Cattle Prods?

[Goat Whisperer]

I have used a prod with goats and I don't see anything wrong with it.

I don't use it on mine right now, I don't have any issues with my main bucks. They are gentlemen The prod is great when feeding or dealing with gate climbers. Usually the sound of shocking a fence post is enough to move them back.

I actually ended up with a prod after I was needed to care for a meat goat herd. The owned had recently bought a huge New Zealand buck, biggest buck I have ever been around. I told the owner that I'm not dealing with him unless I had a good prod. I could do most care taking thru the fence but when I went in I always had a prod. Thankfully he was a gentle giant.

I have been taken down before by a different buck mentioned above (not my buck) and it only took a second for this buck to hook me behind the knees and get me down to the ground and against a post. He was freezer fare anyway. I didn't have the prod with him.

I purchased a 2 yr old lamancha buck, owner said he was a sweetheart but once I got him it was clear that his affection was not sweet. He would rub his head all over people to mark. Once rut hit it escalated and he was very dangerous. Nobody goes in with him, everything is done from the other side of the fence. When he needs work, he gets tied closely to the fence with several people and usually a dog or 2. His daughters are gorgeous so he is staying for now. Sadly I don't think his owners knew how to read bucks and didn't correct issues early on.

So try the prod and see how it goes from there. He is young so you may be able to correct his issues. This is why teaching them young makes a big difference.

Please be careful around him. Try to set a pen up that you can do almost all care they the fence. I know a lady who was almost killed by a Nubian buck. She would have died had nobody been around. She wasn't new to goats either. She's been raising lamancha for over 30 years and will not go in with adult bucks.

 

[sarahr]

Well that's a couple of votes for the prod so I think I will give it a try. I tried the stick method yesterday and I think I could actually see him laughing at me :/

I guess I will start off how I would with cattle, giving him a shock the next couple of times he misbehaves and then I'll see if he starts to respond to just the sound/sight of the prod.

Funnily enough my daughter, who is also fed up with him, did suggest that a shock to his 'family jewels' would stop his mounting behaviour in it's tracks, but I'm not sure that would be the best idea with a future breeder! Confirm/deny? XD

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I would never want to see someone have a prod and use it irresponsibly. You are the one who has let him get this bad. No absolutely do not shock him there. Use it on the body, not on a very sensitive area. Give a warning first be shocking a gate, post, etc. unless he is actually trying to attack. I don't know how old your daughter is, but I wouldn't let children around him. These animals can be gentle, but some can kill.

It is a powerful shock, you must be responsible and only let your responsible kids shock if needed (still shouldn't be around a dangerous buck…)This is not a toy.

 

[sarahr]

She was joking, sorry if that didn't come across We use the prods with cattle so we have experience with them. I'll give the warning a go, but personally I've never known an animal to react to the sound without actually being shocked first. After a couple of times they get wise is what usually happens with cows.

 

[Pamela]

I am so glad I found this thread. I am having quite a battle with our herd sire. He is a 3 yr old pure bred Boer. He has really hit his buck groove this summer. I've never had a problem with him until a few weeks ago. We picket him because he is a terrible fence pusher. He was wrapped around his post pretty well and I was trying to get him unwrapped so I could move him to a better spot. As soon as I unhooked his chain from the post, he was trying to take me. I grabbed his horns, and then a horn and a front leg to tip him. Not happening! He is so stocky and strong, I didn't have a chance. I finally was able to get the chain looped around his neck and used it as a choke collar to get him moved. When I got him to his new locale and let go of the choke collar he stomped the crap out of my foot.
I've steered pretty clear since then. My men are all at Scout camp and Bucky got himself tangled on a fence line . I thought I had him distracted and hurriedly tried to untangle him. I wasn't fast enough. He somehow managed to ram his head between my legs and hook his horns on the back of my thigh. I am so glad we took the points off his horns last summer, or I would be in the hospital. I ended up leaving him tangled for the night and had my adult daughters come help me get him better situated this morning. I have one daughter that is 6ft tall and as strong as an ox, so she wrestled with him while we got his chain straightened out and refigured.
I think we will use him for breeding this fall and then probably sell him for slaughter, though it pains me to do so. He is beautiful and throws nice babies.

 

[Latestarter]

Be careful Pam... be very careful. If he gets you down on the ground and you're there by yourself, that could turn out very, very bad. Glad you called it quits and waited till you had a little help to get him straightened out.

 

[Pamela]

His picket days are over. As soon as we can get a sturdy pen/pasture fence up he will be in it full time. I can't risk him getting loose and taking one of my little kids or grandkids. We are trying to get a meat goat operation going, and he has a big role to play, so I can't eliminate him entirely. However, we will have a better set up before too many more days pass.

 

[babsbag]

Hot hot hot wire. I can't say it enough...HOT WIRE!!!! My Boer buck could be a snot but he would whimper like a baby when he would hit that fence wire. My fences stay up and intact and all of goats stay in. Get at least a 1 joule charger, make sure you have good ground rods and put the hot wire at goat knee height. Another at the top is good too. Make so he can't lean or reach over the fence.

In the meantime, please be careful.