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Nigerian Dwarf Goat Bonding and Affection

5K views 56 replies 11 participants last post by  toth boer goats 
#1 ·
I have two Nigerian dwarf goats that I acquired a few months ago. They run towards me when because they think that I always have food on me. They don’t like me handling them and are sometimes shy around me. How do I know if they like me? How do I bond with them?
 
#31 ·
I second what @Damfino says. When I started out wih dam raised kids, there was one who hated having his feet touched, let alone hooves trimmed. We practiced every single day, first I just touched each foot, then eventually I lifted each foot, slowly increasing how much I did, until I actually started to trim. The next thing was to touch his belly, which he also hated. After the touching I always praised him and "celebrated" that he survived it.
We did this while he was on a stand, having his grain. One day I forgot to touch his belly, and I realized he was waiting for it. He was looking at me, anticipating the touch and the celebration. That was a "touching" moment, and the first big sign of trust.
 
#35 ·
Naughty! Usually when a goat tests the boundaries with me for the first time, I run toward him with stomping feet and I clap my hands and shout at him. It scares the pants off him and he leaves my space immediately. If he doesn't leave (or if he gives me the sideways head-toss or the stink-eye), I keep after him until he turns tail and runs (not walks!) away. Then I turn my back and go about my business. As long as he stays respectful, I don't mess with him again.

I have learned not to go after my goats to make friends after such an interaction. The goat is the one in trouble and he needs to be the one to seek forgiveness and friendship. If you go after him to tell him you still love him, he's likely to interpret it as aggression from you. He's probably still nervous (and possibly a little angry) from your previous encounter (which did not go at all as he expected!), so if you go after him while his emotions are high he'll feel cornered or pursued and is likely to turn on you again.

Long-winded explanation gleaned from watching goats interact with each other: When a subordinate goat challenges a dominant one, the dominant goat puts the subordinate one in his place, then he displays his superiority by turning and ignoring the upstart after he runs away. There is no follow-up interaction between goats after a challenge has been settled. I think this is where we humans often trip up. We feel bad so we go after the goat to try to make friends again, but since goats don't have "kiss and make up" vocabulary in their language, they misinterpret our gesture and they think we're coming after them to continue the fight. This actually gives legitimacy to the challenger's feeling of dominance. A dominant goat only continues chasing a subordinate one if he sees the subordinate goat as an actual threat to his position. Since standing down and running away didn't make you give up the chase, the goat believes you see him as serious contender for top place, and he basically has no choice but to engage in another fight to settle the matter.

If your goat approaches you after you've chased him off, and his hair is flat and his eyes are soft, it's a sign that you can reach out and make friends. If he comes up with his hackles raised, a saucy tilt to his head, and a challenge in his eye, chase him off again until he comes back with a nicer attitude. Let him know that there are no friendly interactions as long as he's trying to be boss. But if he's gentle, he gets treats and scratches and all kinds of nice things. If your goat is a little scared of you for a while after your angry outburst, that's ok. I'd rather win over a nervous goat any day than have to deal with an aggressive one.
 
#36 ·
@Damfino Thank you for taking the time to write all that! I always appreciate your advice and experience. My goat reared up to head butt me and I didn't know what to do. This might sound awful and abusive, but I punched him and punched him, and he reared up again and so on. I did not know what else to do! It's not like I could put him in time out to teach him what he did was bad. I do not like hurting them. When the fighting stopped, I went over to apologize and stroke him.
 
#37 ·
It's ok. At least you didn't run away from him! Hopefully he learned some respect from that well-earned beat-down.

I try not to engage with my goats physically if I can help it (although if they catch me by surprise I may have no choice!). They are bigger and stronger than me and if it came to a physical fight I would probably lose. If I have a goat that I know is aggressive, I carry a water pistol every time I go to the pen. Most goats HATE to be sprayed with water and once they know what the water pistol is for, they'll back off before I can even pull the trigger. If a normally docile goat catches me by surprise, I will do the stomp/clap/yell act to get him away from me, and if he keeps coming back for more I look around for sticks or pinecones or small rocks and I'll throw them at him until he runs away. If I can find a good stick about 2 feet long it's even better. I'll whack him with it, and when he turns to run away I'll whack his bottom few times for good measure until he's truly on the run. Then I'll walk away like he's not worth my time. The point is not to hurt the goat but to give him a good scare and make him feel small. He should be afraid to attack you. Once he gets in the habit of being your friend, he won't want to attack you any more. But for now it's good enough for him to be afraid of what might happen if he acts feral. ;)
 
#38 ·
My dominant Nigerian Dwarf isn't all that strong so I wasn't scared of getting hurt. He's also disbudded.
I'm glad there are ways around physically hurting him!
It's probably my fault because sometimes I do play with them and let them playfully head butt me. I should not have done that. I was sitting on the ground petting one of my goats and this goat was eating my jacket so I shoved his head away and that's when he reared up.
Sometimes they rub their heads on me. Is that a sign of affection, do they want scratched, or are they challenging me?
 
