Goats are sociable animals and therefore become depressed if they are separated or isolated from their companions, however they are not flock-orientated like sheep.
Goats are very curious animals. Their inquisitive nature is shown in their constant desire to explore and investigate anything unfamiliar which they come across.
Goats can be taught their name and to come when called.
They are extremely intelligent and are often not given credit for being the smart and loving creatures they actually are.
Goats were one of the first animals to be tamed by humans and were being herded 10,000 years ago (8,000 BC).
Goats’ pupils (like many hooved animals) are rectangular. This gives them vision for 320 to 340 degrees around them without having to move and they are thought to have excellent night vision (humans can see 160-210 degrees around).
Goats have four “stomachs.” Their food moves first into the rumen, then to the reticulum, later to the omasum, and finally to the abomasum (which is most similar to a human stomach).
They are one of the cleanliest animals and are much more selective feeders than cows, sheep, pigs, swine and even dogs.
They communicate with each other by bleating. Mothers will often call to their young (kids) to ensure they stay close-by. Mother and kid goats recognise each other’s calls soon after the mothers give birth.
They are very picky eaters. They have very sensitive lips, which they use to “mouth” things in search of clean and tasty food. They will often refuse to eat hay that has been walked on or lying around loose for a day.
Goats use the sneeze sound as an alarm. They use a sneeze to warn each other of danger, whether real or imagined.
Each kid has a unique call, and along with its scent, that is how its mother recognises it from birth – not by sight.
Goats are foragers, NOT grazers. It is actually unnatural to graze a goat on grass and increases the likelihood of them picking up harmful parasites. In their natural habitat, they roam mountaintops and reach up as high as possible to pick out choice bits of forage around them.
Abraham Lincoln’s sons used to keep two goats in the White House called Nanny and Nanko!
Goats love happy faces! Goats are aware of human body language and prefer to approach those who are smiling.
Goats can identify their friends by the sounds they make, and can even understand the other goats emotions by listening to their bleat.
A female goat is a doe or nanny.
Goats are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. St Helen's Farm goats eat a balanced high fibre diet based on maize silage (sweetcorn) and red clover that we grow on our farm.
Goats dislike water and would rather leap over streams and puddles than step in them.
Goats only use one side of their mouths to chew. This is why their jaws move in a circular motion as they chew.
A male goat is a buck or billy.
A goat usually weighs about 45-54 kilograms. - That's the same weight as about 50 cartons of our milk!
Many species of wild goats are endangered.
A young male goat is a buckling.
Both female and male goats have beards and horns.
Goats are burpers!
A young female goat is a doeling.
There are over 210 species of goats all over the world.
Goats were the first animals used by humans for milk.
A goat can jump up to 5 feet, but some mountain goats can jump up to 12 feet!
A baby goat is called a kid.
Goats can be taught their name and to come when called.
Goats can easily climb to the top of 30-foot tall trees! - That's as high as the top of a three-story building! They can also climb near vertical walls and kids start climbing as young as a week old!
According the Mythology, Thor rode in a chariot pulled by two goats called Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr.
Kids (baby goats) can stand and walk within minutes of being born.
Wattles are the dangly skin that hangs from the goats neck, they serve no purpose.
Kids having a cuddle in the barn nursery is very common, as they like to be in a close bundle for companionship and warmth.
The sound a goat makes is called a bleat.
Goats have a very good long-term memory so will remember you and your face, even after a year!
Goats are similar to dogs and can complete tasks for treats.
When goats give birth it is called kidding.
Goats milk is the most popular kind of milk worldwide.
According to an Ethiopian legend, coffee was discovered when a goat herder found his herd frolicking with extra energy after eating the red berries from the coffee shrub.
Goats have accents! Their bleat sounds different depending where they come from.
The lifespan of a goat is usually the same as a dogs, but the oldest goat called McGinty lived till 22 years and 5 months.
Goats do not have upper front teeth.
A goat represents the Zodiac sign Capricorn. People with this star sign are considered friendly, determined and intelligent.
Cashmere comes from goats fur. It takes about 4-8 goats fur to make 1 cashmere jumper.
From 1849 to 2016, British Acts of Parliament were printed on goat skin.
Ireland's oldest festival called Puck Fair, happens every year in which a goat is crowned king for 3 days and raised up on a 40-foot pedestal.
At St Helen's Farm we have our own breed of goat! Called The Yorkshire Dairy Goat, find all about it on the ABOUT OUR FARM page.