How Do You Know If Your Kiko Goat Is Content? We now know!

Today, the world's goat population is approximately 900 million, up from 600 million in 1990. The increased popularity of goat cheese, goat milk, and goat meat is the reason for this goat boom.

To accomplish a successful job, goat farmers must first understand their animals. That's when Alan McElligott enters the picture. He works at Queen Mary University of London as a senior lecturer in animal behavior. He also claims that goats are "underrepresented" in research on animal welfare.

This is unfavorable for goat farmers. They want to know whether their herd is in danger ""If animals have chronic stress, they're considerably more likely to get sick," he says, whether they're in a "positive" or "negative" state of mind. In terms of medicine and vet expenditures, this is costly."

And knowing when your goat is enraged isn't enough. "Keeping animals isn't simply about keeping them out of bad situations," McElligott explains. "You'd like creatures that are in a good mood. However, identifying those favorable emotions is more difficult."

So McElligott and a group of colleagues conducted a study to see if they might uncover any useful information for farmers. Because "goats despise cold weather and especially despise rain," the study was conducted during the summer months, when they are more agreeable participants.

We couldn't wait to see what a joyful goat looked like. To discover out, we spoke with McElligott.

I s it possible for you to detail the experiments?

The most important aspect is putting goats in mildly favorable or negative settings.

We utilize a technique known as food anticipation to induce a happy state. We stroll over to the goat and feed it after shaking some food in a bucket for a few seconds. The animal is similar to how you feel when someone brings you your meal. You brighten up a little, putting yourself in a somewhat cheerful frame of mind.

The experiments for the negative states are really brief. We put two goats in nearby enclosures under one of the negative circumstances. Then we give one of them food but not the other. For five minutes, the goat next door just stood there watching the other goat eat. We filmed the goats and had a microphone record them during these experiments to observe what they were up to.

What are the telltale characteristics of a happy goat?

The way the goats pointed their ears was a crucial factor. In a positive mood, they're more likely to point forward than in a negative state. In addition, in the positive state, the pitch of their call was more constant; it did not fluctuate as much as it did in the negative state.

Was it enjoyable to work with the goats?

It's a pleasure to be in their company. They're very interested. They are constantly smelling and exploring for anything new in their environment.

They're also incredibly sociable. When you watch a herd of goats interact, there's usually a lot going on: calling to each other, sniffing each other, laying down and caressing each other. They also quarrel.

How does that stack up against, say, sheep?

Many people mistakenly believe goats and sheep are the same animal. People who have studied sheep and goats, on the other hand, claim that goats are continually exploring and venturing off on their own. Sheep act in the stereotypical way that sheep do.

Another thing I've learned from farmers who raise goats is that they require special, extra-tough fence because goats are notorious for escaping. Overall, they appear to be fairly clever. They also have a good long-term memory. Mother goats remember their kids' calls for at least a year after they've been separated from their mothers, according to a study conducted two years ago. The moms reacted more strongly to their own kid's recorded calls than to calls from other kids.