Goats can be incredibly affectionate, curious and playful beings, but there are times when they may prefer to be left alone. Even the most docile goat in your farm might decide they need some alone time, and it’s critical to recognize the signs they’re trying to give you before caution turns to agitation, or worse. Even on a peaceful sanctuary pasture, frightened or upset goats can easily cause injuries to well-meaning caregivers and visitors.
Signs a goat wants to be left alone
A goat will use many different tactics (typically in combination depending on their discomfort) to let you know that they don’t want you around at the moment. Signs that a goat is uncomfortable include:
Walking away as you approach, Loud vocalizations as you approach, Lightly to moderately pawing at the ground or stomping (can indicate anxiety or irritation), arching their body and raising their hackles and full body trembling or shaking.
If a goat does not feel like you’ve alleviated their discomfort, they may escalate their body language to include:
Stomping aggressively at the ground, holding their head up high, tipped slightly toward you, getting into your personal space while maintaining a confrontational posture, blocking your path by cutting you off and turning sideways, rearing up at you, “Hooking” you into a wall or corner using their horns and attempting to bite, headbutt, or horn you
If a goat tells you their discomfort through these signals, you should immediately demonstrate that you mean no harm by backing away slowly from them if appropriate. While most goats are not going to be in the position of causing serious injury to humans, larger breed goats and those with horns may do some harm if they felt they had to in order to avoid danger.
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