Ages of epiphyseal closure in feral and domestic goats and ages of dental eruption

The bones of 53 goats of known age, sex, and breed were examined to determine the ages of epiphyseal closure, and the mandibles of 36 of them were examined for ages of dental eruption. The ages of epiphyseal closure varied greatly according to the sex and breed of the animal, feral goats being about a year behind domestic goats, and castrate males being anything up to 4 years behind females. In all goats, maturation is much later than in the modern sheep. Ages of dental eruption agreed with earlier findings on the live animal and showed no similar discrepancies.