In assessing the emotional behavior of any animal, you must always remember that you can never stop to ask the animal exactly what it means by this behavior.
This is why you should always take a nuanced view of what your goats are doing, and know what signs to look for that might indicate something is wrong.
In any case, let’s look further into this.
Why do goats lick you?
Goats, as I’ve said, will lick you for a number of possible reasons.
Let’s cover the most likely and most obvious, first.
The simplest explanation usually is the best one, after all.
Most of the time, a goat licking you is a simple display of affection.
They lick you to show they are comfortable, excited to see you, that they feel secure around you—even that they consider you somehow part of the herd.
They will often lick each other, too.
It’s a non-verbal, more intimate form of communication.
Typically, when a goat licks you, you can imagine it is for this reason.
However, there may be other reasons your goats lick you.
The thing to look for is whether they seem to be simply initiating contact, or if they are vigorously licking the sweat off your arms.
They could be trying to extract the salt and other minerals.
They may do this regardless of their diet, but make sure they are getting all the minerals they need if you witness this behavior.
Goats will often lick you to extract minerals from your sweat.
More often than not, though, it’s much simpler than this.
How else do they show affection, then?
How do goats show affection?
In many ways, both verbal and non-verbal.
The simple way to think about is thinking about how they communicate with one another.
Mostly, it’s through verbalizations.
Particularly, look at how they behave when you first come to them after some time away.
They should bleat and yell, or run over to you and start butting you with their head.
Once you’re with them, though, they will generally revert to mostly verbal cues.
As herd animals, communicating in this way is essential to their survival.
It lets other members of the herd know about danger, but it is also just a way of checking in and saying you are still there.
Licking is common not just to goats but many animals, and indicates at the very least that the two animals are very comfortable and sure of one another.
Look out for other physical indications—really, any physical contact that seems deliberate is a good sign of affection.
Light headbutting, brushing against you, even simply standing near you when it has the choice to move away.
Goats are very affectionate creatures—more so than we often give them credit for.
Knowing and understanding the subtleties of their behavior will take longer than you’d think. get to know your goats, and you’ll start to know what different behaviors mean.
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Is my goat licking me a problem?
In general, no, goats licking you is not a problem.
It’s a simple and effective way to make contact with you quite intimately, and most of the time simply indicates the animal is comfortable and feels a great deal of affection for you.
However, as I said, it could also indicate that it is trying to compensate for a mineral deficiency.
There are a lot of minerals in the sweat on your arms, and goats sometimes struggle to get all the minerals they need in their diet.
If it does seem as though your goat is more interested in what’s on your arms, rather than licking you in general, then it may indicate your goat is mineral deficient.
Think about switching up their diet, or adding supplements.
Again, though, even if your goat is clearly trying to get at the sweat on your arms, this still doesn’t necessarily mean it is mineral deficient—it might just be a particularly ravenous goat!
You should always err on the side of caution, though.
Just keep an eye on their diet from there on in.
Goats are more complicated creatures than we give them credit for, then.
They have complex social and emotional brains, and they are pretty keen to communicate what they are feeling.
You, as a goat owner, need to be able to identify these signs—in the name of caution.
As I said, when it comes to licking, most of the time this is a good sign, indicating your goat is comfortable with you.
It may also indicate something more serious, like a mineral deficiency.
Just be alert at all times.
Thank you so much my goats are happy and it makes me feel better to know that