How do I get my new wethers to bond with us?

[Laurie B.]

Hi All - we have had our two wethers for a few weeks now and they are still running from us. From time to time one of them will come up and eat treats out of our hands. They were born the end of March and I'm guessing they didn't have much interaction with people before they came to us.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[madcow]

Goats take a while to figure out you aren't there to hurt them. Get a chair or an upturned bucket and sit quietly somewhere in their pen really often. Daily or more would be best. You might have to do this for weeks, or in my case with my buck, it took months. Don't make any attempt to pursue them, because until they trust you completely they will just flee if you go after them. They are naturally curious animals and if you are sitting there with them they will eventually come up to you. It has to be their idea. Offering treats is always a good way to build trust. If you give them feed every day you could hand feed it to them for a while until they trust you. They are less intimidated by you if you are sitting and know you won't try to chase them or go after them. It takes time....

 

[Laurie B.]

Thanks so much for this advice. This is what I have been doing, so I will just be patient and keep it up.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Be patient. Get them used to you feeding them grain at certain times of the day. It doesn't have to be a lot, just some times. If you want, you can dry lot them and feed them hay so that they look to you for food. That bonds animals more quickly than anything else. Don't chase them or make them feel chased. Eventually, they'll be coming up to you for food and pets.

 

[goatgurl]

greed is a good thing in goats at times. the advice from madcow and SkyWarrior is good. food and patience are the keys. good luck

 

[Laurie B.]

Thanks for the wonderful responses. We stopped giving them their feed yesterday unless they took it from our hands. It worked - this morning when I went out there they ran to meet me at the gate.

Thanks!!

 

[Devonviolet]

We have four weathered Nigerian Dwarfs, who came to us at the age of 8 months. They were very leary of us in the beginning. You have gotten excellent advise here! Patience and food will eventually win your little fellas over.

One of our boys (Little Guy) is bullied by the others, and for the longest time, we couldn't get near him. We were taking the boys out, to browse on the tall grass, after Spring rains. Little Guy would never let me put a leash on him to take him to the tie down chain. Then one day I had a brainstorm! I made a noose type loop using the leash handle and looped it over my arm. Then, I put a few alfalfa pellets in a bucket, in the same hand. When he came to eat the pallets, I slipped the loop over his head and Voila'! Instant leash! I let him finish the alfalfa and was finally able to take him out to browse with his brothers!

Something else our guys love, is being brushed. We have several large tree stumps, for the goats to climb on. Sometimes I will sit on one of the stumps, and they come over to be brushed and have their neck rubbed. They all seem to love that!

 

[KaliMoran]

Being a new goat mom with NO RULES (yet...) I made friends with our shy little guy by "training" him to head butt a thick rubber dog toy on a rope. He absolutely LOVES the game now and throws all sorts of bucks and twists and rears of excitement when I dangle it in front of him. Although I realize that encouraging head butting of any sort is probably a huge no-no for goat owners, I also remind myself that he's a dwarf and my first baby goat ever so... we carry on. Good luck with your guys; I felt completely hopeless when I first got mine and they wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. They're too curious not to come around eventually though, it seems.