Wwyd?

Whisperwindkat · #1 07/03/11, 08:27 PM

I have a doe in my herd that is really aggressive toward the other does. I am pretty sure that she caused one doe to miscarry this year, but can't really prove it. The other morning she had another doe penned in the corner of the barn and was ramming her over and over repeatedly. Fortunately I was there and rescued the poor do stuck in the corner. She has always been a little spitfire, but this growing aggression has me concerned. I really don't want to lose anymore babies. I don't really have anyway to separate her away from the herd and she shows aggression to all the other does at some point even when she gets her tail whipped by the bigger girls. She is a great mama. So my question is if she were yours would you keep her, sell her or send her to the freezer once she weans this years kids? I am really in turmoil over this decision which usually is not a hard one for me. Thanks for your input, Kat

TroutRiver · #2 07/03/11, 08:53 PM

Is she a good milker? If she is, personally, I would try to sell her, but be honest about why you are selling her. I bought a doe last year that was being sold because she was "too bossy" with the other does she was being kept with. I still bought her, and she's turned out great for me. I had a couple young does, and an older, more assertive doe to keep them in line seemed like a good addition to my particular situation. She's definitely the herd leader, but hasn't caused any injuries and isn't unnaturally aggressive.

I think sometimes being in a completely new environment with a new group of peers (other goats) can have some pretty big effects on an animal's behavior.

Cannon_Farms · #3 07/03/11, 08:54 PM

I wouldnt sell her, Id make sausage out of her. The odds are high shell pass the aggressiveness onto her offspring

nehimama · #4 07/03/11, 09:50 PM

I had the same situation back in March. Nice, capacious udder, registered, CAE-free, loved people, but. . . . . extremely aggressive to the other does. She broke my little Kinder doe's back leg above the hock, and I had to put her down. Another doe had a HUGE hematoma on her shoulder, and I couldn't figure out why. Now I know.

The doe was sold with full disclosure, and the new owners are very happy with her. If I hadn't found a knowledgeable buyer, she'd have been sausage!

CaliannG · #5 07/03/11, 10:28 PM

I cull to freezer camp for aggression issues. One of the things I breed for is temperament and I don't want bad temperaments in my neighbor's or friend's goats either...I may wsnt a great granddaughter some day and it would suck if aggression kept heading on down the line.

So freezer camp in my eyes.

nehimama · #6 07/03/11, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

I cull to freezer camp for aggression issues. One of the things I breed for is temperament and I don't want bad temperaments in my neighbor's or friend's goats either...I may wsnt a great granddaughter some day and it would suck if aggression kept heading on down the line.

So freezer camp in my eyes.

What?

copperpennykids · #7 07/04/11, 03:41 AM

Sell ( some do better in different herd situations) with full disclosure, or eat.

Having a goat undermine all your hard work? NO WAY!

CaliannG · #8 07/04/11, 04:04 AM

wsnt = want. Sorry, no-one catches every typo.

The sentence itself means that lines tend to get crossed a bunch in a geographical location. So if someone buys a goat from me, male or female, then eventually I might want to buy a goat from them to keep from getting inbred or line-bred depression.

Therefore, if I sell a bad goat rather than butchering her, I could very well be shooting myself in the foot a few generations down the line when I need to look at new lines.

Hope that clarifies.

HilltopDaisy · #9 07/04/11, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

wsnt = want. Sorry, no-one catches every typo.

The sentence itself means that lines tend to get crossed a bunch in a geographical location. So if someone buys a goat from me, male or female, then eventually I might want to buy a goat from them to keep from getting inbred or line-bred depression.

Therefore, if I sell a bad goat rather than butchering her, I could very well be shooting myself in the foot a few generations down the line when I need to look at new lines.

Hope that clarifies.

I knew what you meant the first time and your clarification was spot on!

animalfarmer · #10 07/04/11, 04:50 AM

Hello Wisperwindkat,I sent you a P.M. It may be of interest.

Backfourty,MI. · #11 07/04/11, 06:11 AM

I had a doe like that once & then she started trying to be the boss of us too. That happened only a few times until she was put in a pen next to the other does' until the butcher could get to her.
I always think you shouldn't pass your problems on to someone else, but that's just my opinion.

Whisperwindkat · #12 07/04/11, 06:21 AM

She is a decent little milker for what she is, a boer/nubian cross. I never really worried about her passing the aggression on to her offspring because their destination is the freezer. She has raised some nice offspring for that purpose. She was easy to train to the milkstand and is a very cooperative milker. Like I said she is a decent milker for what she is. This will be her 3rd freshening this month when she drops her kids and last year she gave just under 1/2 a gallon a day with once a day milking for a full 10 months. She came from a clean herd and has remained clean. She has never shown aggression to people, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Although I know that I probably will cull her, I think this will be one of the hardest I have had to do. She was one of my first does and was just 8 weeks old when I loaded her into the car and headed home with her. Thanks all for the advice. I am still trying to make up my mind, but I think I know which direction I am headed with her. Blessings, Kat

Backfourty,MI. · #13 07/04/11, 06:30 AM

Hugs to you Kat! When we took our girl to the butcher she was our very first kid ever born here.
It took me a long time to believe hubby cause he kept telling me she was mean & coming after him too, I thought he was nuts until she did it to me one day too & she wouldn't let me out of the pen-I walked out backwards that day.
We never abused her & always spoil our goats so I don't know what or why she acted like that. She was 2 1/2 years old at the time.

nehimama · #14 07/04/11, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

wsnt = want. Sorry, no-one catches every typo.

The sentence itself means that lines tend to get crossed a bunch in a geographical location. So if someone buys a goat from me, male or female, then eventually I might want to buy a goat from them to keep from getting inbred or line-bred depression.

Therefore, if I sell a bad goat rather than butchering her, I could very well be shooting myself in the foot a few generations down the line when I need to look at new lines.

Hope that clarifies.

Sorry! I wasn't picking on you. About a half hour later, I figured out that the "s" was meant to be an "a", then everything made sense.

nehimama · #15 07/04/11, 07:33 AM

Thinking about it some more, and now I tend to lean in CalliAnn and BackFourty's direction. I had a flighty, basher doe. Her daughter turned out very much like her, and so did the granddaughter. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! It IS apparent to me that aggressiveness and other bad traits CAN be passed on. That line is gone from my flock now, and I think any future problems of this sort will help to fill my freezer.

TroutRiver · #16 07/04/11, 09:01 AM

for a nubian/boer cross, I think I would err toward the freezer. If she was an outstanding registered purebred milking 2 gallons a day and long lactations, then I'd say it was worth it to try to sell her with full disclosure (I do see others' points on not doing that, though). But she's half meat goat. I am pretty attached to my nubian/boer doe, too. But I keep reminding myself every day that if she's not a good milker or if she gives us too many problems, she IS half boer, and she will eventually go to the freezer no matter what, it's just a matter of when.

ozark_jewels · #17 07/04/11, 12:20 PM

Well, if its worth it to you to keep her separated just to get butcher kids from her, then you could keep her I suppose. But I can't stand feeding an animal that is mean to others and I would butcher her.
Even if all her kids are butchered, thus making the bloodline end with her, she is hardly likely to be worth keeping if you have to separate her for the safety of others.
Sausage sounds like a yummy option.