Of course, the simple way of explaining it is that goats simply have a lot of personality.
After all, why is anyone “weird”? That’s a value judgment, really, since no one can really say for sure what’s weird and what isn’t.
Goats are just complex emotional creatures, with inquisitive tendencies, and this makes them a bit weird!
Let’s look further into this.
Why are goats so special?
As far as the classic farm animals go, there are a lot of things about goats that make them special, and a bit weird.
The biggest thing is that they are foragers, whereas most other herd farm animals are grazers.
Sheep and cattle, for instance, spend pretty much all of their time eating grass or hay.
They don’t need to do anything else—if they are on a big field, they are never going to run out of grass.
They just keep eating and don’t need to think about it.
Goats are not satisfied with this, though, for the most part.
While hay can certainly be a big part of their diet, they are better off being able to forage in a pasture with vegetation and not just grass.
In order to be able to identify good foods, they need to be more intelligent and observant.
They are also more inquisitive and like to investigate things and their surroundings.
All of this essentially means that, in order to survive and thrive, they need to investigate things a bit more.
This means they have more personality, which can often manifest in weird behavior.
After all, the best way to learn if something works is to try it out—which is why you might see them trying to eat a tin can, for example!
Some also find it strange that goats are so uniquely friendly.
Why are goats so friendly?
Again, it is a result of their huge personality and intelligence.
Though they may take some time to warm up to you, and they still, of course, have natural prey instincts, it is advantageous to be friendly since we provide them with food and companionship.
Though I have mostly talked about food here, goats are social creatures, too.
They get a lot out of having relationships with others and other goats.
They are friendly, then, because of their own ability to form complex relationships with one another.
This complexity of relationships has led to highly adapted social brains, which extends to form bonds with us, too.
So, the simple answer is that they know you’ll give them food.
That’s generally what we do with our goats.
But the more complex answer, and the one that gives goats the credit they deserve, is that they are highly complex emotional animals that are able to form deep bonds with those around them.
Why do goats stare at you?
This is an extension of the previous answer.
A lot of the time, goats will stare at you because it is an easy way of deepening the bond that you have with them.
Staring is a rather universal language, and though with someone you don’t know it can be weird, with someone you love it is a rather natural thing.
However, there is also some evidence to suggest goats stare at you to indicate they are in some form of distress.
If they are dealing with a problem, such as indigestion or any form of physical pain, they might stare to try and bring your attention to it.
At the same time, staring is quite atypical behavior for goats.
Are all goats weird?
Some are certainly weirder than others.
Again, it depends how you define the word.
Some goats will be quite happy munching away on grass or hay for most of the day, and will just keep to themselves.
The very fact of their personality means that every individual goat is going to be different.
Some will be much more inquisitive, some far more laid back and docile.
The definition of personality, we might say, in animals, is the variation between the temperaments of individuals.
So, realistically, no, they are not all weird.
So, again, whether or not a goat is really ‘weird’ is up to you.
There are many specific things we can say about them in comparison to, say, sheep and cows.
They are curious and intelligent and like to investigate their surroundings—partly as a result of their forager, ruminant nature.
This is a selective advantage to help them find food and other things that will help them survive.
It’s an evolutionary advantage to be weird!