Goats that mess with you

[andabigmac]

Does anyone else have a goat that messes with them? I have Loretta. She always does whatever she can to throw a monkey wrench into the works. She doesn't come and get in line when its time to milk. I milk her last because I have to go get her. She sees me coming and she will walk in the most circuitous path possible to get to the milk room. She skirts the fence and when she gets to the hoop house she skirts around the inside of that too. She's not running from me or doing any of this in a mean way. She is heading for the milk room in her own way. When she gets to the milk room (finally) she'll decide halfway up the milk stand that she has an itch that is going to take a really long time to scratch or she'll decide to stop and look at the ceiling/wall/floor, anything but me or the head stanchion. If I pull her or make her move according to MY desires she'll fight me and then hold her milk back so I have to work really hard for it. She'll also pick one foot up and feel around for the bucket while I'm milking and gently ping her foot against the side of it. She's never kicked it or stuck her foot in it. Its like she's telling me that she knows where it is and she COULD kick it if she wanted.

I swear she does this to get her jollies. If I get forceful and try to make her behave then I have a fight on my hands. Its easier to just let her play her games. I'm half tempted to sell her but how do you explain this to a potential buyer?
My other goats are as normal and well trained as goats can get. Anyone else have a goat like this?

[wolffeathers]

Don't they all?

[TRAILRIDER]

My Dixie is bad that way : ) She loves to play me. For no reason at all. She'll pretend like she is walking up to me to be caught, then at the last second bolt. Course there's alot of tail wagging and head tossing, so I know she is laughing at me! She is such a stinker. But I love her all the same.

[where I want to]

A passive-aggressive goat. I can laugh because I don't have one- thank goodness. It's like having an eternal teenager.

[wolffeathers]

Instead of playing her games and going to get her, I would just wait her out. I know that might be mean, but she's going to 'want' to be milked eventually, right? I would try that before selling her.

[andabigmac]

Originally Posted by TRAILRIDER

My Dixie is bad that way : ) She loves to play me. For no reason at all. She'll pretend like she is walking up to me to be caught, then at the last second bolt. Course there's alot of tail wagging and head tossing, so I know she is laughing at me! She is such a stinker. But I love her all the same.

I'm glad I'm not alone!

Originally Posted by where I want to

A passive-aggressive goat. I can laugh because I don't have one- thank goodness. It's like having an eternal teenager.

Exactly! That is the perfect way to describe her.

Originally Posted by wolffeathers

Instead of playing her games and going to get her, I would just wait her out. I know that might be mean, but she's going to 'want' to be milked eventually, right? I would try that before selling her.

I tried that *sigh*. She waited 2 days, was milked and then went back to her wicked ways. It's hard to get mad at her because she's such a love. She has adopted all of the babies, she breaks up fights, and has great manners unless otter pops or milking are involved. It seriously takes me 20 minutes to get her milked from the time I open the gate until she's done being milked. The actual milking takes 4-5 minutes. This is the goat I wrote that stupid Nanny Goat song about.

[DianneIverson2]

I think thats called goat humor. I think they laugh at us all the time. Why do you think they say " get your goat"?

[Goat Servant]

Thanks for the great laugh this morning Loretta! Gotta let Andabigmac know you know where the bucket is.
"Bulldozer" can be a handful but not to that extent. When I open the gate she has been known to lower her head & doze her way through me.
Sometimes she will take the circus route. Depending on her mood she does this inside or outside the pen. Wanders around the yard or tries to eat grain from the stand on the wrong side of the stanchion while all fours still on the ground.
If I take milk to house before she's done eating she decides she wants to go home, even with Bob right there beside her.
Otherwise when let loose from her job she just dilly dallies at the gate, half in & half out. Most of the time the babies stay inside but sometimes her younger sister slips out for any leftovers & I've been drying her up.
Whatever the scenario, it's always team work.

[Donna1982]

Sounds like my Addie girl. Addie will run to the milk house when she sees I have the bucket. But once getting to the door she acts like a total dum-dum. She will do that Oh my God there is something by the steps... oh wait thats the same leaf that was there yesterday. Oh whats in this bucket oh nothing to eat, oh did mom fill the bowl oh no she didn't. Oh I have to lick moms hand, now I can jump on the milk stand. But before I can put my head in I have to circle around to make sure the boogy man isnt behind me. Now I can put my head in no I have to look out the window to make sure CHERRY isn't coming to get my food. Oh goody shes not out there. Now I can put my head in... moms taking to long to put my food out. Okay if I push my body all the way forwards and stick my tongue out just enough I might be able to lick her face to tell her hurry up. Okay good she put food down munch munch munch... mom is that all I get??? Okay then I will eat. So she chills while I milk her (actually a dream to milk once on the stand) then after shes done I open the head catch and she licks my hand looks up at the ceiling to the floor, out the window back in her bowl. Then jumps down and walks outside. Yeppers I have one of them goats. The rest do things like hide behind a tree and scare the you know what out of me. Or play I am hurt to eat my Captain Crunch.

[hiddensprings]

I have one, Olivia, who is a dream on the stand. BUt a total nut case when it comes to coming into the barn. Everyone else comes out of the gate and knows the drill. Olivia runs in the opposite direction. I tell her all of the time that she is going to be looking for a new home if she doesn't get in line.....

[noeskimo]

Yep, She's a teenager, that's all.

[tinknal]

Bought a new goat last Saturday. I've always milked just sitting on the steps, no problem. Well, this girl bites!. Never had a biting goat before. Tuesday I finally built a milking stand. All out of scrap pallets from work and scrap lumber I picked up at the place across the street from where I work. Didn't cost me a cent. I'm rather proud of it.

She still tries to bite but now she can't reach!

[Ford Zoo]

I have four words: Poor Attention Seeking Behaviors. But without them, the herd might be rather boring!

[AuntKitty]

Sounds to me like she's your herd queen and she's just letting you know that you're not in total charge of her. If she serves a good purpose like breaking up fights, etc., then a little diva-dom is a small price to pay in my opinion

Kitty

[The Tin Mom]

Our herd queen rules the roost with an iron head-butt, but I have a crazy Monkey that needs to be walked around the yard before we milk her because she is the "wanna-be herd queen" and she will challenge us if we don't keep her in line. She is a sweetie, but is second in the herd and that is not to her liking at all.

Snow is a lot like your Loretta. Her trick is to watch the gate and, if we don't put a strap over the latch, she will implement a stealth attack, lift the latch and release all of the poor goatie prisoners. I tell her several times a day that she is a naughty girl, but that doesn't phase her - maybe if I quit laughing when I said it, I would be more convincing...