Goats’ Natural Behaviour

Understanding natural behaviour is vital for promoting good welfare of goats in human care. Observations of feralFeral and wild populations, as well as goats in research settings, provide insight into natural behaviours. An overview is presented of the natural environments that goats thrive in, and how they interact with these environments. Goats are known to climb, hide, travel great distances, and be flexible in their foraging and social interactions; they use well-developed cognitive capacities throughout these activities. Yet, in human care, often these abilities are not promoted, potentially compromising welfare. These welfare concerns are typically system specific. For instance, indoor housed animals may face a lack of exercise opportunities, barren housing that does not promote climbing or hiding, lack of outdoor access, compromised doe-buck and doe-kid relationships, and large group sizes. Conversely, animals managed outdoors or extensively face exposure, predation, parasitic infections, teeth and toxicity issues, and potentially social isolation in the case of companion animal settings. This chapter reflects on how promoting natural behaviours can reduce these negative welfare outcomes, and importantly, how these behaviours themselves are positive welfare indicators. The discussion captures numerous systems, including those producing dairy, meat, and fibre; captured ferals, companions and working animals are also considered.