Do You Prefer Horned or De-horned Goats?

The horn blood supply theory doesn't seem to have held up in practice. People who are using both don't see much if any difference in horned vs' dehorned. And if you are about to become dinner, you are going to run making horns less useful than one would expect since they are on the wrong end of the goat at that point.

They do offer some protection but so does a dog.

Everyone has their preferences but it seems to be one of those things where everyone has an opinion too. And what was believed at first, doesn't seem to have held up in practice. So we can all go on believing in our pet theories but I suspect that's all they are. And I don't plan to turn a vicious dog loose in my herd to test it. :? That's what my Pyrenees is for, and she does a great job.

Some people I sold a goat to lost that goat and another one, their neighbors lost 5 goats that their pyr couldn't get into the barn with the rest of the herd, which she saved, and their neighbors lost some sheep. All in one night a couple of days ago. Neighborhood dogs packed up and went on a kiling spree. The ones with the pyr managed to save most of their herd, since the pyr got them into the barn mostly and then defended them till Bill got out there.

I had a drunk try to cross my pasture the other night and the pyr went ballistic. If you've ever heard them they scream like a wildcat when the S*** hits the fan. You KNOW you better run or someone is going to die, and it's not going to be the dog. They seldom do it but it makes the hair stand up.

I grabbed the phone and the .38, didn't know if I'd be shooting the guy or rescueing him, either way the dog was handling it and he turned tail and left. The cops came and got him a little later. Turns out he'd wrecked his car and was trying to find a phone.

Years ago, before I had goats, an entire herd of registered Toggenburg goats was slaughtered in one night by a pair of dogs here in Fallon. Every goat on the place died that night and every single one had horns, most of the does were also pregnant so that lady lost a lot that night. One dog was under ten pounds, so technically the 80 pound dog killed 17 goats all by its lonesome and every goat was horned.

I'm not thinking it mattered much.

Fast forward to a year ago last fall. A gal who bought a goat from me had a cougar come onto her place at night and attack her goats, another killing spree. She has nigerian dwarfs, pygmies and at the time, had the two packers, an adult alpine/togg cross and the baby boy she got from me who was a yearling or a weanling, I cannot remember which. He is polled.

That horned doe went for the cat after it had killed some of the little goats and apparently went after her friend, the buckling. She stood her ground, with the buckling cowering behind her, and faught like a tiger, holding the cat off until the owner could scare it away.

She was torn up, but lived.

Would she have been as effective a guardian without the horns? Likely not. Would she have stood her ground without them, maybe. I suspect most goats would not have stood their ground and would have died that night. Some individuals are more protective of their herd than others.

I don't want horned goats here, they are harder on fencing, more likely to get caught and strangled in fencing when they are young, more likely to have an accident with one of my children or one of their friends. They are also harder to saddle when I'm by myself because one twitch of the head might put out part of my face when I lean over the goat. I know they know where their horns are, but I've seen the torn udders, the ripped open sides and the bruises on the people, all of which have convinced me I'd prefer none around here. I do breed polled goats, which takes away the question.

I have a photo of my daughter when she was about 9 years old with a huge, red, welt and scrape on her belly and chest from a horned goat. She was standing with her goat for a group picture for 4-H. The goat with the kid next to her decided he didn't like her goat and went to hook him in the face with his horns. Sierra, who was on the other side of Gulliver did not see the other goat swing his head because Gully is so tall and Sierra was so short, so when he pulled back to avoid the blow, Sierra got it. That goat could have gored her had he swung his head harder. I think he pulled the blow, but she was cut, bruised and welted for about 12 inches, from below her belly button to her chest.

Call me a paranoid mom, but without horns that would not have been such a scary moment, nor would it have been so painful. Had her reflexes not been so fast (she twisted sideways and jumped back when she saw Gully react) and had that goat not pulled the blow at the last minute my child could have been eviscerated, all because a horned goat decided to knock her goat back. This was a pretty normal thing for a goat to do, it was not an aggressive act toward my daughter and I do believe that goat pulled the blow when he realized who he was about to hit, but frankly, that moment of terror will never leave my mind.

So argue away, our place won't have horns, my chidren and their friends are too precious. Loosing a goat to a dog is horrible and sad, but what might have happened to Sierra would have been far worse. I love guard dogs, who, by the way, can also kill people and children. There is no true safety in the world, only odds.

Charlie Goggin
Lightfoot Packgoats

I've seen two horned wethers hold off a determined Rotweiller. Both goats were torn up but so was the dog. I have, and have had small children around our goats for many years. I'm talking about literally hundreds of goats horned and dehorned. I can say that the worst pain I ever received from a goat was a dehorned doe that kicked me in the nose while I was milking. Neither I nor any member of our family has had more than a minor scratch from a horned goat. That said, I totally understand why someone would not want to take a chance with an injury when they don't have to. Horned goats need to be handled differently than dehorned goats. We never lean over a horned goat without putting our hand on the back of their neck and never allow any fighting among the goats when we are around. Thats the time most accidents happen as Charlie outlined in her post. As for getting head butted, well a goats head is much harder than a humans and horns or not, if they butt you in the head the human will likely end up with stitches and the goat will end up on the barbecue.

Ironically enough the worst injury any of our boys ever received was from being stepped on by the horse. Here's a five year study on horse related injuries done in only a small section of Montata. You can times this by about 100.

Otoupalik's original study found that St. Patrick Hospital, a Level II trauma center drawing from 11 counties, saw 482 people with 802 horse-related injuries between 1995 and 2000. Thirty-seven percent had arm or leg injuries. Thirty-one percent had head or neck injuries. Six people died. The youngest victim was one, and the oldest was 88. Males between 30 and 39 made up the largest group of patients. May was the worst month for accidents.

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As you can see horses are much more dangerous yet people think nothing about letting their children ride off on one. How many people do goats kill each year? I think we should keep things in perspective.