Behavioral problems are not commonly reported in goats, perhaps because adult males are expected to charge people if their turf is traversed. Behavioral problems may actually be more rare (as opposed to less frequently reported) in this group because their maintenance conditions more closely mimic those in a free-ranging situation. Domestication may have had less of an impact on the social patterns of goats than is true for other species.

Self-suckling

Goats that abort late in pregnancy or those that have a second pregnancy subsequent to nursing can self-suckle. The latter situation may be illuminating because the behavior did not occur when the nanny was nursing. Treatment involves behavioral and environmental enrichment, social companionship that is stable before pregnancy, and possibly some antianxiety medications.

Stereotypic Behaviors

These behaviors in goats are similar to those in sheep (see Normal Social Behavior and Behavioral Problems of Domestic Animals: Stereotypic Behaviors). Goats separated from a group may develop competitive “rearing” or elevation.

Last full review/revision April 2012 by Gary Landsberg, BSc, DVM, MRCVS, DACVB, DECVBM-CA; Sagi Denenberg, DVM