Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
If youâve ever lived in Maine in the winterâŠyou know your mind drifts to all kinds of meaningless thinking for which there is no room during the busy warmer months!
This leads us to todayâs line of thinking! Do goats prefer drinking water from
a certain color bucket? đȘŁ Weâll have to continue our research during the weeks ahead, but it does appear that they prefer lighter buckets (light blue & pink) to (dark green & black). Farmers with cows, sheep or goats, weigh in on your own observations in the comments!
Since I want the herd to drink plenty of water, if I continue to find they prefer sipping from lighter colors, I may have to replace our black buckets with light blue over time!
I did the test during the day and also noticed they drink very little during the day in the winter. (In the summer we refill l their water constantly.) In the winter, they drink a lot of water after dinner and through the night (usually emptying 3-4 big buckets and a couple smaller ones each evening.)
Tonight I did a little research about why goats might prefer lighter buckets, and there is not a lot of research, but a couple of folks suggested that since goats are prey animals, they may be more watchful for predators of all kinds. While they can see to the bottom of a light bucket, the black ones make it much harder to see into the water. Who knows what could be lurking in the dark đ
A fun diversion as we face an extra cold, icy, snowy start to winter! I hope you are staying well hydrated and enjoying the month! Thanks for stopping by the farm friends!
PsâŠdespite their reputation, it always amazes me how picky goats are about their water. They would rather suffer from thirst than drink from a bucket with anything floating in it!
If youâve ever lived in Maine in the winterâŠyou know your mind drifts to all kinds of meaningless thinking for which there is no room during the busy warmer months!
This leads us to todayâs line of thinking! Do goats prefer drinking water from
a certain color bucket? đȘŁ Weâll have to continue our research during the weeks ahead, but it does appear that they prefer lighter buckets (light blue & pink) to (dark green & black). Farmers with cows, sheep or goats, weigh in on your own observations in the comments!
Since I want the herd to drink plenty of water, if I continue to find they prefer sipping from lighter colors, I may have to replace our black buckets with light blue over time!
I did the test during the day and also noticed they drink very little during the day in the winter. (In the summer we refill l their water constantly.) In the winter, they drink a lot of water after dinner and through the night (usually emptying 3-4 big buckets and a couple smaller ones each evening.)
Tonight I did a little research about why goats might prefer lighter buckets, and there is not a lot of research, but a couple of folks suggested that since goats are prey animals, they may be more watchful for predators of all kinds. While they can see to the bottom of a light bucket, the black ones make it much harder to see into the water. Who knows what could be lurking in the dark đ
A fun diversion as we face an extra cold, icy, snowy start to winter! I hope you are staying well hydrated and enjoying the month! Thanks for stopping by the farm friends!
PsâŠdespite their reputation, it always amazes me how picky goats are about their water. They would rather suffer from thirst than drink from a bucket with anything floating in it!
