About the Author

Tamsin Cooper

Tamsin Cooper keeps goats and chickens on her smallholding in France, where she aspires to live as sustainably as possible. She follows the latest research on farm animal behavior and has mentored on animal welfare courses.
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Articles by Tamsin Cooper

Breed Profile: Angora Goats
November 15, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

Angora goats are fiber goats originating in Turkey that produce mohair wool. They are great browsers, but need extra nutrition and care.

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Goat Images Take the Podium
October 5, 2021 · · Ownership

Goats recognize emotion in images of goats’ faces; goats look to humans for help and learn from us; goats’ personality differences affect learning … and many more research findings!

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Breed Profile: Valais Blackneck Goat
October 5, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

The Valais Blackneck goat is a dual-purpose breed local to the high Swiss Alps for thousands of years. Its legendary climbing and foraging abilities make it ideal for low-input pastoral farming in dry alpine conditions.

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Breed Profile: French Alpine Goats
September 27, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

French Alpine goats are France’s favorite breed, often used for commercial production in France. They are also valued in the United States as a highly productive dairy goat with a people-friendly nature.

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Icelandic Goat: Conservation Through Farming
September 18, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

Icelandic goats arrived with Norwegian Vikings and they’ve had 1100 years to adapt to the particular environment of Iceland.

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Why Does My Goat Paw at Me? Caprine Communication
September 1, 2021 · · Ownership

Goats are sensitive to human body language and they try to communicate with us. It’s important to understand their behavior and know how they read ours.

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Breed Profile: Kalahari Red Goats
August 17, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

Kalahari Red goats are commercially developed for meat from native African landraces and red Boer goats. They are excellent natural mothers and tough survivors in the hot, dry savanna. Their strength and fecundity lends promise to the food supply in Africa.

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Goat Games Reveal Caprine Intelligence
August 11, 2021 · · Ownership

With progress in production and husbandry systems in mind, researchers design goat games and study such behavior in domestic goats. Foraging styles, social strategies, stress responses, the human–animal relationship, and the effects of different systems have all come under the empirical microscope.

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Breed Profile: Girgentana Goat
August 4, 2021 · · Goat Breeds

The Girgentana goat is one of Italy’s rare goat breeds with unique and valuable hardy traits and great potential for craft dairy products … and the most amazing horns!

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Goat Training Fundamentals
August 2, 2021 · · Ownership

Goats are learning all the time and can be trained using positive reinforcement techniques, making life more fun and harmonious for you and your goats.

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