Goat Thread!

[muddy75]

You have so many cute animals now! Not that you didn’t before but dang and are those guineas?

Those are my bb turkey poults……guineas due to hatch in a couple weeks

 

[ShrekDawg]

Those are my bb turkey poults……guineas due to hatch in a couple weeks

Ohhh okay. That’s awesome!!!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Okay fellow goat herders, I want your opinions & knowledge.

I started with 2 goats - a NG doe (Dahlia) and uncut buck (Peter) - that I adopted from the previous homeowner when I bought my house in 2020. I think these 2 were brother & sister but I really don't know.

Last fall, I bought another NG doe (Annie) to breed with my buck since Dahlia has never gotten pregnant. I assume she is infertile. Anyway, Annie had 2 kids back in early May. Before bringing Annie & her kids back into the goat pen, we set up a segregated area to keep Peter from trying to breed Annie or her little doeling, Maple. They can all still see & touch each other through the fence, but he can't get through it to breed.

Well Peter's pen is in the shade but it's a dry lot. He gets pellets every day and free access to hay at all times. Still he's been pretty lonely and depressed, especially when the girls go range in the pasture on fresh scrub & grass.

So today we picked up a heavy duty coated wire dog run and set it up in a shady spot in the pasture. It took DH and I some time to catch him with a slip lead and fight him all the way out there because he is NOT TAME by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn't have done it alone....

Anyway, he went running straight towards the girls. He couldn't reach them though because the wire only extends 50 - 60 ft. However, Dahlia went after him. It looked like she was really trying to actually fight him. She has long horns (see the picture below). I was very surprised since I'm pretty sure they grew up together and have always been just the 2 of them until last fall when we got Annie.

So here's my question. Is this normal behavior for a doe to act so dominant towards a buck? It appeared like she did not want him near Annie & the kids.

Dahlia & Peter

 

[ShrekDawg]

I don’t know the answer but they are adorable!

 

[lomine]

Okay fellow goat herders, I want your opinions & knowledge.

I started with 2 goats - a NG doe (Dahlia) and uncut buck (Peter) - that I adopted from the previous homeowner when I bought my house in 2020. I think these 2 were brother & sister but I really don't know.

Last fall, I bought another NG doe (Annie) to breed with my buck since Dahlia has never gotten pregnant. I assume she is infertile. Anyway, Annie had 2 kids back in early May. Before bringing Annie & her kids back into the goat pen, we set up a segregated area to keep Peter from trying to breed Annie or her little doeling, Maple. They can all still see & touch each other through the fence, but he can't get through it to breed.

Well Peter's pen is in the shade but it's a dry lot. He gets pellets every day and free access to hay at all times. Still he's been pretty lonely and depressed, especially when the girls go range in the pasture on fresh scrub & grass.

So today we picked up a heavy duty coated wire dog run and set it up in a shady spot in the pasture. It took DH and I some time to catch him with a slip lead and fight him all the way out there because he is NOT TAME by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn't have done it alone....

Anyway, he went running straight towards the girls. He couldn't reach them though because the wire only extends 50 - 60 ft. However, Dahlia went after him. It looked like she was really trying to actually fight him. She has long horns (see the picture below). I was very surprised since I'm pretty sure they grew up together and have always been just the 2 of them until last fall when we got Annie.

So here's my question. Is this normal behavior for a doe to act so dominant towards a buck? It appeared like she did not want him near Annie & the kids.

Dahlia & Peter
View attachment 3586564

I'd say that's pretty typical since you mixed up the herd order when you separated the buck. She's probably the herd queen so she's defending her herd. I find my does are only excepting a a buck in their space if they are in heat, even though they live side by side all year.

I suggest you get a buddy for Peter, either a wether or another buck. It will help him from getting lonely and you won't have to worry about constantly trying to integrate Peter with the girls.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Okay fellow goat herders, I want your opinions & knowledge.

I started with 2 goats - a NG doe (Dahlia) and uncut buck (Peter) - that I adopted from the previous homeowner when I bought my house in 2020. I think these 2 were brother & sister but I really don't know.

Last fall, I bought another NG doe (Annie) to breed with my buck since Dahlia has never gotten pregnant. I assume she is infertile. Anyway, Annie had 2 kids back in early May. Before bringing Annie & her kids back into the goat pen, we set up a segregated area to keep Peter from trying to breed Annie or her little doeling, Maple. They can all still see & touch each other through the fence, but he can't get through it to breed.

Well Peter's pen is in the shade but it's a dry lot. He gets pellets every day and free access to hay at all times. Still he's been pretty lonely and depressed, especially when the girls go range in the pasture on fresh scrub & grass.

So today we picked up a heavy duty coated wire dog run and set it up in a shady spot in the pasture. It took DH and I some time to catch him with a slip lead and fight him all the way out there because he is NOT TAME by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn't have done it alone....

Anyway, he went running straight towards the girls. He couldn't reach them though because the wire only extends 50 - 60 ft. However, Dahlia went after him. It looked like she was really trying to actually fight him. She has long horns (see the picture below). I was very surprised since I'm pretty sure they grew up together and have always been just the 2 of them until last fall when we got Annie.

