# Odd goat face



## kannm (Mar 18, 2009)

We have a goat that stickes her face in her pee and then puts her head up and lifts her upper lip. She stands there with her head up in the air and her top lip up and out and you can see her toothless top of her mouth.

What is she doing?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

she is probably in heat and thats normal for some goats. It means they like or dislike whatever they smelled


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Mine tend to do that more in the last couple weeks of pregnancy... but maybe it's just my does.


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

Both of my does and my wether go around smelling each others pee and doing the lip thing. I think it's hilarious when they're all doing it at the same time :slapfloor: Mine mostly do it when they're in heat but they do it sometimes when they aren't too.


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I have a whether that does the upper lip thing to me. It's kindof freaky. Does this mean I'm in heat when he does this? LOL :ROFL:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

WOW I have to say I have neve see a goat do it besides a buck. :shrug:


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

This is actually quite common in a lot of species...

it's called "flehmen"



> The flehmen response, pronounced [?fl??m?n or fle?m?n], also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehming, or flehmening (from German flehmen, meaning to curl the upper lip), is a particular type of curling of the upper lip in ungulates, felids, and many other mammals, which facilitates the transfer of pheromones and other scents into the vomeronasal organ, also called the Jacobson's Organ.





> In the flehmen response, animals draw back their lips in a manner that makes them appear to be "grimacing". The action, which is adopted when examining scents left by other animals either of the same species or of prey, helps expose the vomeronasal organ and draws scent molecules back toward it. This behavior allows animals to detect scents, for example from urine, of other members of their species or clues to the presence of prey. Flehming allows the animals to determine several factors, including the presence or absence of estrus, the physiological state of the animal, and how long ago the animal passed by. This particular response is recognizable, for example, in stallions when smelling the urine of a mare in heat.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flehmen

:thumbup:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Oh yeah, I see mine do this all the time especially during breeding season. I do believe I read somewhere that it's testing the smell to see if an animal is in heat or just checking out a new goat. Kinda like reading the "status" of the other animal, if that makes sense. Horses do this a lot especially when a new horse is added to the herd or during breeding season and sometimes just when they want to "read up" on their buddy. Here's a pic of my gelding doing that after smelling one of my mares in season. Perfectly natural.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> I have a whether that does the upper lip thing to me. It's kindof freaky. Does this mean I'm in heat when he does this? LOL :ROFL:


 :ROFL: :ROFL:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

toth boer goats said:


> > I have a whether that does the upper lip thing to me. It's kindof freaky. Does this mean I'm in heat when he does this? LOL :ROFL:
> 
> 
> :ROFL: :ROFL:


 I do believe so. :scratch: :ROFL: :shrug:


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

they do it to lock a smell into their nose, usually inpecting what it is or a buck smelling an in season doe. Some does do it as well. We used to have a doe that would hunch up and act like she was peeing on her face like a buck does. She put her nose to her belly and then she would do the face. 
beth


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