Introducing a wether to the group

Earthbound · #1 07/23/04, 12:21 PM

I have 2 beautiful Nubian cross females who are very sweet and social. A friend of mine is in a huge bind and needs a place asap to keep her pet wether for a while (4-6mths). We brought him by yesterday for a trial visit and he was a bit aggressive with the girls. He still has his horns and they do not. He is an Alpine/nubian cross and larger then the both of them. He was using his horns a bit to hook them in the belly area but not using alot of force. Also he seemed fine with them until we walked up to the pen and then he would push them out of the way so he could have all the attention. My question is do any of you have any experience introducing a wether to the group? and is this behavior normal? I am no way willing to put my girls in jeopardy, so I wonder is this the "pecking order" being established and over a short time it will dissapate, or will the wether potentially get more agressive and injure the females?
I understand this is projecting into the future, but if anyone has any stories or advice they would be appreciated.
Also, just to add to the story, I don't want to commit to a month or two trial run as if he comes , so does his HUGE house and I cant imagine putting it up and then tearing it down in a month or so. I mean HUGe .
Corry

TexCountryWoman · #2 07/23/04, 03:59 PM

I have an adult hornless wether who is quite rough on my does. He sometimes forgets he is not a buck as far as his aggressiveness goes. He already has a date with the meat market for sausage-making. He was alone then introduced to does. If he had horns, I would worry to be honest. However, I have had wethers who were quite sweet (but never with horns). Is there anyway the wether you are keeping can be penned by himself? Or with just a tough roomy or two? Like a buck?

Earthbound · #3 07/23/04, 07:51 PM

I guess I could just separate the pen in half and they could hang out through the wire. He also has some pretty serious separation anxiety and screams when he's alone. They have him with a 12 year old no nonsence female at the moment who is not theirs and my 2 females are the only goats i have, so I don't have or want for that matter a buck to tune him in...lol, but is a bit tempting.
Thanks for the input, I hate to say it. but those horns make me mighty nervous and if he was without I'd be way less concerned.
I have some thinking to do.
Just on a side thought, can you have a 1.5 yr olds horns removed? I do mean by the vet.
corry

TexCountryWoman · #4 07/24/04, 09:22 AM

People do have older goats horns removed. I have never done it or had it done. From what I know, it is a bloody and dangerous procedure as the goat can knock a horn that is in the process of dieing off and it can bleed and hurt. However, others say it's okay. Perhaps someone on this board will come along with real experience on this. I always disbud anything I am going to keep or sell. If it's for the freezer, it doesn't matter. I also like naturally polled does because they trow occasional polled offspring.

Laura Workman · #5 07/25/04, 07:09 PM

Man, I would never keep a horned wether with milking does. I had a young one, birth to 5 months old, in with my does. He was an eating machine, and as he got bigger he wouldn't let them near the feed until he was finished. He got all the premium alfalfa leaves, the best grass, etc. They got hungry because they didn't want to eat his scraps and I wasn't willing to throw away 50 percent of my feed. When they did try to eat, he would poke them with his horns, no injuries, but I think it was just a matter of time. Naturally, he didn't stay long after he started this game, but it was long enough to decide I'll NEVER have another horned goat on the place!

#6 07/25/04, 07:42 PM

Sounds alot like what he does. I've been thinking on this one, and I think I will pass. he does need a home, but my girls along with all my other critters are my responsibility and it would be unfair to put any of them in jeopardy. Thanks for the input, it helped alot.
corry