Need awnsers to goat behavior

[Crazy4cochins]

Hi ,I am new to this section. Love my chickens but i am getting a couple goats from my freind and need advise.
1. How to let them know I am the boss right off the bat.I have experience with dog training Is it the same ?
2. the buck has horns, I am scared will he try to hook me?
3. I am getting the female she may be pregnant, when i house them and do find out she is expecting do I need to make a seperate house for Papa?
thanks for helping me, I am going to care for them on the weekends till I have their spot ready.
Give me the best advise , I am kinda scared still, I use to be scared of my chickens till i got familiar.
Can I get the male castrated or should I leave him???
He seems way more relaxed than the young Boy pygmy.I am not keeping the young pygmy.

 

[dixygirl]

You seem a bit afraid of the animals and like you need to be their boss so they don't run over you. They will sense the fear. I wouldn't focus on bossing but rather bonding in a confident loving manner so they see you as like the nurturing mother herd leader instead of the fearful dominant boss personally.

They will be looking to you for firm loving direction. Think of them as your kids that you love and that should go a long way far as them behaving you. Remember you are bigger than them so you don't really need to be afraid, just careful. Think of the horns as a handle you can use to grab too instead of worrying.

Whether you wether him or not depends on what you want to do with them. If you want to breed her then you would not want to. But of course he will be milder mannered if you do. If you don't want her bred then I would definitely house them separately. What kind are they?

I would put them on a leash and walk them all around to show them their new home. Spend some time with them petting and bonding so your fear will diminish. Then put them in an enclosure with some food and water for the night. Try to spend time with them daily at a regular time so they start to look forward to seeing you.

You should do fine
Good luck

 

[sanctuaryworker]

dixy, I totally agree with you about the horns...

We have several wethers some with very very large horns and they never use them for evil... sometimes for fun but never for evil.

Horns I think are nice becuase they do make great handles, and if a goat does come after you they are easy to grab onto.

Good luck goats are wonderful!

 

[FrizzleFreak]

Horns...really depends on his past experiences. The only goat that I have had to handle with horns knew that he could hurt people with them. And he did. On the plus side, they make GREAT handles.
Goats are VERY food motivated. Get them to connect you with food, they will love you and respect you-if they are bad, they don't get food until they're good.
I would castrate the male-otherwise he needs a seperate pen, which you will have to replace every two weeks when the doe goes into heat, he will have more attitude, he will smell bad. And wethers are just great.
Something I do with new sheep/goats is put them in a small pasture, and I sit right smack dab in the middle. They realize that I'm not evil, and they grow to ignore me or mug me for food.

P.S. I AM NOT SAYING TO STARVE YOUR GOATS! Just don't reward them for bad behavior.

 

[Crazy4cochins]

I am not fearful of animals, I have a fear of their intelligence.
I can train a big dog no problem but Goats are very smart and I have not raised them from babies, so I was askin to see if they can be sneaky devils. i am going to start to bring them over to my house and let them eat brush and do what you said about the treats thing. I have faith in myself I just am new and don't have the experience that you all have. I have read and read but it's always real life experience that helps. Thanks for all the suggestions.
As for breeding them I do not want alot of goats. Maybe just a few
I do believe that the nanny is a Oberhasli and the buck looks like a
Nigerian. They are around 60ish lbs. maybe.
I wanted nigerians but I found that the oberhasli is a rare breed here and if you bred her to the Nigerian they can be papered as a Obernian in the 6th generation. But I need to know if they have to have papers? I just want goats!!! I love them, had a mini nubian when i was a kid. plus i cannot afford to buy my Nigerians and these are pretty much free. And i have read that these two breeds are suppose to be friendly, they will have to be if they are in our family, I have 2 kids to. Plus my great dane seems to like them, she goes over to there pen in the morning and watches them.
Thanks again to all of you. hope to show then off soon.
Going to go to the library also and get some books.

 

[farrier!]

Dog training does not work on herd animals like goats and horses.
If you approach the goats like dogs all of you will be extremely unhappy with the results.
Herd animals are hard wired differently then pack animals. There reactions differ along with their expectations of their leader.
They do best with a friendly nonconformational unscary leader. My daughter at 7 would "walk" around 40 acres with 12 goats following her.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

JMO
Well, I have to disagree with the "horns as handles" statements.
They do make great places to grab onto a goat with, but it also teaches the goat to try to escape by using his horns to avoid being caught. Just like pushing on their heads teaches them to butt.

