[Stacykins]

The two goats in the picture are goats that have been found lost in an area just north of me. Apparently they won't let people near them. The local animal shelter is trying to locate the owners.

They look to be healthy and well maintained. In the picture, the hooves of the black and white goat look great. So they definitely have owners out there!

I have already volunteered in the effort to catch them. But how would ya'll recommend we go about doing that? If we can get a large enough group of people, it could be easy if we can corner them. But if only a couple show up, it could be a lot harder.

I am going to see if the person who snapped the picture can put out a pan with a little grain at the same time of day, to get them used to a familiar person. I hope we can get them caught soon though, coyotes are common around here.

I hope they have ear tattoos, it could help locating the owner.

 

[kccjer]

Find someone who is excellent with a rope....I had one get loose and head downtown one day. Only way we caught her was a guy with a rope....

 

[J.O.Y. Farm]

I agree that they look to have owners.. They look like a good weight and well cared for.. Could be that the buck broke out and the B&W one followed lol

I agree with the grain idea.. Seems like it would be the best option to start with...

 

[nchen7]

can they get corralled into a fenced in area?

I agree with the grain

 

[ksalvagno]

Can someone put up fence panels?

 

[HoosierShadow]

I'd look into some kind of temporary fencing that you can herd them into. If you try to corner them they could become terrified and end up hurting someone with their horns.

Maybe some kind of tall fence you can put up, herd them into it enough that you can bring the ends together once they are inside enough?

Otherwise I agree if someone knows how to rope, that would be a good idea.

 

[Jessica84]

Ha!!! We have a loose/wild goat just north of me as well lol. My plan is to send my brother and his rope out to catch him if he shows up. But my brother is one of the best ropers I have ever seen. If you guys can't get someone good at roping.....and I mean good because goats seem to see the rope coming from a mile away and can dodge it the I would try food. But a goat is smart and should go home at night. Maybe if you try and watch them when it starts to get late in the day you can follow them home. But there is a chance some one dropped them off.....we have a lot of animal drop offs around here

 

[sweetgoats]

They do look good and cared for. I wonder if they are just scared. Had anyone put signs out to tell people that there are two goats loose? Maybe they will come up to the owner and the owner has not idea where they are.

 

[milk and honey]

Put a notice on Craigslist too

 

[Stacykins]

The word is already being spread around here. They gotta show some proof of ownership, of course, in order to claim them.

Apparently the farm they are hanging out on has a fenced in garden (deer proofing). And they've stayed there for a few days. So the idea will be to lure the goats in there with food, then shut them in. Once they're contained, then they can be caught.

I don't think many people around here are skilled with roping. We don't really have cowboys here in the UP that need to rope cattle on a regular basis.

 

[liz]

The grain idea would work best I think, once they hear that pan rattle then are allowed to investigate without stress, I bet it would be easy enough to herd them into the garden enclosure by starting the feed pan routine close to the gate then slowly moving that pan further into the enclosure, they do look as though they were taken care of, you would think that someone is missing them.

 

[georgiagirl98]

Aww they are cuties lol. Maybe put up a temporary fence (panels?) and leave feed and water in it for them to get them used to Going in it. If it was me I'd probably make some kind of crazy trap door on it lol but thats just me. Maybe see if there are any farmers with well trained cattle dogs that could help? Or like some said get someone who can rope and ride.
... The more i think about this the more fun/hard im thinking it would be to catch a wild goat haha, im thinking a lost goat would be way harder to catch than a lost calf.

 

[sweetgoats]

How are things going?

 

[Stacykins]

A few shelter workers are going door to door in the area they are in with a picture, to try and locate the owners. They feel if the owner can be found, someone familiar might help with catching them.

 

[LegendsCreekFarm]

Grain. Goats will do anything for it. Better yet, get sweet feed with molasses.

 

[Stacykins]

Update:

The door to door search turned up nothing that could locate the owners. UPAWS is going to go ahead with rounding them up, tomorrow probably.

Somewhat serendipitously, my Dad and I recently completed work on our garden. It is 75 x 75 foot, made with no climb goat fencing. It was built to keep goats and deer out. And you know what? It'll be great at keeping these two in. So I've volunteered to house them until the owner can be found. If no owner is found, they will be put up for adoption, and I will foster them until then.

If it comes to adoption, the intact buck should definitely be turned into a wether by a vet beforehand! But I'll discuss that with UPAWS if it comes to that.

 

[ksalvagno]

I hope you guys can easily catch them. That is really nice of you to foster them. :thumbup:

 

[MsScamp]

Good on you, Stacy! :thumbup:

 

[TDG-Farms]

Where are these goaties located? I know of a pack goater who didnt tie up his goats the second night out and in the morning they were gone. That was 7 weeks ago in the Crazy mountains in Montana. Just so happens one was found last week and is set to be reunited with his owner.

 

[Stacykins]

The UP of Michigan. A pretty long way from Montana