8 Difference Between Goat and Lamb (With Table)

What is the difference between Goat and Lamb?

Goats and lambs both belong to the family Bovidae. They also belong to the same subfamily Caprinae. The two animals are related to each other and share much.

Goats are is a much wiser creature and has horns. Goats are domesticated and are used for various reasons such as food and clothing.

Lamb is a young one of sheep less than one-year-old. They are generally used for obtaining food resources as their meat is quite tender.

The main difference between goat and lamb is that Goat belongs to the Caprahircus species while lamb belongs to the Ovis aries species.

Comparison Table (Goat vs Lamb)

Characteristics	Goat	Lamb
Classification	It belongs to the Caprahircus species.	It belongs to the Ovis aries species.
Physical appearance	They have horns and tails that point up.	They do not have any prominent horns; they have cropped tails and fleece that must be shaved regularly.
What they feed on	They are browsers hence feed on vegetation that is higher.	They are grazers hence feed on vegetation that is found on the ground.
Fat content (milk and meat)	The milk and meat are lower in fat content hence the healthier option.	Their milk and meat have a high content of fat hence a high amount of cholesterol.
Maturity	They are mature and intelligent hence they can fend for themselves.	They are under the age of one year and depend on their flock for survival.
Lifespan	They live between 15 to 20 years.	They live between 10 to 12 years.
Smell	They smell and tend to attract parasites such as lice and ringworms.	They are less smelly and tend to be infected with stomach worms.
Chromosomes	They have 60 chromosomes.	They have 54 chromosomes.

What is Goat?

Goat is an animal that belongs to the Bovidae family, the Caprahircus species. They are found all over the world. They are terrestrial and can live in nearly all climates.

Some subspecies are considered to be smart and can fend for themselves. They are able to detect predators and flee.

They have thick and rough fur, their color ranges from brown, white to red. The fur does not require shearing.

They have beards and their horns are prominent. They can weigh between 20 to 130 kilograms depending on the breed.

They are mostly browsers. They feed on vegetation that is high. They can feed on shrubs, leaves of plants, and sometimes bark of trees.

The females are ready to reproduce between the age of 4 to 6 months. Their gestation period takes 150 days after mating.

Goats provide humans with meat and milk. Their products are low in fat content hence they are considered the healthiest animal products.

What is Lamb?

A lamb is the young one of a sheep less than one year. They are found in the Bovidae family and Ovis aries species.

As they are the young members, they need to be taken care of by the flock. They cannot wander about independently as they are not able to fend themselves against predators.

They have a thick covering of fur called fleece. The fleece needs to be shaved regularly as it grows at a faster rate.

Unlike other members of the bovine family, lambs do not have any prominent horns. They are smaller in body size hence should be protected.

They are mainly grazers. They feed on vegetation that is found on the ground as they are small hence cannot reach high vegetation.

In terms of food, they provide humans with milk and meat. The meat is soft and tender hence liked by most people. Their products have a high amount of fats hence contain a high amount of cholesterol.

Main Differences between Goat and Lamb

Goats belong to Caprahircus species while lamb belongs to Ovis aries species.
Goats have prominent horns while lambs do not have prominent horns.
Goats have tails that point upwards while lambs have cropped tails.
Goats are mature and wise and can fend off the predators while lambs are young and need care from the flock to survive.
Goats have thick fur which does not need to be shaved while lambs have thick fur that needs to be shaved regularly.
Goats are browsers hence eat the high vegetation while lambs are grazers hence eat the vegetation found on the ground.

Similarities between Goat and Lamb

They both belong to the Bovidae family.
Both are herbivores.
Both produce milk and meat.
Both are domesticated animals.

In Conclusion

Goats and lambs are found in the same family although different species. They belong to the Bovidae family but the goat belongs to the Caprahircus species while the lamb belongs to the Ovis aries species.

The two share much but they are different from each other. Goats have prominent horns and their tails point upwards while lambs do not have prominent horns and their tails are cropped.

The main feature that makes goats appear different from lambs is the species to which they belong to.

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