Outsmarting a goat! I need help!

[nzpouter]

tether her to a tyre.

 

[MissCluck]

I agree that goat friends can make all the difference. My Nigerian Pygmy can leap over four feet if he has a mind to it.

My fence is just a little over five feet and I know he could scale it if he was frightened but I've worked hard at making him comfortable in his paddock and pasture with the other goats.

If you have a content goat that is more quiet your goat should be happy to stay. Good luck to you! They are the dickens, aren't they!

 

[feathrencox]

Ok, let me first off say a big THANK YOU to all who have posted comments. Some made me laugh, some made me think, others made me feel like a horrible goat mom...but nevertheless...thank you!

Like I stated this is my third pygmy, and I've always only owned 1 at a time. This one is a spoiled pet and there isn't really an option of getting rid of her. I think one of my big problems is YES, that she is lonely because she has been raised with my flock of chickens and she stays with them all day long. What I've been doing for months is just letting her roam around all day loose, which is fine because like I said, she stays with the chickens and I think in some sense protects them from hawks and other animals but she finds trouble to get into like I've never seen my past goats do! So I've been trying to put her in her barnyard and she just keeps escaping. Plus, she is NOTORIOUS for eating the chicken feed and has outsmarted me in that area also! I even have a hanging feeder in the coop up REALLY high and she can get to it.

I would love to get another pygmy but afraid how to introduce them. I'm also wanting to breed her...any ideas on when she might go into heat? She was born (I almost wrote "hatched" because I was thinking chickens...

) April 28th of 2008.

When I left for work around 1130 am, she was STILL in the barnyard but a couple chickens had flown over the fence and were with her...so as long as they stay in there, I don't think she will try and escape. I guess I will find out when I get home.

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
I always have put them together and let them sort out the herd order. One will be dominant - just like a pecking order.

 

[feathrencox]

So is it easier to have 2 goats than 1? I need some feedback!

Do they fight over food and have a pecking order like any other animal? I would like to get a billy but have always been afraid of their smell because I've heard horror stories. Like I said, I would like to breed her.

 

[MissCluck]

Yup - smell isn't quite the word for that billy goat scent! They pee on their faces. Blech.

I had two - added one.....big fights....added two more and things have settled down to a nice mix. I have two does and three wethers.

See? All you have to do is get five goats! hee hee

 

[feathrencox]

You are speaking to someone that would love one (or more) of anything! Don't tell me to get 5! I might be tempted! My husband is a city boy through and through and as much as he loves Lily the goat, I really don't think he would be keen on 5! He doesn't even want me to get more chickens! Yeah, he's no fun!

 

[kannm]

Our goat, oreo, was an amazing fence climber, she would run and use her speed to launch her right up the side of a five foot chain link fence, until we got her a friend. We had to go back and buy her sister cookie to keep her company. After her sister showed up, she was happy to stay in her pen.

 

[feathrencox]

Ok, I will look into it this week. I can't wait to see if she's in the pen when I go home from work or if she greets me in the driveway with the flock of chickens! This goat was a "god send" if you believe in things like that. My previous goat, Molly, had died at the beginning of August and I was contemplating getting another and I prayed about and even talked to my Dad who passed away in 2004. "Dad, if I'm meant to have a goat, show it to me. Put it in my arms." A few days later I was at a local fair and this woman had multiple pygmies with babies and I rounded the corner and my daughter was holding one. I was like Awww, how cute! THe owner started talking to me and just picked one up, put it in my arms, and said ,"This one's for sale" without me asking or anything! That was enough of a "SIGN" for me, that she needed to come home with me!

I don't know if I can top that story with going to get another one! I guess I will ask my Dad again if I'm supposed to have another one!

 

[feathrencox]

Quote:
Guess who was running with the chickens and greeted me at my car when I arrived home? Yep, Miss Lily! I talked to my husband about what you all have said and I think I might have him convinced that I NEED another goat! He even went out to feed the chickens and the goat tonight and was commenting on how cute Lily was! AWWWW! Another goat might be in my future......