What Kind of Goat Should I Get

One press picks a goat breed, with where it comes from and what it is kept for.

What Kind of Goat Should I Get

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  1. Nera VerzascaBlack goat from the Verzasca valley of Switzerland; its milk is made into cheese.

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How it works

Not sure what type of goat you should get? Press the button for one of 67 goat breeds, from the Nubian and the Boer to the Angora, each with what it is kept for: milk, meat, fiber or company.

Read the full guide

Start with what the goat is for

Dairy breeds such as the Saanen, the Toggenburg and the Alpine are kept for milk. The Boer, the Kiko and the Savanna were bred for meat. The Angora gives mohair, and the cashmere breeds a fine undercoat. The Nigerian Dwarf was bred for show and company.

Breeds that do two jobs

Many goats are kept for both milk and meat, the Nubian, the Damascus, the Jamnapari, the Beetal and the Kinder among them. The Nigora is raised for milk and fiber, and the Spanish goat for meat and for clearing brush from pasture.

  • Goats are browsers, not grazers: they will taste almost anything that looks like a plant, cardboard and clothing included.

Questions and answers

What kind of goat should I get for milk?

The Saanen and the Toggenburg are among the most productive dairy breeds. The Nubian gives less milk than some Swiss breeds, with a higher share of fat, and the Nigerian Dwarf was found to suit small-scale dairying.

What type of goat should I get as a pet?

The Nigerian Dwarf was first reared as a show breed and companion animal, and the American Pygmy is kept as a companion too. Fainting goats are used for meat, for milk or as pets.

What kind of goat should I get to clear brush?

The Spanish goat is used mainly for clearing brush and unwanted plants from pasture. The Valais Blackneck helps keep steep mountain ground clear of scrub, and the Bagot is used for conservation grazing on nature reserves.

Which goats are kept for fiber?

The Angora gives mohair, which is shorn, commonly twice a year. Cashmere is a fine winter undercoat, combed from breeds such as the Changthangi and the Australian Cashmere. The Pygora and the Nigora are crosses bred from the Angora.

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All 67 goat breeds

Kept for milk 42

  • Alpine North American dairy goat bred from French stock; curious, friendly and stubborn.
  • Appenzell Rare white goat from the Appenzell region of Switzerland, kept for milk.
  • Barbari Small goat of India and Pakistan, reared for meat and for milk in dry country.
  • Beetal Large goat of the Punjab with long drooping ears, used for milk and meat.
  • British Alpine Black dairy goat with white Swiss markings on its face, bred in Britain in the early 1900s.
  • Carpathian Usually white goat of south-eastern Europe, used for meat and milk.
  • Chamois Coloured Swiss mountain goat kept for milk; the American Oberhasli derives from it.
  • Damascus Middle Eastern goat named after the city of Damascus, reared for milk and for meat.
  • Don Russian goat from the Don River, usually black; it gives wool, goatskin and milk.
  • Dutch Toggenburg Dutch dairy goat, bred from Dutch Landrace goats crossed with the Toggenburg.
  • Finnish Landrace The only goat native to Finland, usually grey, pied or white, and kept for milking.
  • Girgentana Sicilian goat from Agrigento, reared mainly for milk and in danger of disappearing.
  • Golden Guernsey Rare dairy goat from the island of Guernsey, known there for more than two hundred years.
  • Grisons Striped Mountain goat of south-east Switzerland, being bred for better milk production.
  • Irish Traditional Irish goat used for meat and milk; endangered, and may survive only in feral herds.
  • Jamnapari Indian goat from Uttar Pradesh, named after the Yamuna river; bred for milk and meat.
  • Kinder Compact American goat from a Pygmy and Nubian cross of about 1985; for milk and for meat.
  • LaMancha Dairy goat first bred in California, known by its very short ears and its liking for people.
  • Malabari Goat of Kerala in India, also called the Tellicherry; bred mostly for meat, and gives milk.
  • Maltese Small dairy goat known for a high milk yield and for coping with heat.
  • Murciano-Granadina The main dairy goat of Spain, bred to keep giving milk in dry country.
  • Nera Verzasca Black goat from the Verzasca valley of Switzerland; its milk is made into cheese.
  • Nigerian Dwarf American dwarf goat first bred for show and company, later found to suit a small dairy.
  • Nigora Small American goat from Nigerian Dwarf and Angora crosses, raised for milk and for fiber.
  • Nubian (Anglo-Nubian) British goat with long hanging ears, kept for meat and for milk with a high share of fat.
  • Oberhasli American dairy goat descended from five Swiss goats imported in 1936.
  • Peacock Swiss goat, mostly white in front and black behind, with dark face stripes; kept for milk.
  • Poitou Tall, shaggy dairy goat of western France, known for goat cheese; an endangered breed.
  • Pyrenean Long-haired goat of the Pyrenees, used for milk and meat; it helps to keep land open.
  • Rove French goat first bred for meat; farmers now use it for dairying.
  • Russian White Russian dairy goat bred from local goats and Swiss Saanens from about 1905; now rare.
  • Saanen Swiss dairy goat named after the Saanen valley, kept in more than eighty countries.
  • Sarda Ancient breed raised all over Sardinia; its milk goes into cheese and ricotta.
  • Sirohi Indian goat from Rajasthan, suited to a dry tropical climate; reared for meat and milk.
  • Swedish Landrace Goat of northern Sweden whose milk is made into goat cheese.
  • Tauernscheck Very rare Austrian goat, kept for milk.
  • Thuringian German mountain goat from Thuringia, kept for milk and almost extinct.
  • Toggenburg Swiss dairy goat from the Toggenburg region, among the most productive milkers.
  • Verata Traditional Spanish goat from La Vera in Extremadura, reared for its meat and its milk.
  • West African Dwarf Dwarf goats of West and Central Africa, kept by families for milk and meat.
  • White Shorthaired Czech dairy goat, bred from local goats crossed with Swiss Saanens.
  • Xinjiang Goat of the mountains of Xinjiang in China, used for milk, cashmere and meat.

