# Goats are not color blind



## Guest

Just FYI over the last several years I have been running an experiment.. I only feed grain from yellow buckets, water from white and transport grain from storage to barn etc with black or green buckets.
The goats can see that yellow and always come running. Any other color and they will ignore me since I have never fed them from any other colored bucket but yellow.
Just sayin


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## fiberchick04

Interesting experiment. Thank you for sharing!


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## Mandara Farm

Thanks for sharing this! (don'cha just love a good experiment?)


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## liz

I agree...they can see color, I have 2 does who prefer to drink from a white bucket..if I use either a blue or purple one, they refuse. I also tie orange surveyors tape to the middle wire of the electric fence, they can see this and know the fence bites so I've tricked them with that same tape by tying it to fence that isn't electric and they stay away.


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## BareCreekFarm

That is really cool! I have never even thought about that.


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## KW Farms

I've never doubted they can see color...but this is a very neat experiment! :thumb:


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## toth boer goats

Neat info.... :wink: :thumb:


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## mrs. lam

My goats only wanted to drink out of the orange bucket then the lite green. They did not like the blue bucket. They know the lite green feed scoop is theirs and the white is for the donkeys. (it is the same scoop other than color)
They like orange kool aid but won't touch blue or purple. :shrug: 

Gina


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## Breezy-Trail

That is a neat experiment. I actually always thought they could see color...never knew people thought they couldn't.
I feed out of a blue 2 gallon bucket most of the time. I sometimes use a stainless steel dish.
They seem to come running no matter what color bucket, lol. They even come running for a water bucket(white) sometimes. I dump out their water and go get warm water for them. They really like it as t warms them up and quenches their thirst so they try to squeeze 3 head in one bucket.
Sometimes they come running to me more often if I am wearing a red hat (they try to take it away from me and I say "okay you want it here *puts on goats head*...then they don't want it anymore) or my orange hunters coat. I stopped wearing my leather coat as they would chew pieces of brown leather off of it.


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## packhillboers

I determined that they can see color by observing how well they can see their food from a distance.


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## rosti

I have had several goats in one pen so I needed 2 buckets. The boys would drink out of the red bucket and the girls would drink out of the pink bucket. If the pink bucket ran out of water, the girls would scream until I filled it up although the red bucket was full. :ROFL:


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## GotmygoatMTJ

I think they see in color due to being a prey animal, they have to be able to distinbuish what's a rock and what's a mountain lion. Just my 2cents. Neat expirement


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## HoosierShadow

Our girls know the 'pink' bucket is what their grain is brought out in, so they go crazy for it. If I bring another one similar in color, they are curious thinking it might be a treat of some kind <when it usually has hoof trimming stuff or medication LOL>


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## milkmaid

Interesting experiment. I'm curious to know if the buckets are different shades. The way to find out for sure would be to use buckets of different colors but the same shade, i.e. blue, red, orange, and purple buckets, but in a black-and-white photo they look identical.



> I determined that they can see color by observing how well they can see their food from a distance.


 :ROFL: Oh yes, and they can hear grain being poured into a dish far better than any other sound.



> I have had several goats in one pen so I needed 2 buckets. The boys would drink out of the red bucket and the girls would drink out of the pink bucket. If the pink bucket ran out of water, the girls would scream until I filled it up although the red bucket was full. :ROFL:


Wow! That's amazing!


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## packhillboers

Another observation and it might be color less than it is actual pattern. Both of our cats like to sneak up on the goats. The all yellow cat never can.. They always see him, but the little tiger/calico is always messing with them and spooking them. They never see her until she is right there beside them.


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## Paige

They sure can. Even my little babies can tell the difference between red and orange nipples on the lamb bar. Everyone wants red and none want orange!


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## keren

The science behind it ... 

they can see colours, they find it very easy to see yellow and red, however blue and green are almost invisible to them


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