I was driving down the highway with my son the other day when we went past a large pasture on the side of the road.
He was looking out for animals on the pasture, but was disappointed when he couldn’t see anything.
Until, eventually, he yelled that there was a goat on the field.
After a few minutes he asked me if that goat would have been okay on its own.
Our goats have always had each other to hang out with, so can goats live alone that like that?
Well, can goats live alone?
Goats should not live alone. They are highly social animals and live in reasonably large herds in the wild. You should never keep a single goat on its own, and two at the minimum. Ideally, you should have 3-4 as a minimum. In any case, do not keep one goat.
So, while goats kept together may want to spend solitary moments alone, you cannot get away from the fact that they are social creatures who need the company of other goats.
The company of other, similar grazing animals is better than nothing, but they really should be with other goats.
Let’s look further into this.
Can you keep just one goat?
The short answer is no. Goats are inherently social creatures.
Not just social creatures, but herd animals.
In the wild, they would tend to live in quite large groups, for one simple reason: safety in numbers.
The more of you there are, the better defended you are against predators.
But this survival instinct to be close to other goats has, over the generations, led to highly social brains.
This means a need for companionship and interaction with other members of its own species.
No goat in the wild would live alone, because it would be detrimental to their wellbeing.
Just because your goat has its needs provided for and is comfortable and secure doesn’t mean it doesn’t need companionship.
It still needs to be around other goats, otherwise something will be fundamentally biologically lacking.
A goat should never live on its own.
As I will get into later, I don’t even fully believe two goats is always adequate.
As I said, a herd of goats in the wild can be pretty large, and there’s a fairly high limit to how many individuals one goat might know.
What will happen to a lone goat, then?
Will a goat die if it’s alone?
It’s unlikely that a goat will die as a direct result of being alone.
The consequences won’t be so immediate or dire.
That said, a goat living alone will never really be content.
They will always be wondering where the rest of their herd is.
Goats that live their lives alone will have a shorter life expectancy than others, so in that sense, a goat will die much sooner if it’s alone.
A goat that has spent its whole life in a large herd may find the shock of isolation too much, if it is suddenly taken away from them—this could in extreme circumstances, lead to death.
In any case, it shouldn’t take the animal’s death for you to wonder if it is the right course of action.
Your goat will be mentally unwell if it has no goat companions.
How many goats should you keep, then?
How many goats should you keep?
So, the absolute minimum is two.
You should never have a single goat on its own—it should always have at least one companion.
Two isn’t really ideal either, though.
As I said, goats are herd animals—they tend to live in fairly large social groups.
You should think in terms of at least three, and ideally four.
This gives you the best chance of your goats feeling fully socialized, and having complex bonds with multiple individuals.
Like I said, goats often bond to an individual within a herd, due to personal preferences in temperament, or some other such personality trait.
Essentially, as many as you can handle is how many you should keep.
Even if you introduce new goats to the herd once you’re comfortable with the goats you have.
Do goats need a mate?
Goats don’t necessarily need a mate, and often males are neutered in order to curb aggressive tendencies.
In this case, the males won’t feel that natural impulse towards mating.
As long as they have companions, they generally don’t need to have a mate.
If they are not neutered, on the other hand, then they will need a mate to release that instinct to mate.
Do goats need a friend?
Yes, they definitely need friends.
However, by this, as I’m sure you understand, I just mean they need other goats.
They will form relationships with pretty much all goats in their herd, and so they will in that sense become friends with any goat in their herd.
As I said, though, having more than two gives them the best chance of bonding to a friend they really like.
However you look at it, then, goats need other goats to be fully happy.
They cannot be happy on their own, and they often cannot be happy even with only one other goat.
Goat personalities are deeply individual and unique, and so it might even be that the two you choose together don’t get along as well as they might.
You should always plan to keep at least three goats, and ideally four, if you are being serious about keeping them in the first place.