Help for my goats please

[Veteran81]

I have two young 7-8 month old Alpine wether goats. They were very gentle and sweet to everyone. Unfortunately some irresponsible dog owners dogs breached my fence line for bloodlust and tore them up pretty good. (Side note, Sheriff Dept. apprehended the dogs and they were put down along with the owner being fined and paying restitution) They've since healed their wounds but are pretty much traumatized, stubborn, and irritable now. They used to come up to me, now they back away from me or anyone else. Not the same boys anymore. They get mean.

I'm not sure what to do here. I've tried spraying them with water, treats when they are acting well, when they get too feisty I take them down, Rest them and pet them, try to show affection, I feel like they are pretty much ruined. Anything I do for reinforcement and control is only doing them more harm it seems. It's sad but I understand what they went through with that ordeal and how uncomfortable they are and probably feel on their own property. I'm open to any ideas or help.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Anything negative you do to them like water spraying or taking them down is making things worse, goats do not respond well to such things, they are animals of trust and you are unfortunately breaking that down, 99% of your interactions with them should be positive and kind, saving the 1% for when you have to do unpleasant things like shots and worming.

You need to back off and start over, offering treats and kind petting, perhaps over a fence so they don't feel like you might do something to them, it will take a while before they are comfortable with you, goats respond to kindness, not punishment. The dogs probably traumatized them, them whatever treatment was needed for them to heal didn't help.

Never play head butting games with them this only makes everything worst, walk away and ignore them, they have each other for such things.

 

[cassie]

You might try taking them out one at a time, tying them up short and then grooming them, handling them, petting them and giving them treats. Put them on a lead rope and take them for a daily walk too. This works for cattle. I think it ought to work for goats. It is not going to be an overnight process and you need to do this every day. You need to regain their trust.

The only time I have ever taken a goat down was in the case of a not-too-bright buckling that butted me. He was the only buck that ever did that to me and he only did it once. If he had done it a second time he would have been somebody's dinner. That said, I can't imagine what a wether would have done to require such severe discipline.

 

[Veteran81]

Thanks for the responses. Ill take these all into consideration. Never has there been any head butt games with these two in regards to humans. Downside might be that my girlfriend is a vet tech and treated their wounds while I assisted. So yes they probably don't like us anymore for that even though it was in the best interest for them and their physical wounds have healed completely. I like Cassie's idea. At the time a few days before attack they were freshly banded for castration. I think the timing was just bad all around on this situation. It was after all this that this aggression has played out to the point that I had to take the bigger one down from being too feisty and hooking, reopening the others wounds constantly. I don't think it was wrong for me to step in and take him down to keep him from causing damage to the other. I probably should've been more specific with those details. I apologize.

 

[cassie]

Do these goats have horns? Some people like horns but personally I hate them for a lot of reasons. One reason is that they can hurt you with them either accidentally or on purpose and I have had goats get their horns caught in fences and feeders. That said, some people manage horned goats with no issues at all. A goat with a full set of horns can look magnificent and if nothing else they make great handles. A friend of mine had an Alpine buck with an enormous rack. He was always a gentleman and his horns were a sight to behold. When he died she took his head to the taxidermist and had it mounted. It is now hanging on her living room wall.

If they have horns and you want to remove them send me a private message and I will tell you how to do it. It isn't pretty but it can be done. We have taken many horns off even mature goats. However, if you keep working with these animals and they learn some basic manners, even with horns they should be OK as pets.