Of all the animals we have at Alledal, the least understood and appreciated are the goats. In fact most peoples first response is ‘Goats!! Why?’ It seems they have a reputation for being smelly, trouble-making mobile rubbish bins that will eat anything. The main point of this entry in my blog is to defend the reputation of goats. They are amazing creatures and the more I understand them the more I recognise how amazing and animal a goat is and just how undeserved their bad reputation is.

It seems everyone knows how bad goat’s milk is. It’s strong and has an unpleasant taste – just ask anyone. Well I have, and it seems that it is indeed a widely know fact. However when you ask, ‘Have you ever tasted goats milk?’ almost invariable the answer is No. A friend who came to stay earlier this year was so adamant that goat’s milk had a strong taste, I put some of our fresh milk into a store bought milk carton and he happily drank it all week without comment. I concede it is true that milking done with little regard to hygiene can produce tainted milk, but any goat keeper worthy of the name knows better. Our milk goes to make yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream and I don’t want goat flavoured milk anymore than the next man.

But goats smell bad, well that depends. Does [female goats], kids and wethers [castrated males] have no more odour than any other household pet and smell a whole lot sweeter than a wet dog. They hate mud and keep themselves very clean. These are the only goats we keep at Alledal, there’s no goaty smell here. However there is an element of truth, bucks [male goats] do smell. Oh they smell bad, and I mean phwoar-hold-your-breath type bad. It lingers and taints anything it comes into contact with. I hate it, female goats love it. It is the goats equivalent of lynx deodorant. The smell is why just about everyone I know who keeps goats makes sure their breeding males are kept well away from the house.

Goats eat any old rubbish and your unmentionables from the washing line. Now this one is completely false. Goats are naturally browsers, which mean they eat in a similar way to deer and their more exotic cousins antelope. Their meal of choice is shrubby undergrowth, the tenderest young leaves and of course any of your young fruit trees they can get their gums on. In their stalls they eat [only] the best quality hay – anything else is rejected – grain and concentrates. They are fastidious and will not eat anything that is tainted with dirt or manure. Their water troughs have to be constantly changed. If you can see stuff in it, and that can be just a couple of stray stalks of straw bedding then you can be sure the goats can too and they will not willingly drink it. I think their reputation for eating rubbish comes from their natural intelligence and curiosity. They love to explore new things. They have no hands with which to do that so just like a children everything goes in their mouths, so they can taste and experience it. They will mouth just about anything. Feed sacks, cardboard boxes, fence posts and of course your laundry. Occasionally they will swallow some of it too even if it’s not good for them, but in my experience so do human children [how else could we make amusing reality programmes in your local ER]. Goats are also natural survivors. The exist in some of the harshest climatic conditions on earth. From some of the hottest to the coldest, conditions where cattle and sheep would curl up and die. It is their ability to find new foods that makes them such good survivors.

Goats are aggressive and will attack you. Now this is utter rubbish. All my goats have impressive sets of horns. Blåblomme’s set is around 24 inches long and while she might use these on other goats, raising herself up on her hind legs and doing a half jump half diving head butt. She has never used them on me, none of my goats have. They have a social hierarchy, much like most herd/social animals and positions are tested by those of lower rank and jealously defended by those of higher status. It can look quite terrifying but I have never seen any injuries result from it. Towards humans [i.e. me] they are gentle, they enjoy being stroked and in my experience love to interact with humans. I think most domestic goats raised with man are like this. Even the wild goats would rather run than make a fight of it.

I think amongst farmers and smallholders as soon as you mention goats they automatically think trouble and I admit the goat’s reputation for being difficult to control is less easy to defend. As I already said they are curious animals and have a keen intelligence to go with it.. You can guarantee they will get into all sorts of things they are not supposed to, especially if they find any weakness in your fencing. They cannot be driven and herded like sheep, they must be lead. They do not share with the sheep of bunching up, turning tail and running from perceived danger, dogs or even man. They scatter to all points of the compass and then turn and face their attacker. They rely on their speed and natural agility, their intelligence and manoeuvrability. I’ve chased escaped goats believe me I know. With adequate fencing and a little patience goats are no more trouble than sheep. They respect humans and accept them as part of the herd. They will follow you, eagerly if you have a bucket of grain. Compared to sheep, which as I was taught ‘exist only to die in the most complicated and expensive ways possible, in the most inaccessible of places and preferably in front of an audience’, they have personality. They are not a bland homogenous whole, but individuals.

Goats are on the whole undeserving of the bad reputation. They were amongst the first animals to be domesticated. They provide milk, meat and fibre and in many parts of the world are the main/ only source of protein and their hides are used for clothing and shelter. Even here in the west where consumerism is king goat milk cheese is a popular gourmet item, and goat milk fudge is a dreamy delight!  Goat milk has been used as a soothing skin treatment in soaps, lotions and balms since ancient times. Cleopatra even bathed in goat milk!  Some goats are valued for their long, silky fleece or cashmere that can be woven into clothing and rugs.  Some goats are used as pack animals since they can easily navigate rough terrain and are easier on the environment that horses.  Goats can be trained to pull carts.  The goat can even being used as fire and brush control some parts of the county are leasing goatherds to clear away brush and weeds that can cause fire hazards and of course, like me many people just enjoy having goats as pets and companions.