# Goat Body Language



## zubbycat

Hi, everyone,

I am totally new to goats, which means learning a whole new set of body language. So far with my little pygmy, I've noticed the following:


If he's happy, his tail sticks straight up
When he's uncertain or afraid, his tail tucks in tight, and he has a ruff of hair along his spine that stands up.
When he's warning another animal off, he tilts his head down as if he might butt them.
When he's trying to intimidate (something that worked in the past to scare a little kid into giving him treats), he rears up on his back feet and walks toward you.

What other goat body language will help me figure out his moods? Thanks!


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## ThreeHavens

Sometimes when they're excited about food (or for the girls, in heat) their tail will wag like a puppy's. 

If they rub their head on you or push their head on you, they're challenging your authority (don't push back or encourage it, pinch their ear and pull them away from you to show them that's not a good thing).

If they breathe into your face: for a stranger they're saying "who are you?" and for someone they know they're saying "love you!"

If they lay down next to you that means you're part of the herd and their nap buddy. You will see siblings, family members, and best friends doing this.


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## nancy d

Pretty good observations Zubbycat!


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## zubbycat

Thanks both of you!  I hope one day soon Nigel will see me as his herd buddy and have a nap beside me.


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## GoatsLive

I have saanens, and their ears are wonderful barometers for how they feel. I'm not able to quantify my observations as well has you did, but after over 3 years of watching my girls, it's amazing how easy it is to tell their mood by how their ears are standing.


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## Texas.girl

Woodhavenfarm said:


> If they breathe into your face: for a stranger they're saying "who are you?" and for someone they know they're saying "love you!"QUOTE]
> 
> My Boer doe often will come up to me and breathe into my face, usually when her mouth is full of cud and she has horribly bad breath.
> 
> All of my goats will paw me. They will come up to me when I am sitting down somewhere and lift their hoof and "paw" me and I have learned this always indiciates they want their chest scratched.


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## JaLyn

The first goat i ever got, Rodie, is the sweetest goat I have. I got him when he was a week old so he's a bottle baby, he will still at 7 months old climb in my lap lay his head on my shoulder and snuggle me..or he will sit in my lap and lay his head on my arm and just lay there..he acts like a lap dog would..


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## ThreeHavens

JaLyn said:


> The first goat i ever got, Rodie, is the sweetest goat I have. I got him when he was a week old so he's a bottle baby, he will still at 7 months old climb in my lap lay his head on my shoulder and snuggle me..or he will sit in my lap and lay his head on my arm and just lay there..he acts like a lap dog would..


My baby Patti will do that. With her winter coat I call her my marshmallow pillow, and when she hops onto my lap I snuggle my face into her fluff.

These are wonderful animals.


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## Texas.girl

JaLyn said:


> The first goat i ever got, Rodie, is the sweetest goat I have. I got him when he was a week old so he's a bottle baby, he will still at 7 months old climb in my lap lay his head on my shoulder and snuggle me..or he will sit in my lap and lay his head on my arm and just lay there..he acts like a lap dog would..


My goat, Midnight, was 2 weeks old when I got him last May. He now is chasing the girls and today for the first time ever--has developed an odor problem. Unfortunately he likes to stay very close to me. After feeding everyone their pellets this evening I took a shower.


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## zubbycat

What does it mean if he tries to put his front feet up on me, kind of like a dog jumping up? He has done that a few times now, usually seems to be when he is a little over excited or nervous.


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## Texas.girl

zubbycat said:


> What does it mean if he tries to put his front feet up on me, kind of like a dog jumping up? He has done that a few times now, usually seems to be when he is a little over excited or nervous.


Do not allow it. That is a good way for YOU to get injured. Even from new born age I put a limit on what I would allow from my goats. I even told company, "don't let him jump on your lap--think 100 pounds heavier with horns".

