Music is both something created by human hands and something we can, to an extent, find in nature.
Birdsong is the best example—this isn’t “music” as such, but it certainly shares many characteristics.
It’s often a highly interesting philosophical question, whether animals like music.
The simple answer is yes, but questions like this are often hotly contested by animal behaviorists.
We obviously can’t ask a goat whether it likes music or not, so we have to make suppositions based on their behavior.
Let’s find out more.
Do goats enjoy music?
That’s a very difficult question to answer, frankly.
The big problem is we can’t ask goats to speak individually, and we can’t ask any one goat to tell us how goats feel about something as a whole.
So, we can only surmise based on their behavior.
But based on their behavior, or at least small samples of their behavior, we can make some guesses.
The most common reaction to music among goats seems to be one of gentle interest and focus.
They are highly curious about the music, where it is coming from, and how they are reacting to it.
It’s usually going to take time for them to build up a relationship with it.
At first, it’s going to be mostly confusing.
They will try to figure out what it is and if it is a threat in any way.
But once they’re certain they have nothing to worry about from the sounds, they may start to enjoy it.
They can often focus on it intently, but that’s about the extent of the observed behavior on the matter.
It might calm them down and lull them to sleep or to snooze.
It obviously depends profoundly on the kind of music you play.
They aren’t going to like anything that is too sudden, loud, or cacophonous.
They will be more nervous around music like this. however, something calming, with a constant, smoother rhythm, could be very palatable to them.
All of this, though, is contingent upon one thing: your particular goats’ personalities.
Goats are highly individual creatures, and some will have a certain taste for music that others won’t.
So, you’ve always got to test it out and see how your goats react.
Can goats listen to music?
In terms of their hearing mechanisms, yes, goats can listen to music.
It registers on their eardrums in the same way it registers for us.
Of course, their brains will process it in entirely different ways.
But they have all the hearing apparatus needed to be able to register the music in their ears.
Behaviorally speaking, too, they can listen to music for the most part—no vet would say you shouldn’t do this.
It’s just about how much music they listen to, and again, what kind.
Playing a lot of heavy metal very loudly is not a good idea.
Some light, calming, ambient music would be fine.
Again, though, if your goats just don’t seem to like music and it makes them nervous, don’t persist with it.
Why do they appear to like music, then?
Why do goats like music?
Well, the short answer is we can’t say for sure.
There have, to date, been no peer-reviewed studies on the subject.
We can’t say with any certainty, but we can surmise a few things.
Music is unlike other art forms in that it can often provide an instant emotional response.
It reacts with our emotions in ways we can have little control over.
Much is probably true of goats, too.
Our appreciation for music didn’t evolve out of thin air—the seeds of it were in our far, far distant ancestors.
So, it’s this simple, emotional response in the brain which is our best guess at explaining why goats appear to like music.
This would also explain why some goats do not—they have an emotional reaction, it’s just that it’s the opposite one.
What music should I play for my goats?
You’ll have to try a few different things and see what your goat has a taste for.
There are countless examples of two members of the same species having completely different opinions on genres of music or music in general.
Again, though, don’t play anything that is too loud or heavy.
All this will do is make your goats nervous.
Start off with something very ambient and quiet, and work your way up from there.
Try different things, and they may be more used to it when you try to play something a bit more active.
Just share your favorite records with them until you find something they like!
Music can be a really great focal point for your goats, then, and give them something to distract themselves.
It always depends, though, and goats are highly individual animals, so some will certainly prefer music to others.
Try out some music for your goats and check their reaction.
Playing some calming music can be a great way to get them to focus on something, but not all goats are going to like it.