Goat
The Goat is Age of Empires III livestock that stores Food and fattens over time. Goats start with 50 Food and can grow to 300; access differs by civilization, card and livestock building, so this entry describes the Age III economy rather than goat content from other games.
Recorded values
- Cost
- 100 Food
- Available
- Exploration Age · Livestock Market (Africans) ; Village (Chinese) ; Livestock Pen (Japanese)
- Training
- 10 sec
- Durability & mobility
- 20 hit points · 4.0 speed · 9 line of sight
Livestock & availability
The Chinese receive a free Goat at the start and can train Goats at a Village; their Great Migration and Year of the Goat cards can deliver additional animals. A Sufi-site Pilgrimage improvement periodically ships fattened Goats. Japanese access is tied to a Livestock Pen obtained through the Dutch Consulate alliance. African Livestock Markets can support Goat production and livestock options. The recorded fatten rates are 0.2 Food per second in ordinary conditions, 0.375 at a Livestock Market, and 0.75 at a Livestock Pen, Farm, Village or Hacienda.
Economic timing
Move livestock to a safe pen or economic building when the added fattening time is worth the delay. The animal is a future Food reserve, not a combat unit; keep it away from raids and avoid slaughtering it before it has gained Food unless immediate supply is more valuable. Check which civilization-specific source actually grants Goats before adding them to an opening plan.
Civilization-specific ways to obtain Goats
Chinese players start with a free Goat and can train more at the Village. Great Migration delivers Villagers and fattened Goats, while Year of the Goat delivers Goats. The Japanese can receive a single Livestock Pen through the Dutch Consulate alliance, which grants access to Shrine Goats. Africans can use Livestock Market options. The Sufi-site Pilgrimage improvement delivers a Goat shipment every two minutes for thirty minutes, up to fifteen animals. These routes are distinct, so the existence of a Goat unit record does not mean every civilization can queue one.
Training cost and stored Food are different values
Where a civilization can train a Goat, the recorded profile costs 100 Food and takes 10 seconds, with a 30-animal limit. The animal moves at 4.0 speed, has 20 hit points and 9 line of sight. Those values describe the Goat unit; its separate Food reserve starts at 50 and can fatten to 300. Chinese starting Goats and card deliveries do not require paying the normal training cost.
Food storage, fattening and gathering capacity
A Goat is a movable store of Food whose value rises while it fattens. Newly obtained animals carry 50 Food and can grow to 300, so the choice is between taking a smaller amount immediately and waiting for a larger harvest. The animal has 20 hit points, 4.0 speed and 9 line of sight; those figures describe its movement and visibility, not a combat role. Up to eight gatherers can work one Goat, which lets several Villagers collect from the same animal but also concentrates workers in one exposed place. Move it toward a protected economic building when there is time to fatten, and keep it away from enemy raids. The ordinary recorded fattening rate is 0.2 Food per second. Tasking it to a compatible livestock building raises that rate, so placement changes how soon its stored Food can be used.
Civilization access is asymmetric
Goats are not a universal livestock option. Chinese players begin with one and can train additional animals at a Village; the Chinese Home City cards Great Migration and Year of the Goat provide separate shipments. The Japanese can obtain a single Livestock Pen through the Dutch Consulate alliance, opening access to the Shrine Goat. African Livestock Markets support their own livestock options. The Sufi settlement offers another route: a Trading Post on a Sufi Mosque settlement can research Pilgrimage, which sends one Fattened Goat every two minutes for thirty minutes, for up to fifteen animals. These are distinct access rules. A player should confirm the civilization, alliance and card setup before treating a Goat as a repeatable production choice.
Livestock buildings produce different kinds of value
The Goat can support more than a direct Food harvest. The recorded gathering profile lists Shrine work as 0.1075 of every resource per second, or 6.45 per minute. At a Hacienda the listed rates are 0.1 Food, 0.15 Wood and 0.068004 Coin per second; a Sacred Field records 0.14 experience per second. A Livestock Market produces Influence at 0.05 per second from an unfattened animal and 0.15 when it is fattened. These figures describe the building interactions in the unit profile; they are not a promise that every civilization can construct or use every building. The practical decision is whether to harvest the animal as Food or use the livestock property to support another resource stream. Check capacity, civilization access and the time remaining in the match before assigning a valuable Goat.
Fattening improvements and passive returns
Several Age III improvements change the value or handling of herd animals. Navajo Shepherds doubles their automatic gathering rate and adds 30% fattening at Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets and Haciendas; it also improves experience generation and Shrine resource generation. Selective Breeding adds 25% fattening at those same listed buildings, while Punjabi New Year adds 10% fattening there and improves the associated Shrine and experience rates. Large Scale Gathering raises fattening from Farms by 50% for Native American civilizations. These effects are tied to their own civilization, alliance or technology requirements; they should not be added together as if every player could research all of them. If the herd will be harvested soon, compare the time needed to research an improvement with the Food it can add before the match ends.
African trade and alliance interactions
African livestock rules can turn a Goat into part of a broader resource plan. Cow Loans makes a fattened herded animal sold at a Livestock Market spawn an unfattened replacement, allowing the player to keep a livestock cycle going when the market and card are available. Royal Banquet converts 50% of an animal’s Food value into Influence when it is sold. The Jagiellonian Legacy shipment can also deliver Goats carrying 70 additional Food: Ethiopians on the Oromo alliance receive nine or eighteen at the Industrial or Imperial Age transition, while Hausa on the Fulani alliance receive seven, nine or eighteen at the Fortress, Industrial or Imperial transition. The alliance and age-up determine the shipment, so these counts are not a standard Goat training limit or a general African bonus.
Technology effects are separate from the Goat profile
Some upgrades modify the animal, while others act through the building where it works. Gadaa System and Tar Kilns each add 5% hit points under their listed civilization rules. Town Watch adds two Line of Sight in the older profile before Definitive Edition. Immigrants and Strangers’ Quarters each reduce training time by 10% where their rules apply. Ritual Bovine improves experience generation from Sacred Fields, and Transhumance adds 0.15 Influence generation. These effects do not change the basic 50-to-300 Food capacity. When comparing a Goat build, separate direct fattening bonuses from building output, training time and livestock shipments; each affects a different part of the economy.
Choosing between harvest, shipment and livestock income
A Goat shipment is most useful when the receiving economy has time and protected space to make the animals productive. Chinese starting livestock can begin fattening immediately, whereas a late shipment may arrive too close to the end of a match to reach its maximum Food. A Sufi Pilgrimage supplies animals over a long interval rather than all at once, so the player needs a safe route and room to manage them. A Livestock Market sale can favor Influence, while Villagers harvesting favor direct Food; a Shrine, Hacienda or Sacred Field can support the resource streams listed for that building. Avoid moving every worker to livestock just because a card delivered animals. Maintain the Food, Wood and Coin assignments needed for production, and choose the livestock use that solves the current resource bottleneck.
Harvest timing and worker safety
The fastest building is not always the best destination: a Livestock Market can accelerate fattening, while a Hacienda can return several resources and a Shrine can generate its listed stream. Weigh that passive value against the Food the animal already holds and the Villager travel time. If the Goat is nearly at 300 Food, harvesting may be more useful than relocating it. If it is still near 50, protect it and let it grow only when there is enough match time to recover the delay. Eight gatherers is the recorded capacity, but assigning that many workers can leave an important hunt or mine undefended. Treat the Goat as an economic asset with a real opportunity cost, rather than a free extra Food shipment.