goat manners

magdabauer · #1 06/29/06, 12:33 AM

is there any way to teach goats good behavior? my two (they are large) have pulled the siding off the house right down to the tar paper (which they also ate), slid open the window, jumped in the house and ate the houseplants and curtains (and left "presents"), jumped up and down on the toyota (and left presents), chewed the antenna off 2 cars, turned over the garbage cans, pulled clothes off the clothesline (and ate them judiciously), ate all the strawberry plants, pull on my hair as i am trying to garden. . . (i could go on ad infinitum). the only thing they're NOT eating is blackberry bushes!! they have a very nice barn and fenced-in area but i can't bear to hear them crying to get out so they can (see above). also, they hate being tied up (and i can't bear to hear them complain). maybe i'm crazy?? they love to be around me and my 9 (!) huge dogs (anatolians, rottweiler, great dane, retriever) and i love them dearly but they are such a pain in the arse!!! any advice? how do you teach a goat "NO" (i don't want to eat them).

westbrook · #2 06/29/06, 12:34 AM

hot wire works wonders at teaching manners!

Jillis · #3 06/29/06, 05:28 AM

Do you have kids? Do you let them do anything and everything they want because you can't bear to hear them cry?

Boundaries are good for kids. And for critters. If you want your goats to be safe and happy, keep them in their barn and pen. It may take a little more endurance of the complaints they will give since they have become accustomed to a free-for-all lifestyle.

Otherwise, you'll just have to put up with it.

If any of my goats did any of the mischeif you posted about on a consistent basis they would be history.

Don't take their "crying" too seriously. I've got a little Nigie that is a drama queen par excellance. Sooner or later they stop crying and get interested in something else. Just like kids.

AnnaS · #4 06/29/06, 05:30 AM

Good fences are the best cure- I have fenced in my garden and orchard. You could also try a shock collar to teach what is off limits. You'll only need to zap one since they will all learn.

The Goat word for "danger" is a whooshing sneeze. If you've sneezed around them, you'll see how they freeze and sometimes run for the barn. They will instantly stop what they're doing.

I gave up and accepted hoofprints on the car roof and landscaping with thornbushes.

Alice In TX/MO · #5 06/29/06, 06:16 AM

Your goats do not have behavior problems. They are perfectly normal for goats!

The problem is you are a sucker

for goat manipulation, and your goats know this. :baby04:

GET TOUGH!!

Lizi · #6 06/29/06, 06:46 AM

You have answered your own question! By putting the goats in the fenced in area you are...BEING A GOOD GOAT MOTHER. Keeping your babies safe, knowing where they are, etc. That is why I have mine in a nice pen, they have a barn to go to when it rains, they like boundaries and knowing their limits. If you must succumb to their whining, take them out on a lead for a while. They sure have you trained well!

trob1 · #7 06/29/06, 06:56 AM

I go in and play with my goats in their pen. They are not allowed out. What they have never had can never be missed. Now I do have a 5 mo buckling that I named Turk but should have named him wendal winer. He loves to cry but I let him and go about my business. But I do spend alot of time in the goat barn with my goats.

susieM · #8 06/29/06, 07:01 AM

They have you well trained.

Faithful Heart · #9 06/29/06, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jillis

Do you have kids? Do you let them do anything and everything they want because you can't bear to hear them cry?

Boundaries are good for kids. And for critters.

Don't take their "crying" too seriously. I've got a little Nigie that is a drama queen par excellance. Sooner or later they stop crying and get interested in something else. Just like kids.

This right here is just how I'd put it.

Do your 9 dogs have "manners"? Are they allowed to pee on the stereo speakers in the house or kitchen table legs? (I had a dog that did that before learning it was a No-No. That's why I say that.

) It seems to me that the only answer you have at this time with them as spoiled as they are is to hot wire all the bad areas in the main yard, or keep them in THEIR yard.

Once you have a spoiled anything - child, dog, cat, goat - it's pretty hard to start teaching them manners. Especially the smarter they are, and the better they have you manipulated. I'd place goats in a pretty smart category.

Queen Bee · #10 06/29/06, 09:20 AM

OHHHHH are you in for a time! You might have to buy some ear plugs! Best place for them is in their nice, safe pen.. Put a chair in there and you go visit them when you can... build, buy or find them 'toys' --IMHO, the worse problem with/ for any animal is boredom!! Haul a lot of dirt for the middle of their pen, buy those balls they have for horses or a big ball, put one of those cement things that go under driveways in there for them to play on.... Find things that they can have fun with INSIDE the fence..... QB

**mygoat** · #11 06/29/06, 10:05 AM

The reason they may want out of thier pen is because they don't have anything to do, as well. Get them some toys : Free old truck caps, Wire spools (with a board or two nailed on each end to cover the holes up) Cinder blocks (not stacked too high!!) Tires (either hanging from a tree or on the ground). And maybe they need more browse/grazing. The goat pen should be as large as possible to allow them as much browse/grazing as possible. Try enlarging thier pen.

mymaybaby05 · #12 06/29/06, 10:12 AM

I know they really aren't "cute" when they are being naughty but the mental pictures that I got when you were telling about all the things they had been up to were kinda cute to me. Lots of luck with your bratt

pack!