Goat Personality Traits and Their Importance in the Herd

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Anyone who has spent time with a goat herd will notice the different individual personalities of herd members. We may characterize our goats as shy, nervous, curious, affectionate, or aggressive, for example. Some show more or fewer of each trait than others. Are we just being anthropomorphic or are there consistent goat personality traits? Scientists claim that they do, as do I and many goat keepers.

When we think of goats, we must remember that their motivations are different from ours, and we may not understand them fully. Even so, several kinds of goat behavior come to mind: they’re generally an active and inquisitive species, emotionally dependent on familiar companions and the safety of the herd, yet aggressive in competition for resources. They’re alert, selective in their diet, quick to take opportunities to discover new food or access fresh areas, yet cautious in the face of novelty. Each individual displays more or less an inclination to behave in this way.

Why Animal Personality Is Important

Although we often generalize about goats and breeds, it’s important to recognize how individuals vary. Otherwise, goats who vary from the norm may miss out on the resources they need to stay physically and mentally healthy, as well as productive. To account for this, we can adapt the living environment to provide for each individual’s needs. For example, fearful goats may suffer from stress unless we provide a way for them to escape from whatever is upsetting them. The best way to do this is to provide plenty of structure to their resting and eating zones with platforms and partitions. They can then climb or conceal themselves when they feel threatened.

Equally, we can adapt our handling practices to accommodate different personalities. A fearful goat will need a gentler approach to treatment than a confident one, and prior training and habituation may be helpful. A highly sociable goat is going to suffer more from separation from the herd, but her anxiety may be relieved by bringing her favorite companion into the adjoining pen.

Routine is always recommended for herd animals, as predictability reduces their anxiety about predation. However, don’t be surprised if some react more strongly than others or need a little more time to adjust. Changes can elicit fear, which can make animals harder to handle.

Categorizing Goat Personality Traits

Science defines personality as “individual behavioral differences that are repeatable over time and across situations.”[1] We need to observe a combination of behaviors that are consistent in several scenarios and expressed to a similar degree by the same individuals sometime later on. People and animals vary in more than one dimension (for humans, see the Big Five). However, this is a new area of research in animals. So far, veterinary researcher Jill MacKay identifies fearfulness, aggression, and sociability as dependable traits.[2] Explorative behavior (or boldness), activity, and sociability have already been measured in goats.[1,3,4]

Scientists normally use a couple of standard tests for each trait and combine results to take into account different scenarios. They combine several behaviors and physiological measures (such as heart rate and cortisol to gauge the degree of stress the animal experiences) to represent each of the goat personality traits.

Fearfulness and Exploratory Behavior

Fearfulness is difficult to measure because responses to fear can take different forms depending on context. Is a still, vigilant goat more frightened than one actively trying to escape? Animal physiology offers several responses to a threat (fight, flight, or hide) and it is up to the individual to choose the most appropriate for the situation. Genetics and experience guide the animal in this decision. Behavioral ecologists identify different coping strategies animals use to deal with challenges: Proactive (or bold) versus reactive (or shy).

Goats may find different events scary. Some goats may be frightened of humans, others of dogs. Some may enjoy novelty, while others treat new pastures or equipment with caution if not fear. Generally, early habituation to these experiences helps goats lose their fear of similar challenges.

Scientists measure behavior in response to new challenges in novel arena and novel object tests. In the novel arena, the goat enters an unfamiliar pen. For the novel object, an unfamiliar toy or domestic object is introduced.[2] Behavior is recorded for five minutes and then analyzed. Approach, touching, or sniffing indicates exploration (boldness or proactivity), while avoidance or inactivity may be seen as a shy or reactive response.

In cognition tests, slower explorers were found to track a moving cup hiding a treat better than bolder explorers, suggesting higher attention to detail.[3] Whereas goats of different personality types learn equally quickly to select one symbol (from a choice of four) to deliver water, shy goats were quicker to learn when the symbol was changed to one that did not deliver before.[4] This coping style could suggest greater behavioral flexibility, enabling better adaptation to changes in the environment.

Aggression

The aggression displayed by an individual is very dependent on the other animals he or she is interacting with. Goats learn to respect a hierarchy and low-ranking individuals rarely attack those higher up. You might experience a shock when your easy-going, gentle doeling gets a new companion, especially a younger or smaller one: that same doeling could turn out to be a bit of a bully.