At about a year old (guessing as no idea when she was born) started trying to exert her dominance over me. One day she ran right into me. I landed on my back (think rocks everywhere) with my legs on her back. 30 seconds later she peed right in front of me. She was making it clear to me she is the queen of this herd. On the advice of a goat gate open. My goats LOVE their pellets and will run around me, jumping up trying to get it out of the bucket, etc. Only my queen doe (the one who knocked me over) waits patiently for me to dump pellets in her feed trough. The other 2 are just to excited (we are still working on that behavior). Yourrancher in town (and the VFD's EMS tech), I got a stick and hit her horns. Believe me, that was the best advice I have ever received. Turned her behavior right around. Only had to hit her horns a few times and now I just walk around with a walking stick or shepherd's crock and I get instant respect from all my goats. Now my girl is a sweet respectful girl instead of a danger to me.

Goats do know your gender. No idea how they can tell but from the very beginning all of them treat me totally differently then the man around here. They treat me like a doe and him like a buck.

I still have a problem with 2 of my goats (still growing up) jumping on the gate when I arrive with little metal buckets full of food. They know what "off" means and I refuse to open the gate as long as someone is standing against that gate. Once the hooves are back on the ground, I push the guy is probably jumping up because he IS excited or nervous, but it could also a sign of dominace. But teach him that is not proper behavior.


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## HerdQueen

Something I learned from another breeder to curb bad behavior. I have a naughty buck(when in rut, who doesn't?) well I got tired of feeling bullied by him so when he would go to far I would dump water on his head. It did not take him long to figure out to knock it off, and we have reached an understanding. With the exception of if I'm not paying attention he will pee on me.


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## zubbycat

Okay, we'll work on it. So far when he did it, I just pushed him off. He is finally starting to relax a little, so he is getting much calmer. He needs to learn the new rules as he has kind of had a rough first year and a half, getting passed around to a few different homes. I can tell from his eyes though that he is starting to settle - his eyes have gotten softer and deeper, if that makes sense.


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## redtailgal

Woodhavenfarm said:


> If they rub their head on you or push their head on you, they're challenging your authority (don't push back or encourage it, pinch their ear and pull them away from you to show them that's not a good thing).


Disclaimer: I am not arguing with you! Just an honest question here. Onto our regular scheduled discussion...........

Do you find that head rubbing is always a challenge?

I have a large wether. He's about a year old, and 130 pounds. Mixed breed, spanish, boer and possibly a little nubian.

He a super sweet guy, rarely giving me trouble, very protective of the does if a "booger" comes around, and THE most dominant goat in my herd. I have had to rescue a jack russel from him.......he had every intention of killing the dog for being in his pasture.

He is also very very eccentric. He's just weird. He often sits in the pasture, sitting like a dog. He will paw at and play in the water......getting himself soaked. He is a loony tune for sure!

He has learned to not put his feet on me, but will put his feet on a tree or something similiar so that he can reach to "kiss" my face (he licks like a dog actually).

He LOVES for me to scratch his cheek, and when he wants this, he will ever so gently place the top of his head on my leg, pressing only enough for me to know he is doing it.

He will also rub my legs like a cat, pushing a little harder, but rarely enough to make me need to move my feet.

One of his favorite ways to "snuggle" is to stand front feet on the wooden fence, and rub his cheek on my shoulder. He does this while wagging his tail, and his eyes are usually closed when he does it, and many times he makes the happy little "meh" sound that he often makes while he is eating.

He stands to have his feet trimmed.......I mean he stands, I walk up to him in the pasture without a lead and he just stands there while I trim his feet without restraining him. If he is in my way, all I have to do is lay a hand on his shoulder and apply a little pressure to get him to move. He is the ONLY goat in my herd that doesnt crowd or get pushy at feeding time, depsite the fact that I feed him separately and last (because he is a very fast eater).

Is it your opinion that I should not allow the head rubbing or the laying his head on my leg? I cant for the life of me see any of what he is doing to me as a dominance thing......it's all so tender and affectionate. But, I've only had goats for a year, so I have a lot of learning to do.


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## m4lli33633

I was just petting my dwarf goat on the chest the other day and he looked like he was about to fall asleep and its the only time he would actually stand still. Is that normal? Does it mean he likes it?


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## deerbunnyfarm

This is a four year old thread, may get more responses if you create your own....but it sounds normal to me.


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Yes it's normal, when they do that it means they are really enjoying it. I had a buck once, when you scratched him the right way he would close his eyes and stop chewing cud and his ears would droop, it was really comical.


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