Buck destruction.

[Queen Mum]

I don't recall saying that everyone did have time to train an animal. Nor do I recall saying that it's wrong to get rid of a problem. Nor am I judging someone who doesn't have time to train one who is a problem. My experience has been that MOST of the extreme examples that people use to illustrate such problem animals are the exception not the rule.

I am saying that getting rid of a problem is NOT the ONLY solution. AND I am saying that NOT all problem goats are the results of bad genetics and bad breeding nor are they an animal that you HAVE to get rid of. AND in fact many problem animals are not dangerous at all. Many of them are just ill mannered adolescents going through a stage and most of them just need time, patience and training.

In other words, it is not black and white as some of the posts seem to suggest. If you have the time and the patience you CAN train the animal in most instances. If you want to keep the animal, you can in most instances, resolve the problem.

 

[elevan]

A fully grown, standard size male goat has the ability to cause great harm or even kill a human...that should always be foremost in the mind of any goat owner.

Every farm must do their due diligence and research options and make decisions that are best for their own farm. You have a choice to make...rehome the goat with full disclosure, send the goat to the freezer or find a way to make it work.

If he were here he would go to the freezer.

 

[redtailgal]

I can see training an animal and letting it go thru phases IF it is wethered and is going to be a pet. MAYBE........but I seriously doubt I would try it. Its a HUGE liability

But I would NEVER agree to breed an animal that EVER showed unwarranted aggression.

I'm pretty new to goats, but I've been around livestock my whole life. Aggressive livestock should be culled, in my opinion. In a breeding program, its just not plausible to train over aggression out of something.......you'll end up having to train it out of the offspring as well.

It's not a fun thing to have to consider, I know. We've had to cull out aggressive cattle, and I've had to help cull out ranch horses that were not fit for their job (horses were sold, not killed and they were all gelded). It's easy to want to do the kind thing to that particular animal, make excuses and try to work it out, but, I've seen that back fire so many times and have seen people seriously hurt (a couple actually KILLED by an animal they "trained" the aggression out of), so it's pretty black and white in my mind. Aggression is not a qualified breeding characteristic and thus must be culled from the herd.

One of my wethers got a little snotty, and I fixed it, I hope. He was dancing on a line, and if he had or does cross it, I'll put a bullet in his head that very day. If he would have still had his nuggets, and been part of my future breeding program, he'd be in the freezer right now.

Every one is different, and we each have to do what is best for our farm. But, we do need to make educated decisions. And if we ever decided to keep an animal that was/is aggressive, it needs to be permanent (with containment strong enough to prevent the animal from ever getting out or a stray neighborhood child from getting......no matter how well trained the animal is) or at least sold with full disclosure.

 

[Goatherd]

I don't recall saying that everyone did have time to train an animal. Nor do I recall saying that it's wrong to get rid of a problem. Nor am I judging someone who doesn't have time to train one who is a problem. My experience has been that MOST of the extreme examples that people use to illustrate such problem animals are the exception not the rule.

I am saying that getting rid of a problem is NOT the ONLY solution. AND I am saying that NOT all problem goats are the results of bad genetics and bad breeding nor are they an animal that you HAVE to get rid of. AND in fact many problem animals are not dangerous at all. Many of them are just ill mannered adolescents going through a stage and most of them just need time, patience and training.

In other words, it is not black and white as some of the posts seem to suggest. If you have the time and the patience you CAN train the animal in most instances. If you want to keep the animal, you can in most instances, resolve the problem.

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[Queen Mum]

I am NOT new to goats and SOME bucks go through a headbutting stage. They DO grow out of it. It is NOT genetic and it does NOT stay with them their whole lives. It CAN be destructive. They CAN be trained.

I have an example of it in my backyard. HIS NAME IS HOUDINI! He is a calm, well mannered easygoing buck. He went through that stage. AND he does NOT do it now. I did NO training with him at all. All he needed was a buck bigger than him to put him in his place. BJ did it. He will probably never do it again. IN FACT, he is the least aggressive of ALL the bucks in the buck pen. The farm I lived on in Texas had 8 examples of the same thing. EACH one of them went through the same stage. Each one of them grew out of it.

They had ONE goat who did not grow out of it. He had to be trained out of it. The training was quite effective.

 

[quiltnchik]

I am NOT new to goats and SOME bucks go through a headbutting stage. They DO grow out of it. It is NOT genetic and it does NOT stay with them their whole lives. It CAN be destructive. They CAN be trained.

I have an example of it in my backyard. HIS NAME IS HOUDINI! He is a calm, well mannered easygoing buck. He went through that stage. AND he does NOT do it now. I did NO training with him at all. All he needed was a buck bigger than him to put him in his place. BJ did it. He will probably never do it again. IN FACT, he is the least aggressive of ALL the bucks in the buck pen. The farm I lived on in Texas had 8 examples of the same thing. EACH one of them went through the same stage. Each one of them grew out of it.

They had ONE goat who did not grow out of it. He had to be trained out of it. The training was quite effective.

I, for one, do not have a buck for this very reason. However, if I did have a buck and if he was aggressive/destructive, he would be in the freezer. I had a wether that was "butt happy" and he has since been rehomed; it was either that or freezer camp. I have absolutely NO tolerance for a mean animal, period! Each to his own, but it's a tremendous liability to keep a mean animal and there is the very real possibility of being sued (or worse) if your animal were to hurt someone and/or destroy someone else's property.

 

[Godsgrl]

Personally, I would have Remington wethered first, then see if his behavior improves, if you were interested in keeping him. Then if it doesn't, or you don't want a wether around, then cull him. My friends had a bottle baby buck, and they didn't know not to play with his head. So they constantly pushed on his head and played with his horns. Then they got a doe. The buck was constantly after that poor doe. When she kidded, they separated the doe and buck, and the buck went crazy. He brutally attacked me when I went down to care for them. He ripped my jeans from hip to ankle, and bruised me almost to bleeding along my whole leg.

The owners first thought it was really funny, until it started happening to them. Then they sold him. I still wonder what attitude the buck would have had if he'd been wethered instead of sold. This experience has totally turned me against goats, which is a sad thing. When I read here about people owning gentle bucks, and that they can be around him, I realize how bad this buck was. Life is too short for this kind of stress. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[SDBoerGoats]

Remington IS well bred, the farm he came from raises show goats and are well known for their good bloodlines in these parts, and he has Ennobled bucks in his pedigree. The previous owners also showed him when he was a young buckling. And this attitude comes and goes. Since I shocked him, he hasn't smashed the walls or the feeders. But he has been totally sweet and mellow causing no trouble before, then one morning you will see him trying to crash a gate.

I don't mind "training him" as long as I know what to do when he is behaving this way and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Because when he's good, he's very very good. But when he's bad, he's horrid. LOL!If zapping him once in a while clears up his mind, I can do that, as long as I can get to him and he doesn't see me, because doing it after the barn smashing is over is pointless. Any other suggestions will be welcomed as far as training.