Conversely, a dominant tyrant moved to a new herd will come in at the bottom of the hierarchy until she proves herself. She may struggle to cope in the new scenario where she no longer has preferential access to feed. Dominance is not a personality trait, but a description of the relationship between animals. She may not become a dominant herd member and her behavior may become more subdued. This is also a phenomenon I’ve seen in aging ex-matriarchs who lose their position to younger, fitter herd members.

In a study on aggression at the feed rack, goats were considered bold if they approached a feed bucket despite an umbrella suddenly opening when they touched it. Bold goats were found to be the most aggressive at the feed trough, especially when fed at floor level. However, goats who tended to explore new platforms and cable spools preferred higher feed troughs. These results indicate the value of raised feeding places for goats.[5]

Strategies for Mitigating Aggression

Researchers studying social interactions found that dairy goats took four different strategies that corresponded to their ranking. The most dominant goats were the most aggressive but also intervened in disputes between others. They spent less time feeding than low-ranking goats but got the chance to select the most nutritious feed. A few mid-ranking goats formed alliances with others, performing more friendly interactions, and eating as much as the dominant goats. Active low-ranking goats spent most time avoiding others but spent more time feeding. However, passive ones spent most time resting and had little contact with other individuals. In this herd, the passive goats were rather thin and may have been unwell or otherwise not coping with their environment.[6] Multiple hay racks and divisions within the pen may help more vulnerable goats to meet their needs in the face of aggression.

Sociability

Some goats have a higher dependence on their companions than others. Observable behavior is dependent on the kind of company the goat has: they prefer familiar companions and will avoid contact with aggressive dominants. Some goats are happy with human company, particularly if they have had regular, positive contact with humans from a young age.

Social comfort can calm nerves and help animals cope with stressful events. Researchers identified sociable goats as having more stable heart rates when going about free-ranging daytime activities.[1]

Two tests are used to gauge sociability: approach and isolation. In the approach test, a goat is separated from the herd and her behavior recorded when she is released. Sociable goats call to their herd mates, return quickly to them, and spend time close to them.[1,3,4] The novel arena can also be used to measure a goat’s reaction to isolation. If the goat cannot see the herd, her efforts to escape and call to them can be seen as a measure of sociability.[3]

More sociable goats were found to be less successful at learning which cup held a treat according to its color, while less sociable goats tended to rely more on physical features of feeders (shape and color) than the location.[3] These results show how sociability can affect the way an animal learns. Sociable goats may find it difficult to concentrate if they are missing their herd mates.

Goat Behavior Observations

We may not all be able to put our goats through their paces in test environments, but much can be learned by observing our goats regularly.

When considering a goat’s personality, be careful to consider multiple behaviors and their context. Every emotion can have a different response depending on the situation. Responses in goats will depend on genetics, past experience, the current situation, and how they perceive the event (which may be very different from how we perceive it). For example, goats who are used to humans will be less alarmed by the appearance of a stranger. Their relationship with other goats in the herd will also affect whether they approach you, enter shelters, or use facilities when other herd members are around. Taking these observations into account, you can adjust facilities to suit all individuals in the herd.

Of course, there are likely to be more goat personality traits than have been reliably established so far. How would you describe the personalities of your goats?

References

1. Briefer, E.F., Oxley, J.A., and McElligott, A.G., 2015. Autonomic nervous system reactivity in a free-ranging mammal: effects of dominance rank and personality. Animal Behaviour, 110, 121–132.
2. MacKay, J.R.D., 2018. Animal Personality: The Science Behind Individual Variation. 5m.
3. Nawroth, C., Prentice, P.M., and McElligott, A.G., 2016. Individual personality differences in goats predict their performance in visual learning and non-associative cognitive tasks. Behavioural Processes, 134, 43–53.
4. Finkemeier, M.A., Krause, A., Tuchscherer, A., Puppe, B., and Langbein, J., 2022. Personality traits affect learning performance in dwarf goats (Capra hircus). Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 916459.
5. Neave, H.W. and Zobel, G., 2020. Personality of dairy goats affects competitive feeding behaviour at different feeder heights. Small Ruminant Research, 192, 106222.
6. Miranda-de la Lama, G.C., Sepúlveda, W.S., Montaldo, H.H., María, G.A., and Galindo, F., 2011. Social strategies associated with identity profiles in dairy goats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 134(1–2), 48–55.

The lead photo of goats engaging in social activity was taken by the author.

Originally published in the March/April 2025 digital issues of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.