A friend of mine has been asking me about various types of miniature goat recently.
His children had been begging him to let them keep one or two miniature goats in the spacious backyard, and in spite of himself, he was strongly considering it.
He hasn’t had many pets before, though, and the biggest thing that’s always daunted him is how long he would have to look after the animals.
He felt this way about the goats, too, and wondered if miniature goats lived longer than other types.
This is what I told him.
So, how long do miniature goats live?
“Miniature” goat encompasses a number of different breeds with varying lifespans. As a rule of thumb, though, you can expect them to live 12-18 years on average. Some may live longer, but as long as they’re well cared for, they will be around for at least a decade. So, prepare for that.
So, the first thing you need to make yourself aware of is the fact that there is no, one “miniature” breed of goat.
The most popular is the pygmy goat, but there are many other great kinds of miniature goat available.
Let’s look further into this.
How long can mini goats live as pets?
So, again, there are several varieties of mini goats we could be talking about.
As I said, the pygmy is the most common and popular, and, if cared for properly, will live for at least 12 years.
That is the minimum time you should expect it to be around.
Most will live longer than this, and reaching their late teens is not uncommon.
Another common variety of miniature goat is the Australian miniature goat.
They have a similar lifespan to the pygmy, at around 12-15 years.
Again, this is assuming they are well cared for and have everything they need.
Nigerian dwarf goats are also very popular mini goat pets.
Though they’re a bit larger than the other two, they’re still very popular for their size.
They actually tend to live a little longer than the other mini goats—up to 20 years.
There are several more varieties of mini goat, but as you can see, they tend to have quite similar lifespans.
Most goats live for around 15 years, but you should prepare yourself for them to live for up to 20.
This is all in domestic environments, though—what about in the wild?
How long can mini goats live in the wild?
It may surprise you to learn there are not always endemic populations of mini goats in the wild.
Pygmy goats are purely the result of breeding for the desired size, and do not exist in the wild.
The same is true of Australian miniatures.
They were the result of breeding programs, to sell the goats as pets.
That said, over the decades some that either escaped or were abandoned became feral and adapted to the Australian climate.
These do not quite have the pedigree of mini goats, but their lives would tend to be shorter in the wild—probably 7-9 years on average.
Nigerian dwarf goats were bred as dairy goats, and something that quite closely resembles their pedigree does live in the wild.
If the average life of a domestic Nigerian dwarf was up to 20 years, you can half that for in the wild.
The biggest question I always get about mini goats, though, is whether or not they can live inside—and whether this would have an effect on their lifespan.
Can mini goats live inside?
No, is the simple answer.
They might be small, but that doesn’t make them good house pets.
Even the smallest pygmy goat is still a grazing herd animal, and will not do well cooped up inside its whole life.
If you keep your pygmy goat inside, you are going to stunt its lifespan considerably.
Goats need to be out roaming a pasture every single day, ideally.
Looking for food on their own, browsing and foraging. This is their natural behavior, and not being able to do this would be detrimental to their health.
So, no, they can’t—it doesn’t matter the breed.
A healthy mini goat could live for 20 years outside—it wouldn’t live half that indoors.
Do mini goats have health problems?
Given that many breeds of small dog often are prone to debilitating health problems, you may be wondering whether this is the case with mini goats, too.
For the most part, it is not a problem.
Pygmy goats, Australian minis, and Nigerian dwarfs certainly have no particular issues which are not common in other, larger breeds.
They will need all the same check ups and vaccinations from the vet, but as long as you have that covered, you’ll have no problem.
Looking after your goat properly is the most important part of keeping its health in a good state, so as long as you know what you’re doing, it won’t have major health problems.
Goats are just as long lived as most dogs or cats, or similar sized household pets, then.
If you’re thinking of getting a mini goat, don’t do it because you think it won’t be around for as long.
In many ways, a goat is a much bigger commitment than most other pets, so in many ways including their reasonably long lifespan, you need to prepare yourself for that.
Keeping goats is not easy, and the fact that they are small doesn’t make it a whole lot easier!
But they’re the most rewarding companions when you can take proper care of them.