We think that family bonding is mainly a human thing, but I’m here to tell you—goats have some of the most powerful bonds among family members I’ve ever seen.
Heidi, our three-legged goat, and her brother, Hercules.
Sibling relationships are usually the longest-lasting relationships in our lives. We may lose our parents along the way, but our siblings are more likely to share our lifespan, and as we get older, are the only ones who know what it was like for us in the beginning.
Animals seem to instinctively know this. And they cherish it deeply.
We see evidence of it every day. Families pair up all the time when it is lunch time, nap time, or play time. If there is a disagreement in the goat herd, families stick together!
In watching our little handicapped girl (Heidi) it has been amazing to witness the protection she receives from her mother, brother, and even her aunt and cousins.
Siblings Hercules and Heidi in the back, and siblings Taylor and Todd in front.
Family. It matters.
Customers have asked me, “Why do you keep both of those does when they are sisters and they have the same breeding?”
My answer: “How can I separate them? They are family!”
Christina and her daughters, Samantha and Susannah.
In the goat world, you can watch mothers communicating with daughters when it is time for babies to come. One young doe we had, for example, was was having a difficult time deciding what to do. She was making all sorts of noise in her pen and couldn’t relax.
Her mother came into the barn, went over to her daughter’s birthing pen, put her nose up, spent a few minutes there sharing her advice, and then walked back out of the barn. The fuss stopped, and the young doe laid down and had her babies.
Sophia, our herd matriarch (in front), with her daughter, Elizabeth (munching on hay behind).
We’ve had sisters lay down together back-to-back and have their babies at the very same moment—and later help each other raise those babies.
It’s astounding the bond that is formed by these animals.
Taylor (front) uses brother Todd as a pillow.
Today, I witnessed a grandmother at the gate of a birthing pen communicating with her granddaughter who will be a first-time mother soon. You could tell that the two were deep in conversation.
I sometimes wonder as I marvel at these goats, if we as the “intelligent animals” appreciate and love family as much as they do.
