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Oops! Funny the things you find out in person. Kind of like dating on-line, eh? You don't know what you're dealing with until you're face-to-face....
No doubt the goat had some "Uh-oh" vibes....animals are sensitive like that and probably realized something was hinky. I always found it interesting, too, that some people who've raised goats don't spend the time as they're kids socializing them.... It makes it far more easier to catch them, vet them, kid them, milk them. With my pygmy babies I couldn't help but cuddle the cuties...made for some real nice lap goats. Bottle raising is best for that, but you don't need to bottle raise a goat to have a friendly goat! I'd pick one up, sing it a song, put it down and darned if that goatie didn't line up and want to be picked up the next day...and I cannot carry a tune! They just really enjoy the human interaction, especially if it is pleasurable and imprinted early on them. And, yes, I've had my share of owning other people's *starter* goats...one in particular comes to mind that didn't like to be touched AT ALL and hadn't been handled much. Made it difficult for catching, etc... I bred her to one of Whirlwind Farm's Merlin** sons and sold her as a broodie as there wasn't much else one could do with her... The baby turned out nice, but the mama was a pain until the day she passed.
As a suggestion in the interim, Aubrey, go to the County Fair and visit the livestock section and get a good look at the goats and talk to the folks. Most goat people are happy to prattle on about this and that aspect of goat ownership. It will also give you an idea of size, breed, temperment, etc., as to what you're getting into.
(** Merlin was like the Secretariat or Man o' War of pygmy goat foundation/show stock. His owner, Linda Henwood, was gracious enough to open her buck barn and allow me to breed some of my does to him and his sons back in the day.)
I've met Linda befre she is so nice. I went to a SPGA meeting in May.
