# are goats smart?



## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Are goats smarter than cows?


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Yes


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## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

Well I'd say they have atleast the intelligence of a dog or close to it.
My Bambi walks on a lead without pulling, if I point at something he'll check it out, he knows the difference between different people preferring me to my mother. They can be taught many things such as how to drive, carry loads, they can be potty trained (urine only), I've seen children ride goats similar to ponies and if they can be taught to drive pretty sure they could be taught to ride.
They're escape artists learning how to get out of a situation if they want to, I've read many a story of a goat escaping anything a person puts up. They open gates.

Cows are very smart aswell though, I've seen videos of cows pumping water out of wells for themselves, Cow's can be taught to ride and drive. I dont know as much about cows because I've never owned one. But both animals are smart in my opinion.


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## wendylou (Oct 5, 2013)

I always wondered about cows being smart until I started working with them. They are smart little boogers. They don't trust easy and it takes time for them to warm up to you. The dairy cows I work with know their names and do well with routine. Once they learn a routine of when they will be milked, fed, etc.. They show up at the same time, everyday where you need them to be. I will have to make a small video to show you this with the cows I work with. I also learned that they have best friends. They will cling to another cow in pasture and when separated, oh boy! They know it and will cry for each other until reunited. To me, these things show they have emotions and are pretty smart to know their names, come when called, and can stick to a routine.


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## Twink90 (Dec 21, 2013)

Most animals are highly intelligent we just underestimate them. Our young goat was an escape artist. We ended up having use square fence, chicken wire & double electric! Had to raise fence another foot too. She would escape. & when she heard us yell would run & leap off side of shed to bounce back in. 
Then would only get out when we drove away from house. Neighbors called to say she was loose, we thought they were crazy as she was in pen when we got home! Turns out she would repel off our concrete storm shelter hurdling fence & go back in pen when she heard our truck ! We busted her by sneaking up one day & watched entire thing! Funny part is she is half alpine half mini but could leap like a deer!!


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## Ride4ever (Aug 7, 2013)

Goats are very intelligent. I believe they are just as intelligent and horses and dogs. They have the ability to be trained the same things as horses and dogs and I find them more friendly then some dogs. If given the choice I would choose goats over dogs to train them to sit, stay, roll over, and come.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

They are very smart. :crazy:


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## MaAdMtns (Oct 4, 2013)

I'd have to say they are quite intelligent. My boys knew their names and a slew of tricks by 2mos. They continuously impress me with their problem solving, and tolerance to new situations (and I've put them through the gauntlet! Snowmobile rides... Gondola rides...even White water rafting!) Surely some will be smarter than others, but I think it's us people that don't push their (goat) limits to even know what they are capable of.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

Just like any creature with a brain, some are intelligent, some...not so much.

Of my current 5, 4 are pretty bright and have wonderful personalities. Then there's Mister, my Nubian buckling, who is definitely a few bricks short of a wall. :roll: He's very sweet, but soooo dumb.

Now our calf, Melvin, is very quick and bright!! Too smart for his own good if truth be told, he's always looking for ways to catch us off guard and make is laugh.


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Did you guys know you can annoy goats!? Crazy right but when their hair stands up on their backs they are annoyed! 

Me and my sister have been in competition cuz she milks cows and loves them and im going to start milking goats  so I wanted to prove to her how much smarter goats are than cows lol


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

I'm not sure how someone would go about proving what animal was smarter, so I would call it opinion. With that said, here's mine:
Goats are smarter than horses and way smarter than cows.


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## Chopsgoats (Aug 20, 2013)

I have a 14 year old wether named jasper that will listen to everything I ask him to do. He has been my escape artist. I've watched him jump fences, jump through the windows of the barn and watch how I latch the the gates. I've had him sitting at my back door hitting it with his hoof. Literally sitting there like a dog. I would only have to say "jasper" and he would run back to the barn. None of the others would leave their pen, and look at me like they were saying it was jasper not me. Haha


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## Rasfamily (Jan 4, 2014)

HMM this might fit in here but more towards personality than intelligence though,
Yesterday when me and Mary went to pick out her new goats Momma "the mother 50/50 she got today" took to Mary and just stayed near her the whole time and Bobo their big male Boer would not leave me be. As soon as I would go to look at another goat he was there brushing under my hand like a dog. Thier owner never seen him take to some one else and said i had to take him home. Unfortunately I could not pay what they wanted for him, had no use for an extra buck "got two extra bucklings all ready" and Momma is his 1/2 sister so we passed on him and chose the young 10 month old 50/50 buck instead.

We go to get the ones we chose yesterday and it seems Bobo sat at the fence after we left like he was waiting for us to come back and when I stopped by the pen he ran up like an old friend.

I see personality and intelligence linked and in this brief encounter see a very intelligent animal who if he had his way would have drove off with me in the truck!

have any of you seen personal "human" preferences like this in animals that just met people? 
I believe he in his own way knows he is going to a new home soon and thought he would decide were he went??
This would be the 1st time I ever seen anything like this in an animal that wasn't a long time companion.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

goatlady1314 said:


> Are goats smarter than cows?


Absolutely!


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