Tail question.

[Queen Mum]

It is because of their top-line. A goat with a straighter, better top-line is going to naturally hold their tail up in a curl over their back. The more slope they have in their rump the more their tail looks like it is hanging down.

A tail curled up is a good thing. At least with boers.

Not true. It's breed specific. Some breeds have a tail that curls up and over and others do not. Also, bucks have a tendency to hold their tails up and over when they are rutting and trying to flag a female and does do it when they are flagging. Alpines with a straight backline often stand with their tail out or down. As do many Nubians. Length of tail also determines tail position. Some goats goats often wag their tails when happy and others curl their tails when happy.

I have 6 goats. Four of them have tails that hang down and they wag their tails when happy and almost never hold them up and over their backs. They are Alpine, Alpine/Nubian/Oberhauslie mix and Alpine/Oberhauslie mix. One of them is a Purebred mini Lamancha, Houdini. He almost NEVER has his tail down. He has to make a significant effort to uncurl it. He does wag his tail when he is very happy and when he wants food. The last is Jelly bean. Mini-Lamancha/dwarf Nigerian. She has a tail that is part of the time curled and part of the time down. She usually has a tail that is up. She hardly ever uses her tail to express herself.