Life Span of Large Goats

[Nanno]

Anecdotally, I don't believe smaller goats live any longer on average than large ones. There are shorter-lived and longer-lived goats of each size and I've personally not seen any pattern. It seems that for both large and small, ten years old is about when they generally start showing signs of age--tooth wear, slowing down, arthritis, weight loss or gain, skin conditions, parasites, etc. Obviously there are individuals that fall outside the bell curve on either end. Most of them seem to go several years past the decade-mark but they usually have minor ailments that need to be looked after and they may need a higher-calorie diet. None of this is from personal experience since I've only owned one goat to old age so far, but I've observed a lot of aged goats belonging to friends and acquaintances, and I've read a lot of experiences on various goat-related forums and I haven't seen much (or any) difference between larger and smaller goats.

One person to ask would be Clay Zimmerman. He's owned and packed so many goats over the years that he probably has some good insights about the working life of various sizes and body types of goats. One of the trends I'm not so sure I like is the breeding of heavier goats. People boast about a 300 lb. goat, but I tend to think of them like draft horses. They might be able to haul a barn, but they won't be hauling it far or fast, and they probably won't have a long working life. Their own body weight tends to be their undoing. I could be completely wrong about this because I'm carrying over my experience with horses, not with large goats.