat globules
Because the small fat globules stay in suspension, the cream takes days to rise; cheesemakers actually avoid homogenizing it because that ruins the curd.
Q 26Which fast-growing meat goat breed typically has a white body and a red-brown head?
Boer
The Boer goat, white-bodied with a red-brown head, was selectively bred in South Africa's Eastern Cape in the early 1900s to thrive on thorn veldt, and is used worldwide to improve meat goats.
Q 27What is the common name for the fine, downy undercoat fibre combed from certain goat breeds and sold as luxury knitwear?
Cashmere
Cashmere has to be dehaired to separate the fine undercoat from the coarse outer coat; the Angora goat's lustrous fleece, mohair, is a different product entirely.
Q 28What is a healthy goat's normal body temperature?
About 103°F (39.5°C)
A goat's normal rectal temperature is about 103°F (39.5°C), with a healthy range of roughly 101.5-104°F; readings above that are an early sign of infection or heat stress.
Q 29How does the lactose level of goat's milk compare with that of cow's milk?
About the same
Goat's milk has about the same lactose as cow's milk, roughly 4-5%, so it gives lactose-intolerant people the same trouble; its easier-digestion reputation comes from its smaller, well-emulsified fat globules.
Q 30What is the distinctive sound a goat makes?
Bleat
A goat's cry is a bleat, a word it shares with sheep; French even splits the two, using 'bêlement' for a sheep and 'béguètement' for a goat.