#41 ·
Sometimes they rub their heads on me. Is that a sign of affection, do they want scratched, or are they challenging me?
I looks like you never got an answer to this question.
Rubbing ng their heads on you is their way of trying to own you (Scent gland between their horns). I was advised not to let my bucks do this. But I didn’t know for their first year, and I let them. It made them think I was their doe after that. It took a while for Jeffrey to learn that he is not alllowed to rub his head on me.
 
#39 ·
So today, one of my goats got out of their encloser. I had then in a small wire fence and one of the posts fell down. While anyway, the goat got out and I chased him, found out he was much fast than me lol. He ran into his real pen because the gate was open, and I was able to chase him down when he was in there to take back to his brother in their temporary encloser. Now, anytime I walk at him, he runs like I have a knife in my hand. Did I completely ruin his trust, or is he just pouting? How else should I have gotten him back in his pen?
 
#40 ·
I find luring is always more effective than chasing. I usually have so e kind of nibble in my pocket for such mad moments. When they get out, they usually don’t run away, go even go far. They just want that grass or other goodie on the other side. I wouldn’t go after him right now, but give him time to come to you again.
 
#42 ·
I am so glad you are making head way.
Head rubbing from a buck is not on. You become the bucks property. And it can cause friction.
Head butting happens when your buck is throwing a tantrum. You can stop this by putting him on the ground and holding him there for a few seconds.
Chasing goats is a predator action. Try not do it unless they are heading towards danger. When you do it you are a bwar or mountain lion. It makes them run faster. :)
Goats are like children. They only process "sulk" untill you have a treat for them.
You have done well so far. Keep going.
 
#45 ·
Head rubbing from a buck is not on. You become the bucks property. And it can cause friction.
My one buck likes to claim certain weeds in the pasture lol! Like I said to MadHouse, one of my goats does it to be petted I think because he is really gentle and stops when I start to pet him.
Head butting happens when your buck is throwing a tantrum. You can stop this by putting him on the ground and holding him there for a few seconds.
I will definitely try this next time!
Chasing goats is a predator action. Try not do it unless they are heading towards danger. When you do it you are a bwar or mountain lion. It makes them run faster. :)
I was overcome by anger as I watch my goat waltz out of the fence and I wanted to catch him quickly and drag him back in. I was very surprised by how fast he was with his short legs!
You have done well so far. Keep going.
Thank you for this. Before today, my goats were comfortable with me "hugging" them, touching their stomachs, etc. I definitely bonded to me, or maybe they just tolerate me because I give them food and let them out of their pasture sometimes.
 
#50 ·
When you catch him, make sure not to drag him afterwards. I know he doesn't want to go, but work on your leading skills so that once he's caught, Clark will just walk along with you. If you drag him he'll just get more and more resistant to being caught because he doesn't like what happens afterwards. As mad as you are that he ran away, always reward with pets, kind words, or a food treat when you finally catch him. Then gently encourage him to walk where you want and make a big fuss when he does it.

Have you considered teaching your goats to tether? If you want them to browse the yard but not wander out of it, a tether can be a great option. You just have to tether them far enough apart from each other so they can't tangle. You can start with a short tether and work up to longer ones as they get used to avoiding entanglements. I had a goat who lived on a 60-foot tether for almost 4 years. The main thing is to make sure someone is always home when goats are tethered. Entanglements and loose dogs are the biggest dangers to tethered goats. When we go on pack trips I bring my orange screws and a couple of lengths of dog chain so I can tether my boys on the trail. Tethering is a great option for letting your goats have some freedom and fresh browse without you having to sit there and micromanage them to keep them out of the neighbor's yard.
 
#52 ·
When you catch him, make sure not to drag him afterwards. I know he doesn't want to go, but work on your leading skills so that once he's caught, Clark will just walk along with you. If you drag him he'll just get more and more resistant to being caught because he doesn't like what happens afterwards. As mad as you are that he ran away, always reward with pets, kind words, or a food treat when you finally catch him. Then gently encourage him to walk where you want and make a big fuss when he does it.
I can't even catch him anymore to drag him! Yesterday, I was leading both goats someplace and Clark got loose so I just let him be (we were on our property), took the other goat to where I wanted him to be, and then came back to get Clark. As soon as I got within 6 feet, he bolted toward his pen. I did not approach quickly or threateningly but he was terrified and sprinted away. I calmly walked to the pen and shut the gate to keep him in. Then I went back to his brother and waited a few minutes before going back to Clark. He was a little calmed down but still did not want me to grab his collar. I didn't even run at him or harm him in any way and he was acting like a stink butt!

Have you considered teaching your goats to tether?
Tethering would not work for my goats. We have a german shepherd that would kill our goats if they were out in the open, so they can only be roaming outside a fence for a limited amount of time.
 
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