Goats are herd animals, and so need the company of other animals to be happy.
Most of a goat’s socialization should come from other goats, it’s true, but this does not mean they will have any less affection for you.
They will enjoy your pets just as much.
There are even quite a few behaviors you can observe in your goats which you will eventually see are how they show affection.
How do goats show affection to humans?
It can be difficult to interpret the emotional body language of goats.
Despite how we might see them, they are complex creatures with multi-faceted emotions and ways of expressing themselves.
It’s not always easy to tell what they’re thinking.
However, when they show affection, you will know it.
It might take some time before your goat grows attached to you, but once it does, you will know.
They will begin perking up and running over when they see you, their ears pricking up and being eager to be touched and petted.
Once they’re over the excitement of the initial meeting, try and maintain eye contact with your goat.
They will often use their eyes to stare at you, like dogs sometimes do.
In the simplest sense, this staring is meant to be an expression of affection.
These behaviors are called ‘visual orientation behaviors’, and are very common among a lot of animals.
Cats, dogs, goats, many animals will stare at you to indicate affection (or that they want a treat!).
They will also, as I said, be eager to come over and touch you.
They will want to be petted, and will show this by standing near you, looking at you and lifting their head up.
Physical touch an expression of affection is common among humans and goats, then.
Finally, they may even vocalize with excitement over seeing you.
It’s easy to mistake their vocalizing for bleating and crying, but they’re actually more likely to be basically trying to include you in the herd.
After all, these noises are how they communicate with each other in the herd.
Do goats like to cuddle?
Hugging and cuddling is a bit trickier, unfortunately.
Obviously, goats cannot wrap you up in a hug in the way humans can do with one another, or even other primates can do.
So, it really depends on what you mean by ‘cuddle’.
Wrapping them up in a big hug and carrying them around?
Probably not.
However, if you spend a long time with your goats, they will probably come over and sit with you.
In this case you could put your arms around them and pet them—I often do this with my goats and it’s about as close to a cuddle as you’ll get with a goat.
Cuddling is difficult for quadrupedal animals.
Even a study in the last few years showed how “hugging” can make dogs uncomfortable.
Your goat will love spending time with you, but it needs its bodily autonomy as well.
Just let them hug you with their eyes, wrap you up in a loving stare.
| Related Posts |
|---|
How do you bond with goats?
Often, how deeply your goat will bond with you will depend on how far you’ve raised it.
If you raised it from birth, it will likely be much more attached to you, as almost any mammal would be.
Mammalian relationships with mothers or the creature that raised them are uniquely powerful in the animal kingdom.
Bottle feeding is one of the best ways to bond with a young goat.
Once they’re older, it doesn’t have to stop at that.
You can continue to feed your goats from your hands, which they will love and will again be a great bonding experience.
Many animals would not dare eat out of a human’s hand.
Sharing food and eating together is one of the best ways to bond with any animal, so if you’re looking for ways to bond with your goats, food is always a great place to start.
Adult goats that you’ve bought later on in life might have a harder time adjusting to you, but if you put the work in, you’ll have no real trouble getting them to bond to you eventually.
So, goats are almost overflowing with love and affection for their human owners.
Naturally, goats have very individual personalities, so some may take to you more than others.
In general, though, these gentle herd animals will love being around others so much that you won’t really notice this.
Petting is a great way to connect with your goat and can the basis of a beautiful friendship.