I was out feeding the goats yesterday, when it came time to feed Doodle one of our ND bucks. Now I never go all the way into his pen, just open the door far enough to reach over and put his feed in his bowl. Well I was not paying attention and as I had my head down latching his gate he rammed the gate and tried to knock me out. I now have a chipped tooth, massive headache and and a sore neck.
He has a metal gate that opened to the inside, well when he hit it, it hit me, now the gate opens to the outside and has to be replaced. He came really close to knocking me out, I had to sit down for a few minutes and let the world stop spinning. He is so lucky that I did not have my .22 with me, I was that upset. :veryangry:
He is not trying to be mean, he just wants to play, Wallace ruined him as a baby by playing with him all the time. That is why I cannot go into his pen without at least a water hose with me, because he thinks it is play time.
Ouch! Hope you're okay --- I've been lucky with my bucks. None of them have ever shown the slightest aggression towards me... but then I've never played rough with them either. The little stinker!
Oh man!! So sorry to hear that!! Dont know that I would be able to keep one that I didnt feel comfortable with.. But I have only had goats for a year now so maybe my feelings doesnt count?
Mikeandrea of course your feelkings count!
One has to be careful around them especially in rut & does in with them.
Heck I've gotten a black eye from a mama doe suddenly raising her head when I got my face too close to the feed pan so accidents do happen.
Any animal that makes me nervous has a date with Mr Smith and Mr Wesson. It isn't worth taking a chance on your life and health and what if he got out and started after someone? You shouldn't feel badly about dealing with him definatively.
First I want to say mikenandrea - your thoughts, feelings and suggestions always count, no matter how long you have been into goats. Even if you are new you can bring fresh ideals and suggetions to this forum.
Second I am doing fine, I was sore in my neck for a few days but luckily it did not last long.
As for Doodle, I do not go into his pen and if I do I take the water hose with me. We have set his food and water where I can get to it without going into his pen. Except when Wallace is offshore I do not mess with him. I have told Wallace that he is now his responsability. He made him that way so he can deal with him.
He is not mean or aggresive, he just wants to play and does not realize that he is no longer a baby and those horns hurt.
I understand both sides here, I don't think I'd keep a buck I couldn't handle but if you're willing to take the responsibility (or hubby is) then you have every right to keep him
I rarely went into the pen when I had Buckly, he was NOT aggressive in any way, but it was just easier for me and he was a pest, wanting to be petted and loved on and he had HUGE horns.
I did make sure to give him a once over each week when he was eating a handful of grain.
I have a buck that doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but during rut oh my goodness, he is just jam packed with testosterone, and is rather horrible. He doesn't mean it and can't help it, but he has seriously injured us myself included. I hope for a speedy recovery for you!! ray: It's good to hear you are feeling better!!
Don't worry You aren't alone. I had the same thing happen to me. An old biily we had with 18in horns come running down a hill at full speed at me just as i bent over to pick up my keys. He nailed me right in th head. It was no wonder it didn't knock me out. :laugh:
I have a friend who works with difficult dogs, esp pit mixes. Now she doesn't say they all can be rehabilitated, but many can.
Goats are fairly smart. I wonder if clicker training (rewarding him when he is being good and ignoring him when he is being bad) could help. If you are interested, i could hook you up with my dog-training friend. She might have better ideas than me (i tend to pick soft mushy dogs, like Irish Setters, that love everyone, and rarely if ever challenge your authority.)
I don't know how i'd feel if a goat went mean. But i know what happens when my roosters go mean. They are gone. I have kids and cannot take a chance on them being injured. But I have friends with dogs that I would never have in my house, and I don't judge them for it. They have to live with them, I don't.
Poor abused Doodle (that is what he thinks) is already learning some new manners. It is amazing what a waterhose or a bottle of vinegar/water will teach a goat. Wallace still feeds him, but I have been making it a point to walk to his gate with the waterhose. If he charges or rears up at the gate he gets a face full of water.
I still do not trust him but it is getting better. He is throwing such gorgeous babies with blue eyes that it is going to be hard to get rid of him.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
The Goat Spot Forum
1.8M posts
43.2K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to goat owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!