Goats are intelligent and curious animals that need mental and physical stimulation to stay healthy and happy. This can be easily and affordably achieved with the use of goat toys. Without proper enrichment, they may become bored and destructive. Fortunately, there are many simple and affordable and DIY goat toys that can keep your goats entertained and engaged. Here are five ideas to get you started.
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Why is Goat Enrichment Important?
Goats are intelligent animals and when they are bored or under stimulated, they can engage in negative behaviors such as escaping, or destructive and aggressive/bullying behaviors.
Goat enrichment is important for their lifespans because it promotes mental and physical stimulation, reducing stress and preventing boredom. Engaging activities and environments keep goats active and healthy, which can lead to fewer health issues and a longer life.
By providing enrichment, such as climbing structures, interactive toys, and varied foraging opportunities, you support their overall well-being and contribute to a happier, more resilient goat.
Auditory Toys for Goats
Goats can get enrichment from a variety of different sources, and it has been shown to soothe them. Auditory toys for goats are designed to stimulate their sense of hearing and keep them engaged. Goats are naturally curious and intelligent animals, so toys that make noise can capture their attention and provide entertainment.
Some popular auditory toys for goats include:
Hanging Bells: Bells attached to ropes or chains can be hung in their enclosure. Goats enjoy nudging or bumping into them to make a sound.
Windchimes: Hanging windchimes in their play area can create soothing and intriguing sounds when the wind blows or when goats brush against them.
Plastic or Metal Drums: Empty, secure drums that make noise when goats tap or push them around can be fun and engaging.
Recordings of "Happy Goats": Playing recordings of other goats bleating contentedly can comfort and engage your goats, as they might respond to the familiar sounds.
Talk to Your Goats: Simply talking to your goats can also be a form of auditory enrichment. Goats recognize and respond to their owners' voices, and the interaction can strengthen your bond with them.
Rain Drum: A rain drum that plays music when raindrops hit it can be a captivating auditory toy for goats. The musical sounds produced by the rain can keep goats entertained and add a soothing, natural element to their environment.
Squeaky Toys: Durable squeaky toys made for dogs can also be appealing to goats. They enjoy the noise these toys make when bitten or pressed.
A free form of auditory enrichment is talking to or singing to your goats. We often practice this one ourselves, even calling them by name. Is adorable to see your goats perk up and turn its head to listen when you are talking to them.
Did you know that goats can learn their names? For more info on teaching your goats their names check out our article.
Nutritional Goat Toys
As foragers, goats enjoy enrichment centered around finding and obtaining food. Nutritional goat toys are designed to combine playtime with healthy eating, helping to keep goats mentally stimulated while providing them with essential nutrients.
Here are some popular options:
Hanging Hay Balls: These are balls made of hay or designed to hold hay. Goats can push and play with them, encouraging them to forage and eat as they play. To determine how much hay to provide, we recommend our goat feed supplement guide.
Frozen Fruits & Vegetables: Various fruits and vegetables can be frozen in large ice balls or Tupperware containers. This not only cools your goats down but also gives them a delicious and mentally stimulating snack.
Mineral Licks: Mineral blocks or licks can be hung or placed in their enclosure, allowing goats to satisfy their nutritional needs while also enjoying the licking activity.
Dog Toys: You can use old dog toys or remove the stuffing and add nutritious treats, like fruits, vegetables, or hay. Goats will enjoy figuring out how to access the tasty snacks inside.
Forage Puzzles and Wiffle Balls: Puzzles or feeders that require goats to solve or manipulate them to release food. These toys challenge their minds while providing a reward of healthy snacks. Note when giving goats puzzles they should be supervised to ensure they don’t swallow pieces.
Hanging Vegetables: Hang leafy greens, carrots, or other vegetables from ropes or hooks at different heights. Goats will have fun reaching and nibbling on the hanging treats, promoting exercise and healthy eating.
Tree Branches: Cut branches from a pear or fruit tree are one of our favorite free forms of enrichment. It is important to note what plants and trees that are poisonous to goats.
GoatScaping: We regularly move our goats around our property with a movable electric fence. This provides them with new environments regularly, including brush to clear, trees to headbutt, and downed logs to scratch on.
These nutritional toys not only provide essential vitamins and minerals but also promote natural behaviors, such as foraging and chewing, keeping goats healthy and happy.
Due to potential choking hazards, many goat owners opt to put treats inside a carved pumpkin or other edible gourd as this requires less supervision.