Kept for meat 11

  • American Pygmy Small, stocky American dwarf goat, reared for meat or kept as a companion; many live in zoos.
  • Black Bengal Small goat of Bangladesh and eastern India, kept for its meat and skin; a poor milker.
  • Boer South African meat goat, bred in the Eastern Cape from about 1920.
  • Fainting (Myotonic) American goat that may stiffen or fall over when startled; used for meat, milk or as a pet.
  • Kalahari Red Red-coated South African goat, generally used for meat; the coat protects it from the sun.
  • Kiko New Zealand meat goat bred in the 1980s for fast growth; its name is the Māori word for meat.
  • Savanna Hardy South African goat developed for meat alongside the Boer and the Kalahari Red.
  • Somali Short-eared, usually white goat of Somalia and its neighbors, used mainly for meat.
  • Spanish American goat descended from goats brought in the 1500s; kept for meat and to clear brush.
  • Stiefelgeiss Rare Swiss mountain goat from St. Gallen, with long hair on its hind end; kept for meat.
  • Valais Blackneck Swiss goat, black in front and white behind; reared mainly for meat and used to clear scrub.

Kept for fiber 10

  • Altai Mountain Goat bred for wool in the Altai Republic of Russia between 1944 and 1982.
  • Angora Turkish goat covered in long ringlets of mohair, which is commonly shorn twice a year.
  • Australian Cashmere Australian goat that grows a long, dense coat of cashmere by midwinter.
  • Changthangi Goat of the high plateaus of Ladakh; its thick undercoat gives pashmina, a fine cashmere.
  • Hexi Cashmere Goat of the deserts of northern Gansu in China, used mainly for cashmere.
  • Icelandic Ancient goat of Iceland with cashmere under its coarse hair; kept mainly as a pet.
  • Markhoz Goat of Kurdistan with several uses, best known for its fine fiber.
  • Pygora Cross of the Pygmy and the Angora, kept mainly for its fleece; some owners show them.
  • Uzbek Black Goat from Uzbekistan, used for mohair.
  • Zhongwei Chinese goat of the dry desert steppe, kept for its pelt and for cashmere.

Pets, show and clearing brush 1

  • Bagot Small English goat, black in front and white behind; good for conservation grazing.

Rare and heritage breeds 3

  • Arapawa Small goat from Arapawa Island in New Zealand, critically close to extinction.
  • Dutch Landrace Traditional Dutch goat known since the 1600s; nearly lost in the 1950s, then brought back.
  • San Clemente Island Derived from feral goats of an island off California; a critically endangered heritage breed.