Getting year old goats

[DonnaBelle]

Ha! Maybe I just had the meanest goat in the world. She was raised by herself and fed dog food. That would make anyone cranky.LOL

At least the poster has some varied imput.

DonnaBelle

 

[ksalvagno]

You could band the horns if you really want these goats. Otherwise, wait for goats that are already disbudded. I have one goat that is horned and it is a pain for me. She never tries to use her horns on me but all you have to do is be in the way when she turns her head and you can get hit with her horns. Also she will use them on the other goats. I know someone who banded her whole herd of goats because she was tired of repairing fencing.

 

[Catahoula]

Actually they're 1 month shy of a year. Two wethers. Would you disbud these?

I do not want horns. They'll get caught in our fence, (we just spent oodles on fence panels) plus we have a dog. I'd hate to find out they're caught when we're not there for some reason. We are getting them for weed control and pets.

But now the more I look up disbudding, the more I should leave these cuties and get two that have been disbudded as babies.

What do you think? Is it too late? And if not, how much is it? Someone mentioned an "arm and a leg" at the cost of debudding. Ack!

Newbie without a clue.

I was at the same situation just a couple months ago. I was going to get two older does with horns. I was told they are sweet and friendly so I wasn't too afraid for our dog. I have always wanted goats and I really wanted hornless ones. I decided to wait and was able to find my disbudded kids. I just got them home last Friday. I am really happy with my decision. They do butt each other with their heads and they butted my dog a few times also. I have known a few horned goats that are friendly and have lived with dogs and children. They are wonderful. Horns or no horns, it's a personal preference. Go with your heart and you'll not regret it. Do remember even if you decided to get disbudded kids, there are always chances the horn area will grow scur/s... Sometimes they look deform too.
Good Luck!

 

[annaz]

We are going to tell this person that we'll wait. He has many kids, but unsure if he's willing to another two or if we can afford them.

But we have one fence that goes to the outer edge of of state land and I would hate them to be stuck there where coyotes and bobcats go even though we're hot wiring the fence. Plus we live in the desert. To be stuck when we're not home for some reason....oooh...I don't even want to think about it.

 

[elevan]

We are going to tell this person that we'll wait. He has many kids, but unsure if he's willing to another two or if we can afford them.

But we have one fence that goes to the outer edge of of state land and I would hate them to be stuck there where coyotes and bobcats go even though we're hot wiring the fence. Plus we live in the desert. To be stuck when we're not home for some reason....oooh...I don't even want to think about it.

Just a word of caution for you. I have both horned and disbudded goats (I prefer horned) and my disbudded goats seem to get into more troublesome situations than the horned ones do, so please don't get a false sense of security just because you go disbudded.

 

[annaz]

It's more for what could happen to them if they got stuck while we were gone because of our fence. The likelihood is less, although I realize it could still be there.