[Jayme_Alaska]

We took our Wether out on a walk yesterday, leaving our soon-to-freshen doe at home and bringing our little new buckling along with us. We realized Jagger, our almost 2 year old wether was so much more mellow and stuck to our sides like a well behaved old dog.

Are wethers more competative or protective when does are around? Normally, when we go on walks Jagger goes out up front unless I make him stay behind me while Isabell the doe wanders around or stays behind us.

Jagger was so well behaved and mellow that we're thinking about leaving Isabell every so often just to have our boy more focused. Has anyone else noticed anything like this with their goats?

 

[idahonancy]

I've never had a doe but at the age of 2 you may find your wether is maturing. At this age my 3 boys started figuring things out, good behavior was not always consistant but progressively got better. With firm loving guidance you will probably see a lot of potential over the next year in your wether. Good luck.

 

[sanhestar]

just for clearance: you wether was out alone with you, without another goat?

Then him sticking with you is normal, he would be much more at risk as single animal to be grabbed by a predator.

It's not competitiveness but safety in numbers that makes him more forward going.

 

[cryptobrian]

I'll see varying behavior depending on the "mix" of goats, not so much if one is a wether or doe. With our own goats, their line order is pretty well established, but on occasion one will decide they want to lead or must be behind another ... and sometimes that conflicts with what another goat has decided but they work it out. This is much more apparent when we hike as a group with goats from other herds ... they can get a bit more frisky as they work out their order and there will typically be one insisting on taking up the rear, one or tying jockeying for the lead, and some just must follow some other particular goat regardless of where they are in the overall position. Again, we just work it all out ... but all of the behavior of course disappears when they hike solo, so they will be more mellow. Unless they are competing with, in which case you have another problem. ;-)