Not exactly what I wanted

beewench · #1 09/01/10, 11:24 AM

So, my silly husband went and got me 2 doe kids for my birthday. We have no fencing except a small pasture, they are dam raised and almost totally people shy and they are Boer/Nubian crosses!! How can I be mad at him though...they were free and I know he was just trying to do something nice for me.

So, we finally got the fencing up, about 1/4 of an acre for the two of them. But I was wondering if you guys could give me some tips for "taming" them...? I mean, they dont totally run away, they are curious but dont like to be petted really.

Also, their dam was never milked so I have no idea what kind of milkers these are going to become. Has anybody ever had any luck with nubian/boer crosses as good milkers?

TIA for your help!
BTW, if you want pictures they are on my blog. I cant post here because I post from my iphone and have a hard time with copying and pasting

-=Sarah
www.beewench.blogspot.com

southerngurl · #2 09/01/10, 12:00 PM

Just watch for CL!

Go out there daily and give them their grain and stand close enough that they don't leave, but aren't totally comfortable. Stay there until they relax and then leave. Work up to being closer and closer and end with petting and leaving before they do, eventually start feeding them from your hands. It's all downhill from there.

pygmybabies · #3 09/01/10, 12:02 PM

when we brought home the nanny and her baby she wanted nothing to do with me, i just let her come to the milk stand with her momma twice a day and now she comes to me and lets me pet her. Our boer still wont come to us, and she was never fed grain so she wont take any of that. when she is laying down and i am taking care of the others I just grab her and pet her and talk to her, she still doesnt come to me, but she will follow me somewhat, and when I grab her she doesnt kick as much stay much more calm, i just do that everyday she is getting better.

Cheribelle · #4 09/01/10, 12:04 PM

I am trying to tame 3 weanlings. I have them in a small pen with a tame sibling. When I take out there feed (fresh cut weeds, alfalfa pellets, small amount of sweet feed) I sit on a stool with the feed pan between my feet. I hand feed a few pellets, and pet them as they come in to eat. 1 is coming along faster, but they will all eat out of my hand. Just been 2 days tho. They are polled, black and white paint doelings, so worth it!

Creamers · #5 09/01/10, 12:22 PM

The more you handle them, the better chance of taming them.

I will warn, we have NEVER been able to tame the 12 week old Pygmies or Nigerian that came to us dam raised. I know some people have good luck though, and it has to do with how often you can get out and work with them.

Do not assume they will tame down just from being fed by you and seeing you at feeding time. They will not.

As the first responder mentioned, watch for signs of lumps from CL. Very contagious and a real problem in Boer herds - but you can see it in any breed.

With regards to milking, it depends on how much boer is in the them and the milk lines of the Nubian they are crossed with, but Boers have a much shorter production period. . .The kids look
fairly high percentage Boer to me.

Congrats on the kids - they are cute. I'd worm them with Cydectin and be sure to offer a high quality loose mineral made for goats.

beewench · #6 09/01/10, 01:31 PM

They will eat out of my hands and let me pet them while they are eating...and they sort of come up to me when I first come into their pen. But its very cautious and "civilized" not this mass of pet me! pet me! like Ive experienced with other goats.

I was told they were 1/2 and 1/2, Nubian and Boer, but agree they do look very Boer.

Im picking up the minerals today and will ask about the Cydectin.

-=Sarah
www.beewench.blogspot.com

farmmom · #7 09/01/10, 01:43 PM

I've also heard that raisins make great treats for taming with. I haven't tried it, but it might be worth a try!

Rockytopsis · #8 09/01/10, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beewench

They will eat out of my hands and let me pet them while they are eating...and they sort of come up to me when I first come into their pen. But its very cautious and "civilized" not this mass of pet me! pet me! like Ive experienced with other goats.

I was told they were 1/2 and 1/2, Nubian and Boer, but agree they do look very Boer.

Im picking up the minerals today and will ask about the Cydectin.

-=Sarah
www.beewench.blogspot.com

If they are eating out of your hand you have it made. Get some animal crackers and crumble on in the feed in your hand. Then after they are used to that just break it in half in your hand with the feed. Before long they will come to you begging for animal crackers.

DH uses this trick to "tame" our goats and every morning he is surrounded by 41 goats begging for their share of animal crackers.

He even has the chickens begging for a cracker.

Nancy

Creamers · #9 09/01/10, 01:54 PM

If they will eat out of your hand, they should not be too hard to tame. My Pygmies never would do that . . and years later. .. they still will not.

