Hi Guys,
It's been a long while since I've been on and my scrummy goat boys are now three years old and still as gorgeous as ever!
I am moving house soon and Teddy and Tumnus will, of course, be coming with me. We plan to have at least an acre for them so will also have plenty of room for more goaty friends but I am unsure of how to introduce newbies to our existing boys.
There's a good chance that any newbies would be younger and therefore smaller than Teddy and Tumnus so how do I ensure there's no bullying?
Do you have them penned side by side but seperated for a while so they can get to know each other through a fence? Or do you just put them in and keep a close eye out? Would it be more successful if the newbies were girls or, all boys being wethers, would it not make a difference?
Also, I am looking into getting alpacas....would they make good field mates to the goats? I have heard of people using alpacas to protect sheep flocks from predators (not that we get anything bigger than a fox in the UK) but sheep don't tend to head-butt the way goats do and I don't want my wee pygmies damaging the paca's legs!
Any comments would be much appreciated x
It's been a long while since I've been on and my scrummy goat boys are now three years old and still as gorgeous as ever!
I am moving house soon and Teddy and Tumnus will, of course, be coming with me. We plan to have at least an acre for them so will also have plenty of room for more goaty friends but I am unsure of how to introduce newbies to our existing boys.
There's a good chance that any newbies would be younger and therefore smaller than Teddy and Tumnus so how do I ensure there's no bullying?
Do you have them penned side by side but seperated for a while so they can get to know each other through a fence? Or do you just put them in and keep a close eye out? Would it be more successful if the newbies were girls or, all boys being wethers, would it not make a difference?
Also, I am looking into getting alpacas....would they make good field mates to the goats? I have heard of people using alpacas to protect sheep flocks from predators (not that we get anything bigger than a fox in the UK) but sheep don't tend to head-butt the way goats do and I don't want my wee pygmies damaging the paca's legs!
Any comments would be much appreciated x