Goats have been being goats far longer than humans have decided they have to worry about it. When in doubt, trust Nature. We are not so wise as to know how to be a goat and in walking this journey for 15+ years, I’ve learned that the more I get myself and my imperfect knowledge out of the way and let goats do what goats do, the healthier and happier the goats–and me!–become. I would even venture to say that goats are smarter than we are, because they have not been formally educated on the “right” way to eat and balance minerals.
It helps to remember that, while rare exceptions exist, goats would have gone extinct if:
▪️ they killed each other’s kids
▪️ they refused to feed their own
▪️ they could only figure out what to eat when fed by humans with animal science degrees
▪️ they used their horns to kill each other
▪️ they couldn’t deliver kids without your hand in their birth canal
▪️ kids could only be dried off if a human did it
▪️ they were unable to self-ration natural foods
etc. etc. etc.
For every one of these points, a human has needlessly intervened and caused the death of a goat. My point is that it’s so, so easy to get caught up in worrying if you’re doing it right but the reality is that they don’t need YOU to be doing it right. They need you to give them what they need so THEY can do it right.
My Holistic Goat Binder delves more deeply into the philosophies of care I embrace in my own 100% herbal herd. You can learn more about it here.