**mygoat** · #10 09/01/10, 02:01 PM

Goats LOVE their shoulders scratched. I find that if they'll eat out of my hand and I slowly get them used to their shoulders being scratched, they'll quickly learn that the benefits of being my friend outweigh the benefits of being my enemy.

I have several dam raised kids that I've tamed. I prefer bottle raising simply because it's easier to tame them... but I can pet all of my goats but one doe and the mini bucklings from this year... and those all are slated for butchering this fall. Most people think all of my does are bottle raised... when in truth, the most standoffish doe I have is a bottle baby, and the friendliest ones are all dam raised.

Pony · #11 09/01/10, 02:20 PM

I'm smiling, remembering how Beaux was when he first came to us.

He wouldn't eat out of my hand, but he did TRY. For some reason, he's LD for hand-feeding. LOL!

He's a good boy now, and will come over to me if he knows I'm not out there to trim nails or bathe the stinky pee off his face.

Oat Bucket Farm · #12 09/01/10, 02:27 PM

We had a Nubian/Boer cross and she gave 1/2 gallon of delicious milk a day as a FF.

beewench · #13 09/01/10, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oat Bucket Farm

We had a Nubian/Boer cross and she gave 1/2 gallon of delicious milk a day as a FF.

Thanks for this!

-=Sarah
www.beewench.blogspot.com

Whisperwindkat · #14 09/01/10, 07:43 PM

When I got my first two Nubians, they were wild....very wild. If I came through the gate they went to the farthest corner of the pasture and stood there on high alert ready to dash off if I came toward them. However, they quickly learned that I was the food lady. So every feeding, I would stand in the barn and talk to them. I stood far enough away from the food that they could eat without feeling pressured by me. One of them came around sooner than the other, but both have become such pests. They see me come out to the barn and they head to their milk stands and are waiting when I get there. They are the first to come running when I call the herd from the woods. I never made any attempt to touch them, they made first contact by coming to me and putting their head against my hand. Now they are both big babies. As for a boer nubian cross I have a first freshener that is giving me a quart a day and still nursing twins. I only milk once a day so could probably get more from her. The only complaint that I have about her is the size of her teats....itty bitty. Her milk is really rich and creamy though. I think you will like your girls...just give them time and they will come around.

farmmom · #15 09/01/10, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oat Bucket Farm

We had a Nubian/Boer cross and she gave 1/2 gallon of delicious milk a day as a FF.

I've got 2 Nubian/Boer does in milk. One gives better than a gallon a day. The other gives close to 1/2 gallon on half an udder. (The other half doesn't function due to some sort of trauma, I believe) The milk is wonderful, very creamy!

Freeholder · #16 09/01/10, 10:58 PM

Ooops. Double-post.

Freeholder · #17 09/01/10, 11:01 PM

I had an Oberhasli X Boer doe for a while, and at five years old, she peaked at fourteen pounds of milk a day (nearly two gallons). Depends on the parents of your doe kids, obviously, but the potential is there for them to be good milkers.

A couple of years ago, I ended up with a six-week-old dam-raised kid (I bottle-raise mine). I tied her up -- inside a safe area -- so she couldn't get in the habit of running from me. Chasing doesn't do any good at all. It would have taken weeks if not months for her to get used to being handled if I'd had to coax her to me (she's still shy, especially with strangers), but with her tied, I was able to just grab the rope and pull her to me, then pet her.

Something else that will help with your does is to be present when they kid, and take the kids away immediately to bottle feed. Then, while you still have birth fluids on your hands, milk the doe, letting her smell you -- she'll think you are her baby and should stand still for you, and bond to you. (She'll also cry when you leave her for several days!) This worked well with my skittish dam-raised doe.

Kathleen

Oat Bucket Farm · #18 09/01/10, 11:47 PM

Yes, the milk was very rich and creamy. I wish I still had her. She was dam raised and skittish when we got her but she settled down and was wonderful on the milkstand.

goatkid · #19 09/02/10, 12:11 AM

I've milked Nubian Boer cross. Their milk is good. The best way to get them real good and tame is to pull their kids, milk them and bottle feed the kids. The does will then think you are their baby and love you and the kids will be some of those in your face goats you're used to being around.

Cannon_Farms · #20 09/02/10, 09:18 AM

sweet gum leaves do it here for those who have never had grain or just being real stubborn, dont know what it is (maybe its sweet lol) but they love it, honey suckle and muskidine leaves. The apple and oat treats from tsc (dobbins brand) and the little pepper mint type.
Goats are curious sometimes you can sit and not face them and unless they have a vast pasture they will come up and sniff you, this is normally done in the 10x10 dog kennel i use for a quaranteen pen here