# How much methane do goats and sheep emit per head?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/goat-and-sheep-enteric-methane-per-head

IPCC Tier 1 defaults give 5 kg of enteric methane per head a year for goats, and 5 kg for sheep in developing countries. Multiply by head count and by 27, the AR6 GWP for non-fossil methane. Manure methane is a separate, smaller line.

## Tier 1 factors

- Goats: 5 kg CH4 per head a year (IPCC 2006 Volume 4, Table 10.10).
- Sheep: 5 kg CH4 per head a year for developing countries, 8 kg for developed countries.
- Use the average head count over the year, not the peak.

## When to go further

Tier 1 suits small herds. Large flocks or meat buyers asking for a product figure may need Tier 2, based on animal weight and feed intake.

## Reporting

Enteric methane from animals you own is Scope 1 for the farm. For a buyer of meat, milk or wool it is part of Scope 3, Category 1.

## Worked example: mixed flock (one year)

- Goats: 100 x 5 kg = 500 kg CH4 a year
- Sheep: 60 x 5 kg = 300 kg CH4 a year
- CO2e: 800 x 27 = 21,600 kg, about 21.6 t a year

Head counts are illustrative; factors from IPCC 2006 Volume 4, Table 10.10, AR6 GWP 27.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads diesel, electricity and fertiliser invoices into dated, fingerprinted records that support a farm or crop figure. Field emissions such as N2O and methane are calculated with IPCC defaults in your method note and labelled as estimates, not measured values.

- [Dairy enteric methane emissions](https://senseible.earth/answers/dairy-enteric-methane-emissions-india)
- [Dairy member farm emissions](https://senseible.earth/answers/dairy-member-farm-emissions-scope-3)

Sources: [2006 IPCC Guidelines, Volume 4 AFOLU, Chapters 10 and 11](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/), [IPCC AR6 WG1, Chapter 7, Table 7.15 (GWP100)](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/), [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-21.