How to intoduce a new goat Please Help

[terrilhb]

I am getting a new goat tomorrow. It is a doe. I have 1 doe. How should I introduce them with the smallest issues.

 

[chandasue]

I hope you get some response on this but I'll tell you what I've done and why it's not the best way to do it. I let them meet through the fence but I don't have enough pens set up to leave them separated so after the initial introductions of me standing out there for a couple hours with them, in they go to work out their differences. Now so far this has been ok but really you should have a separate pen and quarantine the new animals until you're sure they're healthy and that gives them time to get to know each other without beating the crap out of each other. But if you have to do it like I do, they seem to only really have issues with each other for the first couple days. Once everyone knows who's boss things simmer down.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i was kind of wondering if someone with more experience was going to answer also

but here's what we did.... we walked the new gal in and said, "hey ladies! here 's some fresh meat for ya!"

and then they worked it out.

there may be some pushing and shoving but they'll figure out who's the boss and who is the side kick.

on the other hand, when we got Vita back (she lives with another herd in the winter) she calmly walks in, gives everyone a sniff and a nuzzle i've never seen before in their normal goating around, and thats it. she calmly takes the best place and everyone else becomes her lacky.

you might want to supervise but remember that goats have a hierarchy and it may not immediately make sense who's boss.

hopefully they will just run up and sniff each other and be best friends.

good luck!

 

[freemotion]

Make sure they have plenty of room when you introduce them so they can get away from each other. Don't lock them up in a stall or small pen. If one is very aggressive to the other, if you can put up some type of visual barrier, that can help. I actually hung an old door (sideways, maybe 1.5-2' above the ground) across the middle of my communal stall. If my herd queen doesn't see the object of her anger she stays calm. Even though she can see the other doe's feet under the door, she stops chasing. She will allow 3-4 others to stay in the stall with her with this barrier, but without it....one other, a very low other!

For me, head-bonking is fine, belly ramming is not. I interfere if I see belly ramming, especially if the rammer sneaks up on the rammee. :/

 

[rrhall]

When we bring in a new goat we quarantine it for at least 30 days, worm it, and catch up on shots if needed. Then the LGD is introduced to the new goat first, so that they get used to each other. Then we turn the newbie out with the rest of the herd and keep a close eye on them. We have a large area for our goats, so that they can get away by themselves if needed. They work it out themselves, the boss will always be the boss.

 

[Chirpy]

I also put a new goat in a pen right next to my herd so that they can see each other for the first day; through the first night. Then, I move them in together and keep a very close watch on them. I move them in together in the early morning so I can watch them through that entire day. If you don't have a separate pen then walk them around in sight of your other goats for a while just to get them used to the sight of each other. Then... you have to put them together and really keep that close eye on them.

I also don't allow belly slamming.

Make sure they have LOTS of space to get away from each other. I also have 'toys' in the pen so that one can run around or hide behind the large items. Sometimes just losing sight of the other goat for a few moments will stop the chase.

Goats have a 'pecking' order and will need to work out who's boss and who's not. That can take hours or days. Let them work it out as long as they aren't hurting each other. Head butting is normal behavior. The only time I'd really be concerned is if one goat had horns and the other didn't.

Quarantining is always a good idea if you have the ability to do so. You should make sure the goat is coming from a 'clean' safe farm to begin with also. I make sure the entire herd is CAE, Brucella and Johne's negative before I ever let another goat on my property.

 

[20kidsonhill]

When we bring home a new goat they go into QUARANTINE area, so they don't meet their new friends, We keep them there for atleast 6 weeks, we check for soremouth, lice, we worm, vaccinate, work on getting them on their new feed.

Then we put them out with their herd mates, we have a lot of room, so space isn't really an isssue for us, but if the new goat isn't able to get to the feeders, then we pen her/him at night so they can get daily feed. some do fine, some take a really long time to feel like the herd. Plenty of space to eat is important.


Since I have my field dividid up, into several areas, adult breeding does, bucks, young does not big enough to put into main herd, and kids that are growing, I will bump a shy new comer down to the lower sized goats, so they can compete better. this also seems to help boost their confidence.

If you can't seperate, multiple feeding stations is very important.

 

[terrilhb]

Thank you everyone. I did all the above. My female is 1 yr old. The new goat is a 4 month old female. There has been some chasing. I think the older one is trying to play. She has not had anyone to play with in awhile. The boys are to rough. I have to stayy with them during feeding time. But so far so good. I am so excited here is a picture of my new girl

 

[Omri]

When i introduced my 18 mth old doe to my 4 mth old doe i just put them in together and watched them closely for a couple of days. The older one rammed the little one a couple of times. A couple of times i intervened. Then they were fine.