Loneliness isn’t just a condition for humans, animals can be lonely too.
We like to imagine a lot of our more complex emotions are unique to us, but the opposite is true.
After all, there are evolutionary advantages to such feelings, and so they did not come from anywhere in us.
Loneliness is not good for our goats—but can it kill them?
Despite the fact that loneliness is unlikely to kill your goat, then, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take every step to avoid the goat being lonely at all.
Goats will not be as happy as they could be without any companions, and this will lead to a wide variety of behavioral issues.
Let’s look into this.
Can goats get lonely?
Yes, they certainly can.
Animals broadly fall into two categories: solitary and non-solitary.
This is a rather simplistic distinction, but it is useful for our purposes.
Many animals, including big cats like tigers, are solitary, and very rarely interact with others of their species except to breed.
Goats are herd animals, and in the wild they always live in large groups.
There is a variety of advantages to this—especially for prey animals.
Goats, like wildebeest, bison, buffalo, and many others, find safety in numbers.
They like to be with many other members of their species in remarkably complex social relationships.
This strengthens bonds and helps maintain herd happiness.
When there are many of you, it’s easier to detect and avoid predators.
That evolutionary advantage has led to many successful species being herd species.
Without this, goats can indeed get lonely.
And this is not just about feeling unsafe from predators—the herd mentality has evolved to the point that it is vitally important for the mental wellbeing of the animal to have companions.
So, without it, they will get lonely, and this will lead to a variety of issues.
But can they really die from their loneliness?
Can goats die from being lonely?
It is extremely unlikely that a goat will die from loneliness.
Goats are sometimes kept alone, but this is, in my view, never good for the goat’s health.
Without companions they will be more constantly on edge and nervous, since they are aware they don’t have the safety in numbers a herd brings.
They may be safe in your pasture from predators, but they don’t know that—and it doesn’t change their primal instinct to feel safer in numbers.
But dying from this loneliness alone is very unlikely.
They will persist, and live, but they won’t be very happy, and they will be poorly socialized.
Even if you are hanging out with them all the time, they need members of their own species, and especially they need to be able to sleep alongside them.
So, even though your goat won’t die from being lonely, this is not a reason to keep them on their own.
They will not be happy without other members of their own species—however you look at it.
Let’s look at the issue of depression in goats.
Can goats get depressed?
Yes, goats can get depressed.
Again, depression is not something that is exclusive to humans.
It has to have come from somewhere, and animals on the whole do experience it for one reason or another.
Social isolation is one of the biggest causes for animals like goats.
Depression can lead to a wide variety of problematic behaviors.
They can become self-destructive, and deliberately cause themselves harm due to stress.
The stress may also lead to them not eating properly, which will have an obvious knock-on effect on their health.
They will become malnourished and ultimately lacking in many important nutrients, which can have a wide variety of effects.
So, yes, goats can certainly become depressed, and you want to avoid this if you want to be a good and responsible goat owner.
So, the final question on many of your minds—can you keep a single goat and keep it happy?
Can you have just one goat?
The short answer is no.
While a goat may do okay on its own, it will not thrive, and will not be happy or healthy.
They will be lonely, and nervous, on edge most of the time.
Constant feeling this way will age them more quickly, and the loneliness will ultimately lead to depression.
Through this depression, they could potentially end up causing themselves fatal or at least irreversible harm.
So, indirectly, having a goat on its own could ultimately cause the goat’s premature death.
So, even though having one goat on its own will not cause that goat to die immediately, they will really not be happy without other goats around.
At the very least you should have a pair, but ideally you would have three to create a small herd.
So, the verdict is clear: goats need companions of their own species.
They would always have such companions in the wild, and would be deeply stressed, even depressed, without it.
Even though that loneliness is unlikely to lead to their deaths, you should treat it is a major concern, and ideally, you should never have a single goat by itself.