So here's my question. Is this normal behavior for a doe to act so dominant towards a buck? It appeared like she did not want him near Annie & the kids.

Dahlia & Peter
View attachment 3586564

That’s normal behavior for a goat.
And if they are brother sister, don’t breed them together.

 

[muddy75]

Okay fellow goat herders, I want your opinions & knowledge.

I started with 2 goats - a NG doe (Dahlia) and uncut buck (Peter) - that I adopted from the previous homeowner when I bought my house in 2020. I think these 2 were brother & sister but I really don't know.

Last fall, I bought another NG doe (Annie) to breed with my buck since Dahlia has never gotten pregnant. I assume she is infertile. Anyway, Annie had 2 kids back in early May. Before bringing Annie & her kids back into the goat pen, we set up a segregated area to keep Peter from trying to breed Annie or her little doeling, Maple. They can all still see & touch each other through the fence, but he can't get through it to breed.

Well Peter's pen is in the shade but it's a dry lot. He gets pellets every day and free access to hay at all times. Still he's been pretty lonely and depressed, especially when the girls go range in the pasture on fresh scrub & grass.

So today we picked up a heavy duty coated wire dog run and set it up in a shady spot in the pasture. It took DH and I some time to catch him with a slip lead and fight him all the way out there because he is NOT TAME by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn't have done it alone....

Anyway, he went running straight towards the girls. He couldn't reach them though because the wire only extends 50 - 60 ft. However, Dahlia went after him. It looked like she was really trying to actually fight him. She has long horns (see the picture below). I was very surprised since I'm pretty sure they grew up together and have always been just the 2 of them until last fall when we got Annie.

So here's my question. Is this normal behavior for a doe to act so dominant towards a buck? It appeared like she did not want him near Annie & the kids.

Dahlia & Peter
View attachment 3586564

We’ve been having similar issues trying to figure out who can be with whom and where. I second the idea of getting a wether as a friend for Peter (or a llama ). I’m also looking into an apron for Rascal so that he can stay in main pasture without any accidental breeding with my little Pygmy “Beanie” Both my Pygmy boys are wethers so I could move one with rascal for company when the time comes to separate him.
Our issues have been more with the pigs…..we’re trying to figure out how to get all the pigs in the back area. The kunekunes and the IPP’s get along relatively well…..we just have to work out some separation in feeding but my Juliana pigs Natasha and Boris (barrow) hate the other pigs boris got whooped by Chrissy and Janet (IPP gilts)
and he tried to fight Ricky through the fence.
Good luck figuring your guys and gals out!

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'd say that's pretty typical since you mixed up the herd order when you separated the buck. She's probably the herd queen so she's defending her herd. I find my does are only excepting a a buck in their space if they are in heat, even though they live side by side all year.

I suggest you get a buddy for Peter, either a wether or another buck. It will help him from getting lonely and you won't have to worry about constantly trying to integrate Peter with the girls.

I mentioned that Annie had 2 kids in early May - a boy and a girl. I had the boy wethered. I was hoping to pen him up with Peter but not until he's fully weaned and a little older. His mama still let's him and his sister nurse from time to time. I also need to build a bigger goat house that can fit 2 - 3 fully grown goats. Peter currently uses a large doghouse but it's only big enough for him.

Thanks for giving me some insight on the behavior though. It helps me understand what is happening.

 

[TJAnonymous]

We’ve been having similar issues trying to figure out who can be with whom and where. I second the idea of getting a wether as a friend for Peter (or a llama ). I’m also looking into an apron for Rascal so that he can stay in main pasture without any accidental breeding with my little Pygmy “Beanie” Both my Pygmy boys are wethers so I could move one with rascal for company when the time comes to separate him.
Our issues have been more with the pigs…..we’re trying to figure out how to get all the pigs in the back area. The kunekunes and the IPP’s get along relatively well…..we just have to work out some separation in feeding but my Juliana pigs Natasha and Boris (barrow) hate the other pigs boris got whooped by Chrissy and Janet (IPP gilts)
and he tried to fight Ricky through the fence.
Good luck figuring your guys and gals out!

I definitely want to try a buck apron on Peter but catching him so I can measure him is a major ordeal and it's been FAR too hot (triple digits) to put him (or us) through that right now. Maybe once it cools down a bit... Not likely until September, unfortunately.

 

[muddy75]

I definitely want to try a buck apron on Peter but catching him so I can measure him is a major ordeal and it's been FAR too hot (triple digits) to put him (or us) through that right now. Maybe once it cools down a bit... Not likely until September, unfortunately.

I understand! I managed to get a collar on rascal the day we brought him home but haven’t been able to do much with him yet beyond that. We had to make some changes in the pasture yesterday though…..sometime before we got home, he managed to get his horns and foot tangled in the netting I had around my chicken coop we got him free and he seemed to recover but it was scary! We removed all the electric inside the pasture for now.