Buckling goat started biting fingers regularly

MadHouse said:

Have you tried spraying him with water when he is rude to you? Jumping on you is very rude, as is butting you. I found that flipping my buck had zero effect on him. He thought it was a great game. But being sprayed with a water bottle gave me instant success. My buck always steps away from the feeder now, when I say “move!”. I say “OK” so he knows he can eat now.
When I first learned about how to discipline rude behaviour, the same thing happened to me, that a buck butted in my direction, when I put out hay. I happened to have a water bucket right there, and I dumped it on him. He never tried butting me again.
My buck is not a fan of petting either, and I read that is quite alright. It’s better not to be snuggly with a buck, as he may then misinterpret petting as a invitation for breeding.
I have a doe that is obsessed with any kind of pellets. I am now putting them in her feeder tray, because she will not stop sniffing and nibbling my fingers. I got a bite from her the first time.

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Cedarwinds Farm said:

It sounds like he's just pushing the boundaries and you will have to continue being very firm with him.
I would stop hand feeding him entirely. If you want to give him a treat, put it in a dish and offer it that way. If you need to, safely tether him somewhere or put him in a separate pen when you're putting out hay, grain, etc. That way, he can't take advantage of you by being bad while you have your hands full and are unable to correct him.
Do you have an older goat that wouldn't let him push them around? You obviously don't want him to get injured or kept entirely from eating. But an older goat could help teach him his manners.

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goats-n-oats said:

All good ideas. I do have two older females, but one is very pregnant. Maybe I'll try the other female with him. Good observation, though, he has always been around females. The only other male is my Oberhasli buckling who is the same age and size as hime.

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MadHouse said:

If you spray him for a bad thing, it is good that at that moment he is afraid. He will recover. If you are always just nice owner, he will assume you are not higher in pecking order and he can keep butting you.
Don’t try to make friends with him right after you disciplined him for bad behaviour. When he comes to you nicely you can be the nice owner again.
Try and be very clear. Choose a strong word to go with the spray bottle. He will catch on, and eventually just the word will do it.
Good luck!

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goats-n-oats said:

Hi, this

goats-n-oats said:

Hey all, just an update, I got him outside on a lead today for the first time, after free-ranging inside the barn for a month since I acquired him. My other little billy stayed with and played with him outside. His demeanor is back to his cute kissy self now. My neighbors came over yesterday and mentioned that the barn needed some 'fresh air'. Maybe that was the problem.

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is the same billy goat that had some weird balance loss and breathlessness last month. (He received thiamine, penicillin, and ammonium chloride.) He is 8-9 months old, registered AGDA Alpine buck, 80 lbs. He has his horns and balls. He has always been a 'handful', but charming, like kissing my ear or investigating the cat barn I was building and stepping all over it and breaking it. He seems indifferent about being petted or scratched. Very food motivated. Recently has started biting me, anytime I give him food and my fingers get too close to his mouth. He will seek out my fingers and bite them. My left hand has a few cuts on it. He also got very excited about snack time and jumped up and hit me in the lips with his front hooves. Twice I have wrestled him down onto his back and mounted him and told him to STOP, as per instructions from his previous owner/breeder. He unapologetically pushes his sister and the other juvenile buck out of the way for food and they whine. And also will head-butt me if I move some of the hay is eating to another stall. He has been indoors for the last six weeks or so. His pen is 6x12 and I built him a circular jungle gym, which he uses all the time. He can also run around the 1200 sq-ft barn for an hour or so a few times a week; mostly he grazes, head-butts the other buckling. Any ideas how to curb the biting? I don't want a 250-lb buck that is uncontrollable.

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goats-n-oats said:

Hey all, just an update, I got him outside on a lead today for the first time, after free-ranging inside the barn for a month since I acquired him. My other little billy stayed with and played with him outside. His demeanor is back to his cute kissy self now. My neighbors came over yesterday and mentioned that the barn needed some 'fresh air'. Maybe that was the problem.

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Spring Creek Farm said:

I’ve read a lot of sad stories of people trying to manage a loving goat that turned aggressive and or hard to manage….
Goats are Incredibly smart and intelligent and need a pack leader that is loving caring and train them to be disciplined and mannered.
Please share and encourage new owners on Goat etiquette. This sight has a wealth of info from raising kids, milk breeds, packing, training etc.
packgoats.com

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CBPitts said:

That sounds like a heart issue. Might want to have that checked out before you consider using him as a buck as those can often be genetic.

Alpines have strong attitudes and Alpine Bucks are miserable creatures to deal with in an enclosed space from about 7 month until 2 years. I personally would never keep horns on an Alpine buck. With minimal outlets for his energy you’re setting up both him and you for frustration and failure.

I’ve found using an actual halter and walking them everyday, enforcing the rules, encouraging and rewarding good behavior and discouraging or punishing bad behavior makes a huge difference. It’s consistently reinforcing your respective places and relationship.
Once he can behave for walks you can add interest to walks to keep his mind engaged. Stumps, bridges, planks can all keep him looking forward to learning and encountering new things.

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CBPitts said:

That sounds like a heart issue. Might want to have that checked out before you consider using him as a buck as those can often be genetic.

Alpines have strong attitudes and Alpine Bucks are miserable creatures to deal with in an enclosed space from about 7 month until 2 years. I personally would never keep horns on an Alpine buck. With minimal outlets for his energy you’re setting up both him and you for frustration and failure.

I’ve found using an actual halter and walking them everyday, enforcing the rules, encouraging and rewarding good behavior and discouraging or punishing bad behavior makes a huge difference. It’s consistently reinforcing your respective places and relationship.
Once he can behave for walks you can add interest to walks to keep his mind engaged. Stumps, bridges, planks can all keep him looking forward to learning and encountering new things.

Click to expand...