[Animals 101] How To Breed & Care For Goats

Welcome to the Farming Simulator Academy! In this tutorial, we’re focusing on goats. We’ll show you how to house, feed, breed, and sell your “greatest of all time” companions – and what to do with the milk they produce.

What Is Special About Goats?

Goats use the same housing as sheep, but instead of wool, they produce goat milk. You can sell the milk directly or process it into other products. If you want to produce wool instead, take a look at our sheep tutorial.

Housing Options

Goat housing differs in price and care requirements:

• Pasture: Requires feed and water.
• Barns: Require feed, but no manual water delivery.

Unlike cows, goats produce milk in every housing option.

Tip! If you can afford it, a barn saves you the extra work and equipment needed for manual water delivery.

Feeding Options

Goats are quite easy to handle: Feed them grass or hay. No matter which option you choose, both help your goats to achieve 100% productivity. If you mow your fields yourself, it's of course easier to feed fresh grass without turning it into hay. Alternatively, you can buy bales of hay at the dealership.

Tip! Meadow can replace grass delivered by you as long as it's available. Check the animal tab in the menu to make sure there is enough supply.

How to get water: If your pasture requires water, deliver it with a compatible tank trailer. Fill it from a water tank placed through the construction menu or from a suitable river or lake. Natural water sources are free; water from a placed tank costs money.

Breeding Goats

Goats can reproduce when:

• they are at least 8 months old,
• their health is at 100%, and
• there is free space for another animal.

Keep your goats properly fed to maintain their health.

What You Need For Goats

Basic equipment:

• Tractor with a front loader and loading equipment: Use a bale spike for bales and a pallet fork for pallets such as wool.
• Water tank: Only required if you use a pasture and need to provide water manually.

Optional: Transporting goats yourself

• Use a compatible animal trailer if you want to transport goats yourself instead of paying for direct delivery.
• Look for the sheep icon to make sure a trailer supports goats.
• Larger trailers may require a truck or dolly. Check the displayed "Combinations" before buying.

Tip! You do not need an animal trailer if you use direct delivery when buying or selling goats. This only costs a small fee.

Let’s Get To Work!

Step 1: Buy the goats

Choose between goats that are zero, three, or 16 months old. Goats become mature at eight months, so younger animals need some time before they can reproduce. They also need time before they start producing milk.

Buy the goats directly at their housing and have them delivered for a small fee, or transport them yourself from the animal dealer with a compatible trailer.

Tip! Don’t fill the housing to maximum capacity if you want your goats to reproduce. Leave some free space for offspring.

Step 2: Feed and care for the goats

Provide grass or hay and check the animal screen regularly to make sure your goats are well-fed. If your pasture requires water, keep its water supply filled.

Step 3: Sell goats and milk or process the milk

Sell excess goats if you focus on breeding, or earn money from the milk they produce. You can sell goat milk directly or deliver it to a production facility for further processing.

Processing Goat Milk: Products

Instead of selling goat milk directly, you can process it at a Dairy. As shown in the overview above, goat milk can be turned into products such as bottled milk, butter, and goat cheese. Some products can be processed further. Butter, for example, can be used together with additional ingredients at the Bakery to make cake.

Tip! Processing goat milk requires some extra work and may require additional ingredients. In return, finished products can be more valuable than selling the raw milk directly.

Well Done!

Congratulations! You now know the basics of keeping goats in Farming Simulator. When you’re ready, continue with the next Farming Simulator Academy lesson!