Articles on: Tools & Calculators

Coat color tools for Highland cattle, donkeys, and goats

A coat color calculator shows the colors two parents could pass to their young. A coat color visualizer shows how genetics shape one animal's coat.


This article covers Highland cattle, donkeys, and goats. Horses have their own calculator. See Horse coat color calculator: explore foal colors, save, and share. For ball python morphs, see Using the Ball Python Morph Calculator.


Pick the right tool


Both tools are free, and you don't need an account to use them.


  • Color Genetics Calculators cover Highland cattle, donkeys, horses, goats, rabbits, and ball pythons. You choose two parents.
  • Coat Color Visualizers cover Highland cattle and horses. You explore one animal. The same page has What color is my goat? and What color is my donkey?, where you compare pictures to name your animal's color.


Highland cattle


  1. Open the Highland Cattle Coat Color Calculator.
  2. Under Sire and Dam, choose each parent's color.
  3. If a parent has had a genetic test, open Genetics under that parent and choose the result. Leave Unknown for anything that wasn't tested.
  4. Select Calculate.


Highland coat color calculator with a Red sire, a Yellow dam, and the sire's Genetics choices open


Results appear under Offspring Probabilities. Each card shows a possible color and its chance. It also shows the Possible genotype, which is the pair of genes that would make that color.


Offspring Probabilities for a Red sire and a Yellow dam, with the note that Unknown genetics use one example genotype per color: Red 50% and Yellow 50%, each with its possible genotype


Test results can change the answer. When you leave Unknown, the calculator uses one example gene pair for each color, not every possibility, and a note under Offspring Probabilities says so. For example, two black Highlands left on Unknown show a 25% chance of a red calf. Mark both as Homozygous Black (ED/ED) and every calf comes out black.


Goats


The Goat Color Calculator works from how each goat looks, so you don't need a DNA test. It covers Nigerian Dwarf goats and other breeds.


  1. At the top, choose the breed, such as Nigerian Dwarf or Boer. For a mix, choose Other breed or cross.
  2. Under Meet the parents, choose the closest Buck color and Doe color. If none fits, leave Not sure / none of these. Signed in, you can set Choose how to enter this parent to Use my goats instead.
  3. If you like, open Markings and traits to add horn status, eyes, moonspots, roan, and other traits. Advanced: tested copies takes lab results, such as a scrapie test.
  4. Select Show possible kids.


Goat Color Calculator with Nigerian Dwarf chosen, a Chamoisee buck and a Swiss doe under Meet the parents, and their kid colors under Colors to expect


Under Colors to expect, each kid color shows its chance. Many show as a range, such as "25% to 50%". A range means a parent's coat could hide more than one set of genes, and the calculator doesn't average them. To narrow it, answer the questions under the map with Yes, No, or Not sure. Health notes appear on their own under Health notes, any color.


Donkeys


The Donkey Color Calculator works the same way, from how each donkey looks. It also takes UC Davis lab results.


  1. At the top, choose Miniature Mediterranean, Standard, Mammoth, or Other or cross.
  2. Under Meet the parents, choose the closest Jack color and Jenny color. Signed in, you can choose Use my donkeys under Choose how to enter this parent.
  3. If you like, open Markings and traits for White markings and American ivory relatives. Advanced: tested copies takes lab results.
  4. Select Show possible foals.


Under Colors to expect, each foal color shows its chance, many with a painting of the coat. What would narrow it names the family answer or lab test that settles a range. When both parents are spotted, a tile reads No live foal expected: two spotting copies are predicted lethal.


Donkey Color Calculator with a Gray-dun jack and a Black jenny under Meet the parents, and Colors to expect: Dark (black or brown) 37.5%, Gray-dun 37.5%, Rose dun 12.5% and Sorrel 12.5%, each with a painting


Explore one animal


The Highland visualizer shows an illustrated coat with its color name. Each gene has two buttons, one for each copy the animal carries. Select a button to switch that copy, and the picture updates. Select Download to save the picture.


Highland coat color visualizer with the Dilution gene changed and the illustration now showing Yellow


What color is my donkey? compares your donkey's coat with 34 illustrated looks. Each look gives the words registries use for it and What to check, with close-ups for features such as light points and the dorsal cross. Signed in, select Save this color on a look, pick your donkey under My donkey, then select Open profile editor. The color is filled in for you to check, and nothing changes until you select Save changes.


Read results with care


  • Possible does not mean guaranteed. Each calf, foal, or kid gets its genes by chance.
  • A look-alike coat can come from different genes, so two similar animals may breed differently.
  • The artwork shows a color family, not the exact shade or markings of a real animal.
  • Ask a veterinarian or genetics professional before you make a breeding decision based on a result.


If you're signed out, a box under the results offers a free account so you can keep coat color planning with your animals. On the Highland page it's called Use this with your animals. On the goat and donkey pages it's Save this pairing to your goats or Save this pairing to your donkeys.



Updated on: 06/11/2026

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!