Do Goats Keep Snakes Away? (7 Clear Facts)

There are people who claim that goats can somehow keep snakes away. Are such claims true? Can goats really keep snakes away? Read on, to find out.

Do goats keep snakes away? The answer is mostly ‘no’. Goats are not capable of killing or directly scaring snakes. In fact, cases of snakes biting goats are quite common. However, goats’ constant hoof movements and stomping may potentially repel snakes in some cases.

Thus the only mechanism through which goats may somewhat make snakes uncomfortable is that of their constant hoof movements and stomping.

Snakes dislike areas with lots of movements or stomping. Remember, these are animals whose entire bodies are always in direct contact with the ground. And they are very sensitive to ground vibrations.

Yet if you keep goats in a certain space, they are bound to be constantly making hoof movements and stomping. It is those vibrations that may make snakes so uncomfortable as to repel them.

The key thing to know, however, is that goats are not capable of killing snakes.

If you research on what animals keep snakes away, you will usually not find goats in the list.

Even if you get more specific, and research on which farm animals keep snakes away, goats will usually not be in the list.

Thus it would be unreasonable to expect goats to directly confront snakes. Goats cannot really be said to be reliable at keeping snakes away.

Do Goats Kill Snakes?

Goats don’t usually kill snakes.

However hard you search, it may prove impossible to find accounts of goats killing snakes.

Even looking at the goats physically, it is hard to identify a mechanism through which they can possibly kill snakes.

Just think about it: how will a goat kill a snake in any direct confrontation? For people who are familiar with these sorts of animals, the very idea of goats killing snakes would be regarded as very ridiculous.

If anything, it is the snakes that have a tendency to kill goats. Usually, when a goat gets bitten by a venomous snake, there is a good chance of it dying.

Thus it is the other way round. It is the snakes that have the capacity to kill goats. Not the goats killing the snakes.

Do Goats Repel Snakes?

Goats normally aren’t very effective at repelling snakes.

If goats had good ability to repel snakes, cases of snakes biting goats wouldn’t be so commonplace.

Yet if you talk to people who keep goats in places where there are huge snake populations, they will tell you that the snakes are a huge menace to the goats.

It is hard to see how the goats can be said to have a repellent effect on snakes, when the snakes keep on coming close to them and biting them.

How do goats keep snakes away, if snake bites are so common among the goats? Does the idea of goats being effective snake repellents really make much sense?

The only (very remote) way in which goats may repel snakes – or make snakes rather uncomfortable – is through their hoof movements and stomping.

Anyone who has kept goats knows that they keep on making rather loud hoof movements – day and night. Some describe those as ‘stomping’ movements.

Through those, the goats may be capable of making snakes constantly uncomfortable. So they make them so constantly uncomfortable that they eventually move away.

There is the other theory about the scent of goats having potential to keep snakes away. But really, it is only intact male goats that have a strong body scent.

So perhaps there is a fringe possibility of the goats somewhat making the snakes uncomfortable that way too.

What is clear in most cases though is the fact that snakes don’t fear goats directly.

If a snake is after prey, and it encounters a goat, it won’t abandon the chase due to the goats’ presence. In fact, if it views the goat as an impediment, it may just go ahead and bite it…

Do Goats Keep Snakes Away?

As mentioned earlier, there are people who sometimes talk of keeping goats as a way of ensuring that snakes don’t come around.

Yet the very idea of goats keeping snakes away sounds very counterintuitive.

That is why you find many people wondering whether goats are really capable of keeping snakes away.

The questions asked in that regard include, do goats keep snakes away? And if yes, exactly how does goats keep snakes away?

The truth of the matter is that goats can’t be said to be of much help in keeping snakes away.

As we have said, goats are not capable of killing snakes. There is really no mechanism through which a goat can kill a snake. A goat can’t bite a snake. And a goat’s hooves may not be big enough to trample a snake…

So goats can’t kill snakes.

Goats are also not particularly effective at repelling snakes. If they were, cases of snakes biting goats wouldn’t be so common.

