goat people..!

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Originally Posted by Royal_Rodents

:O

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Lol, no kidding. I doubt my pit and rottie could be trained at this point.

aww taht would be awesome ot have a pit and rottie. to guard your goats. I wonder if my choclate lab is able to hmmmm:rolleyes:

Years ago (I'm talking 20 years ago!) I had a huge white milk goat. I was Mamma Natural back then and milked her for my oldest child (like she appreciated the effort! :rolleyes:).

Anyways, I found out dogs and goats don't mix well sometimes especially when not raised together. The goat was perfectly safe, our poor female Labrador, Shadow, who just wanted to make a new friend got rammed into the barn wall a few times and gave up the idea that goats make good buddies.

Jen, we did tie out Dolly Parton the milking goat (okay laugh it up, she was ummm well built for her job!). I only did it when I could be right there to watch her and she seemed to enjoy being staked out by my garden and getting all sorts of culled veggies to munch on. She did manage to get loose a couple of times but thankfully went no further than the front yard where she could harrass said Labrador who was trying to nap on the porch (note: never leave a goat staked out while you go get a cold drink...they are just waiting for the opportunity to escape...don't be fooled by their innocent "I'm just sleeping in the shade" routine).

Goats have a wierd sense of humor! LOL

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Jen, we did tie out Dolly Parton the milking goat (okay laugh it up, she was ummm well built for her job!).

Goats have a wierd sense of humor! LOL

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Hahahah I am!

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Originally Posted by Epona142

I find I must politely disagree :)

You should never keep only one goat. You'll find that goats kept alone will be destructive, bored, and intent on getting out of their pen. Goats are extremely social creatures, and must be kept in pairs at the least.

It's awesome your goat stays around, but it doesn't always happen so well, and there are dangers to a loose goat. For example, I once had a goat I found on the road, apparently lost. I didn't bother to put him in the fenced goat yard, I just let him run on our large property, as at the time, we didn't have any other goats (my parents kept a small herd of meat goats for many years). Sure, for a while he stuck around my horse, but eventually he became so lonely he left. He made his way all the way down the road, living with one neighbor after another until he found a neighbor with some other goats, where he stayed.

Sure, goats will do everything in their power to get out of their fence. If they can. The point is to insure they cannot. Which can take a bit of time and effort, but can be done! My goats got out a couple of times, pinpointing weaknesses in their enclosure, and after those were rectified, they no longer get out. Loose goats are in terrible danger from loose dogs, cars, and other people.

Anyways, your goat is absolutely darling! I love that coloring. There is no doubt he will get out of the fencing I see there, you're quite right they don't respect fencing like a horse will! It's great he sticks around even when he gets out. If you'd like to discourage him butting you, you can try a squirt bottle, I'm sure you know how much they hate to get wet. As for aggression in goats, this is less about the sex of the goat and more about how they were raised. I've had all three sexes (bucks, does, and wethers) and have experienced the extremes in all cases. Bucks however, DO have a smell and some very unpleasent habits. A doe and a wether are always a good bet, or two does, or two wethers even, if you never want to have any kids.

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We must have gotten really lucky then!!! We do have sheep as well....do you think he sticks around because of them? It's quite a ways for him to get to the house let alone any road. We have a hay feild around the horse pasture, so that's where we always find him. He comes running for a pet and walks in the horse pasture gate with us.

The owner before us had him as the only goat with several horses (so I thought that was the best way to keep goats and horses). The same thing happened. He walked in and out of her fences, but never went far. Both farms were secluded from other farms, houses, roads, and other animals in general. We've had him for two years and she had him for 3. Pure luck I suppose!

Thanks for the info about the water bottle and him head butting us!

Sounds like he's bonded with horses for sure, and maybe the sheep as well, which is why he sticks around. Which is great! :)

What works for one goat or goat owner, doesn't always work for another, that's something to always keep in mind too. They're as varied as pet dogs! And from what I've learned, just as smart...or smarter in the case of my husband's dog. :D

I hope the water bottle trick helps, it sure stopped my doe from ramming the gate! (When I'm around anyways.) :P