Who’s boss?

Why couldn’t the goats agree? Because they kept butting heads!

Terrible jokes aside, you’ve probably guessed why goats butt their heads together – it’s to show who’s boss and establish their social positions within the herd. Goat herds have a clearly defined social hierarchy with every goat knowing its place. Goats will rear up and headbutt each other to determine who has dominance. Age, size, horns and temperament can all affect dominance.

A goat herd is led by a dominant female, known as the matriarch or queen. She is responsible for leading her herd to food and water, and she will protect the herd from predators. As the matriarch, she gets first pick of the resources, such as the tastiest shrubs and comfiest sleeping places. Any daughters she has will rank just below her in the group. In the wild, there will be a dominant buck too. He also defends the herd and brings up the rear.

Understanding the social structures of our herds can help us improve how we manage them to ensure the best welfare for our goats. It can be alarming to watch goats battling it out to decide their rankings, and it can have potentially serious consequences. That’s why we avoid any unnecessary mixing between our two established herds: to ensure the peace and stability of our social groups. Where possible, our young doelings grow up and stay in their mother’s herd, so their social status is essentially determined from birth. Any headbutting in a well-established herd is usually just a little reminder of the pecking order.

Another important point is that goats cannot be herded like sheep! They will scatter rather than flock together. In addition, if you try to push the herd from the back, the dominant buck may interpret this as a threat to his position – definitely not a situation you want to be in! We have found it is much better if the herd recognises you as an honorary member who will lead them to resources they need (like a fresh field or shelter from the elements). Once you have the trust of the matriarch, the rest will follow!