Aggression

[GoatJunkie]

I'm worried about a friend of mine. She lives in an isolated area, homesteading, and is pretty much by herself (her daughter is in college so is only home on weekends).

She has a Boer doe, and the doe's 9 mo old Boer/Nubian doeling. When I was up to visit her in October she told me about. and showed me that her Boer mama goat was rearing up onto her hind legs every time she went into the pen. She wanted to know what I thought. Since the goat's head was not pointing towards her, and I'm too new to know the difference, I thought she was playing....

Of course I was dead in the water wrong. Anyone with experience would have recognized this as a sign of aggression. When I talked to her a few weeks ago she confided that the goat started making contact, and now pins her against the fence ON A REGULAR BASIS!

This is a goat with horns. I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but I promised I would ask around to find out if anyone has any suggestions as to how to stop this behavior.

If it were me that goat would be tacos, but my friend is a vegetarian, extremely soft hearted, and would like to avoid that if possible.

Have you any suggestions that might help?

I'm curious too, if there was a way to stop it when the doe was merely rearing up, but not making contact?

Any suggestions, including a gentle way to encourage her to put the animal down, will be appreciated.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Tacos, barbacoa, cabrito, and dog food.

She can *try* the spray water in her face method, but this goat KNOWS it has the upper hand. Your friend is going to get hurt.

[Hollowdweller]

Starve both goats for about a week. Give them plenty of water but virtually no feed. Maybe a few handfuls of straw a day but nothing else.

Then start feeding them by hand thru the fence at first. But ONLY by hand. Then start feeding them by hand in the pen. If they show any signs of agression immediately withdraw the food and leave the pen.

I can't help but think somebody played rough with this doe at one time or the other.

[Crazy Farmgirl]

Your friend is in a tough situation, she has allowed this doe to exert and prove her dominance over her! First and foremost in any animal/human interaction someone has to be the dominant one, for human safety you need to make sure that is YOU! All animals work on a hierarchical structure within their herd, to many people humanize animals and believe that because they respect and love the animal that the animal will do the same...they will NOT!

First I would be sure that your friend is protecting herself in the pen, if it were me I'd have a stick/cane (something rigid to use as extension of my arm) and be ready to use it to show this doe you are NOT going to be dominated by her. I'm not saying be abusive, if she rears up push her down, if she advances stop her. I have found that a firm tap to the bridge of the nose or across the chest gets their attention quick. She need to decide what behavior she will accept (reward that) and what behavior she won't (discipline that). She needs to be proactive about this, she needs to control all interaction with this doe (any animal for that matter). I would be sure that this doe was tied to the fence upon entering the pen to do anything. I would start working with this doe one on one away from others, start with basic stuff like touching and leading all the while being mindful and ready to reward/correct behavior based on her acceptable behavior.

I would suggest she do some research about how animals interact with the herd and how to insert herself into that situation!

I think she can stop this but she will need to be deliberate and consistent about it, if she is not willing or able to do this then I would suggest to get rid of this goat and rethink owning animals.

[Goat Servant]

Ditto what Alice said.

Someone has probably messed with this doe's head, playing pushing games.

eta She has to make a choice. Her own life or the goat.
if this were a buck she might not have lived to tell about it.

[houndlover]

You can't fix an aggressive goat. Get rid of it.

[Hollowdweller]

I had a friend who was never rough with her goats and she had a buck she had to bring a stun gun into the pen with her. She claimed that if the buck did not notice the bulge where she was packing he would still attack her. Later the breeder told her they had culled one of the ancestors for aggression.

[dkhern]

she might try shocking they make shockers long enough so she can stay from front feet but still reach doe other wise i agree w/alice

[GoatJunkie]

Thank you everyone who has responded. Every suggestion is helpful.

She has had the goat for two years. Nothing has changed in its environment. No one else is around, and my friend doesn't have it in her to be mean to an animal. The comment about an ancestor being culled because of aggression makes me think this could be the reason.

Thanks again everyone! Additional comments and ideas are still welcome.

[harvestmoonfarm]

I don't tolerate mean animals of any kind on my farm. They immediately go to "Camp Freezer" as my husband calls it. There are too many kind, gentle animals out there. Why put up with one who will hurt and/or possibly kill you?

[mekasmom]

I have to admit I am not a boer lover. A few of the ones I have had were nasty too. I personally would not keep a goat with that attitude.

[Frosted Mini's]

If she can't bear to do it herself, see if she can put an ad in craigslist or at the local feedstore to make this goat into meat. She can try and do the things suggested here, but this is way too dangerous a situation for her if it continues, especially living alone...I hope she keeps a cell phone on her in case of emergency.

[delphinium]

Isn't a meat breed an odd choice for a vegetarian? There are so many sweet, smaller dairy breeds available. She may want to rethink her choice. (Not judging, just suggesting)

[harvestmoonfarm]

Originally Posted by delphinium

Isn't a meat breed an odd choice for a vegetarian? There are so many sweet, smaller dairy breeds available. She may want to rethink her choice. (Not judging, just suggesting)

I agree. How about an ND?

[GoatJunkie]

I'm not sure how she ended up with a Boer..... I know she wanted some milk, but not too much. Perhaps that's why? Who knows!

Someone locally suggested Craig's List, but only to sell it generally. I could never pass on an aggressive animal to some unsuspecting buyer. But to list her for meat is a great idea if things come to that.

I live on someone else's goat ranch. They have a herd of 15 Boers, all of which have horns, but they are not aggressive towards humans in the slightest. Many of them love to be scratched. The others just stay to themselves. That's my only experience with Boers, but I agree that a dairy goat would probably be a better match.

[harvestmoonfarm]

Not sure why she would want a Boer for milk; they are notoriously unable to produce enough milk to even grow their own kids. Many cross them with dairy breeds to promote "milkiness" so the mothers can grow larger, healthier kids without human intervention. If she only wants a small amount of milk, a Nigerian would be perfect for her. I prefer the larger breeds - Nubians and LaManchas - but I also have a family of 5 to provide for

[Prov31Wife]

We raised Boers for years when I was a teenager; they always had horns and were never aggressive. Not super friendly either, except for the ones we hand-raised.

Those are large, heavy goats though. I wouldn't want one angry with me. I would say to get rid of the goat. If she doesn't want to send her to Camp Freezer, maybe an experienced person would want the goat? Maybe she could trade for a nice dairy goat?

[Goat Servant]

My Boer gals arent aggressive either & everyone has horns.
They have plenty milk for kids but are not good milkers because the lactation is not long enough. Plus teats are awful to work with since they are not bred for dairy but to feed their own kids.

[GoatJunkie]

I don't mean to sound mentally deficient [tho I already admitted how much I paid for hoof trimmings, so everyone knows I'm not Einstein ] but up until a few yeas ago, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a meat goat. I thought they were all dairy, because that's all I'd ever heard about or seen.... and I'd not met anyone who ate goat meat.

I don't know why she chose a Boer, but I do know she was shocked to get so little milk from her.

[GoatJunkie]

While we are on the subject of Boers.... It seems more common for Boers to have horns.... Why is this? Does anyone disbud Boers?