Only goats’ constant hooves movements and stomping (as well as maybe the strong scent of intact male goats) may make snakes uncomfortable. But it is not a reliable way to keep snakes away.

If you enquire from any knowledgeable person on what keeps snakes away from your yard, they will usually not mention goats.

You therefore can’t really rely on goats to protect you from snakes.

Do Goats Attract Snakes?

So far, we have been focusing all our attention on the possibility of goats keeping snakes away.

But what if we turn things around, and consider the possibility of goats actually attracting snakes? Do goats attract snakes?

The answer is that goats don’t attract snakes. The fact that you are keeping goats won’t make snakes start coming to your place more frequently.

Thus just as goats are not capable of keeping snakes away, so are they incapable of attracting snakes. In a nutshell, goats neither attract nor keep snakes away.

Why would snakes be attracted to goats? Snakes – most of the ‘normal’ ones at least – don’t eat goats. The snakes have no symbiotic relationship of any sort with goats. So why would they be attracted to goats?

Thus goats don’t attract snakes – just as they (largely) also don’t repel them.

Will A Snake Bite A Goat?

A snake is capable of biting a goat.

Cases in which people’s goats get bitten by snakes are common enough.

In fact, for people who rear goats in areas with big snake populations, the possibility of the goats being bitten by snakes always looms.

Such people are therefore always plotting how to keep snakes away from goats.

To be sure, a snake normally won’t go in search of a goat to bite. But if a snake happens to encounter a goat in certain conflict situations, it may proceed to bite it.

The outcome after a snake bites a goat depends on whether the snake is venomous or not.

If the snake is venomous, it may inject some of its venom into the goat after biting it. In that sort of scenario, the goat’s life would be in danger.

But then again, goats seem to have this weird ability to survive some nasty venomous snake bites that most other animals wouldn’t survive.

Nonetheless, cases of goats dying following venomous snake bites abound.

Cases in which goats are bitten by non-venomous snakes tend to have better outcomes. The goats only remain with wounds, and some swelling. But those tend to resolve with time.

Much also depends on the snake bite’s location on the goat’s body. If, for instance, it is a bite to the legs, the outcomes may be better than if the bite is to the head.

How Do You Keep Snakes Away From Goats?

If you happen to keep goats, you may need to work out how to keep snakes away from them.

The presence of snakes can make goats very uncomfortable. Are goats afraid of snakes? The answer is ‘yes’, goats are very afraid of snakes. Thus the presence of snakes around can make goats’ lives very miserable.

And as we saw earlier, the snakes can hurt the goats. In fact, the snakes can kill the goats.

Due to all those facts, it is important to work out how to keep snakes away from goats.

One strategy you can use is that of clearing debris around where you keep the goats. That also includes clearing the bushes and tall grasses around. This way, the snakes will have no spots they can feel comfortable at.

Another strategy is to get rid of rodents and other things that the snakes can eat.

You should present the goats with water using containers that the snakes can’t access.

If you suspect that there are snakes around, you can use substances with strong scents to drive them away. Those include things such as garlic, onion, vinegar, sulfur and so on.

You can also use anti-snake fencing around where you keep the goats.

Final Verdict – Do Goats Keep Snakes Away

Goats are not capable of killing snakes. Neither do the goats have any reliable mechanism through which they can repel snakes. Therefore one can’t rely on goats to keep snakes away.

Granted, goats are always making hoof movements and stomping around. The earth vibrations that result from such constant hoof movements and stomping can make snakes very uncomfortable.

They may in some cases even drive snakes away. But for the most part, goats can’t be relied upon to keep snakes away.

If anything, anyone who keeps goats needs to figure out how to keep snakes away from them. That is because in some cases, the snakes may bite and hurt or even kill goats.

You can keep snakes away from goats by clearing any debris around. That also includes clearing bushes and tall grasses.

Getting rid of any rodents and other animals that are prey for snakes around may also help in driving the snakes away.

There are also certain scents, like those of onion, garlic and sulfur, that can repel snakes from the goat enclosures.

And there is also the possibility of using anti-snake fencing in the goat enclosure, to keep snakes away. 

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet goat a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️