If at all possible, I never grab a goat by the horns.
I agree with farrier on the unscary leader. If you are grabbing them by the horns and dragging them around, they will not bond to you and will be wary of your actions while in the pen with them.
Don't underestimate the power of a pygmy goat with horns. They can take you down as easily as a full sized goat.

Our Jacob four horn sheep could put our big Brahman bull on his knees, and my little de-horned pygmy billy could knock me down before we came to an understanding that he was not the boss.

Goats ears are very sensitive, and just a few well-placed flicks on them from your fingers will get their attention without even touching their horns. They will learn quickly not to butt or push you around. Once they respect you, they can be the friendliest and gentle creatures.

Jean

 

[Crazy4cochins]

thanks for that. I do that flicking the ear thing to my dogs and cats.
So the little boy pygmy is kinda rough and snorts all the time ,is this an aggressive act or just trying to intimidate me?
He comes up close and kinda snorts and acts curious. How should I get him to back up? Do I go towards him or stand my ground or act like I don't see him? If I push the side of his face won't that make him wanna head butt me, Should I try to nudge the shoulders or bum to get them to move? I don't wanna SET THEM OFF.
I am most worried about mr. pygmy. The buck with horns seems calmer but I will not ever turn my back on him, just in case.... Any ideas what is the bestest treats to get them?
they are on a poor diet right now and need to figure out how to
feed them right. Nannie is maybe pregnant and the lady says she has kidded twice and both times baby didn't make it, well if you fed them right maybe they would survive!!!
Sorry get annoyed with people like that. They were givin to her from someone who obviously didn't feed them well either.
I would like any info link from anyone who can tell me what to do
about the babies if she is pregnant. I want them to be super tame.
I know that my baby chicks in the chickens coop are crazy wild and i like my animals to be handled eaisly in case I have to mess with them.
Hooves - I doubt there feet are in good shape.
Can you tell me how the best way to trim hoofs are?
I am sorry I keep having soo many questions but I think it's best to be prepared to much than not enough
Thanks guys.

 

[dixygirl]

Quote:
You really sound scared! Do you think this is a good idea?
Goats make burping and snorting sounds sometimes when they are just digesting their food. As far as him approaching you, that could be a good sign that he LIKES YOU and is curious about you. Not necessarilly that he wants to hurt you.
"Stand your ground" with a small 20 inch animal that doesnt even come up to your knees ??? What's wrong with this picture? You sound like this is a bull and not a tiny animal that is the size of a small doggie.

Maybe the best thing you can do would be to spend some more time with them before you take them home to get over your fear of them attacking you. Maybe you can only get does (females) and only with NO HORNS. Because you seem very afraid of the little tiny male and his horns. Do you have a small child size body frame? I have never had a goat attack me. I have never even had a huge 1200 pound horse attack me either. Knock on wood. I got kicked by accident, had my toes stepped on, but never attacked.

Maybe after you keep them a while or visit them a bit more, you will know if you are biting off more than you can chew. But I think you might want just hornless does of a very small breed.

 

[farrier!]

<<<How should I get him to back up? Do I go towards him or stand my ground or act like I don't see him? If I push the side of his face won't that make him wanna head butt me, Should I try to nudge the shoulders or bum to get them to move?>>

Why do you want him to back up? Again this is not a dog but a prey animal. Scare him bad enough and he will never let you within feet of him again.

Prey animals will accept you as a member of their group or treat you as a threat. It sounds like he may be willing to accept you. Becoming the head of the herd is easy. Simply make the goats move out of your way. Nothing mean or nasty and NO HITTING, just simply walk into them.

It takes a lot of wrong handling to make a herd animal "mean". Mean goats and horses are created not born that way. It takes a person to totally screw up a herd animal.

Be gentle and easy with your goats, not domineering, an they will be the same with you. Scare them and give them no option they will eventually learn that they can bully and scare you. They will be as your treat and handle them.

My daughter was 7 with her first goats, at 10 she had 20. All hers and all nice easy to handle by her. She did all the work herself. I only helped with worming and trimming.

As far as feeing goes any high quality horse or goat feed will help with the nutrition and pregnancy. Also worming.