# Is grunting natural?



## MePreach (Feb 19, 2007)

I have one doe that grunts or grinds I'm not sure what she is doing! She seems very healthy and all but I've caught her doing this as I spend time with them but she is the only one that does this! (Other than my wife  ) I know I'm in trouble now :hobbyhors


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## tioga12 (Jun 26, 2006)

Umm....so are you saying your wife has this strange and unusual behavior also? 
Sorry, I couldn't resist.


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

I have a couple that "grunt" when they are contented.These two also "sing" to their babies when they are pregnant. :shrug: So my guess is you have a happy goat.


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

Teeth grinding is usually a sign of discomfort and a good clue to do a health check. That being said, we have one doe who does it sometimes for no reason - or just to exhibit irritation with a herd mate.

The grunting is often a happy noise. Mine also do it when they scratch themselves. Sometimes when they eat. 

Goat mysteries are abundant.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Some grunts, especially by the herd queen symbolize enforcement of goat manners and barnyard rules. My queen grunts at the herd as a show of power and a means of communication. Just a tad off subject....


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

and then there is the snoring sound. i have a doe that does this if she thinks she hadn't enough grain at the milk stand or if i trim her hoofs and come a little bit too short.  i have another one that makes yummy sounds when she eats. more yummy sounds when she gets petted when eating.
teeth grinding is not a good sound from goats, but humming,or grunting is.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I have one that grunts anytime anything doesn't go her way. I'll make her do something "nyat nyat!" she'll say. Another goat gets too close to her "Nyat nyat!" One time when I was herding them from one place to the other, she was slagging behind a little, and I gave her a little bump on her bum with my foot. She flipped around with her ears back and "Nyat Nyat!" She quickly thought better of that behavior. I'm just glad she doesn't have horns! :hobbyhors


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## pookshollow (Aug 22, 2005)

The range of vocalizations that goats can produce never ceases to amuse me - especially at feeding time, when they're jostling for position at the hayrack.  I'm positive I once heard one say, very clearly, "go away".  

I have one that makes a "Marge Simpson" kind of growl, another one sounds like Kramer on Seinfeld, and yet another is a "Charlie Brown" goat - she says "BLEAH!" My new little BoerX goat got named Layla, because that's what she says. :baby04: Then there's the NubianX who hums and moans when she eats her grain - and when she's heavily pregnant.


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

Critters are masters of strange sounds. I had a Boer doe who would moan and grind her teeth when she was pregnant. She kidded just fine and stopped that after the baby was born. Most of my Nubians hum when they are pregnant. My La Mancha/Nubian doe snorts on the milk stand when she's getting impatient. When my DH first started working with goats, he thought he heard one or two call out "Daaaave". My friend told me that one of her cats speaks Spanish. She looked at her empty water bowl, then up at my friend and said "agua".
While teeth grinding can mean pain, if this behavior is something your goat always does and she is eating an behaving normally, I wouldn't worry.


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