DIY Goat Toys
Providing your goats with a dynamic living space that they can explore and interact with will help keep them healthy as well as physically and mentally stimulated. We have found that the most important part of physical enrichment is providing new items on a regular schedule. While new spools can be fun for several weeks or months, your goats will eventually tire of them.
You can tell when your goats have grown bored as they will become destructive. Our youngest goat has taken a liking to headbutting the gate and weak points in the fence until he is free. Providing them with new obstacles has significantly decreased this behavior.
Here are some popular options, many you can make yourself:
Climbing Structures: Platforms, ladders, ramps, stumps, rocks, and wooden spool (free from local cable companies) towers provide goats with opportunities to climb, jump, and explore, which mimics their natural behavior in the wild.
Balance Beams: Simple beams or logs placed horizontally allow goats to practice balance and coordination as they walk across.
Tire Obstacles: Old tires can be arranged in various configurations for goats to climb on, jump over, or push around, providing both physical activity and fun.
Seesaws: A sturdy seesaw can offer a playful challenge for goats, encouraging them to balance and engage in gentle rocking movements.
Rope Toys: Thick, durable ropes can be hung for goats to pull on or chew, promoting strength and satisfying their natural curiosity.
Exercise Balls: Large, durable balls can be pushed or rolled around by goats, providing physical exercise and interactive play.
Tunnel Structures: Tunnels made of large, sturdy pipes or other materials give goats a place to explore, hide, and run through, enhancing their agility and sense of adventure.
Hanging Toys: Objects like suspended logs, buckets, or feeders that sway or swing when touched, encouraging goats to interact with them and promoting physical activity.
Brushes: Secure brushes (such as from dollar tree) for any easy to reach but secure surface for goats to scratch themselves.
Kiddie Pool: A kiddie pool to allows goats to cool off during hot days.
Any combination of the above can make for even more enrichment. An example of this would be two upright cable spools with a ramp connecting them. Since our boys are very destructive, we regularly reassemble broken toys into new shapes and features. A broken piece of a hay feeder can be attached to a feed hut and provide endless hours of headbutting.
Social & Visual Toys for Goats
Visual and physical contact with other goats is important as they are social animals. Due to this they should not be kept alone as goats can become stressed, bored, and lonely.
Platforms, spools, or other structures that are large enough for multiple goat to play on at one time offers a lot of stimulation. We have watched our goats move in a circle on three cable spools (shown above) following each other.
If you don’t have more than one goat or they are isolated due to aggression or medical reasons, visual contact with other goats is important. Goats can also live with other animals such as sheep, donkeys, etc.
In situations where goats are not able to see or interact with other animals a mirror may help. It is very important that goats can see the mirror, but not touch it. Goats are very destructive, and this can be dangerous.
Goats are also interested in new items in their enclosure, particularly bright colored items. Adding traffic cones or even stuffed animals will provide them with visual enrichment.
Tips for Building a Goat Playground
The most important thing to keep in mind when creating an enriched environment for your goats is to ensure items are durable and sturdy as goats can be very destructive, so safety first!
Secondly, enrichment does not need to cost a fortune. Many items can be build from what you have laying around or can be found at garage sales (small trampolines or kids play houses and slides). In fact I would recommend going the cheaper route given just how much our bucks roughhouse and how quickly they break new toys.
29 Toys for Goats
Here is a concise summary of enrichment ideas:
Bail of Straw to climb on
Cable Spools
Dog Puzzle with treats
Frozen Treats with Fruits and Vegetables
Keep more than 1 goat for social enrichment
Kiddie Pool
Kids Playhouse
Ladders
Logs to climb on
Mirrors
Move them around your property with an electric fence for weed control
Obstacle Course (made of logs, tires, pallets, etc)
Pallets stacked together
Ramp connecting two stumps
Rocks
Scratching Post
See Saw
Shrubs
Slide (kids playground)
Spend time with your goats
Tree Branches
Tires
Final Thoughts
Just like any other animal, goats need mental and physical stimulation to stay happy and healthy. Goat enrichment is a great way to provide your herd with a stimulating environment that encourages natural behaviors and reduces stress. In this guide, we covered everything you need to know about goat enrichment, from the benefits to the different types of enrichment activities you can provide.
Enriching your goats' lives can be as simple as talking to them and providing branches to for them to chew on, or as complex as goat playground.
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