Locking goats up at night? Help!

[oppida]

We have two Boer goats- young, just weaned from their mama. We go them about a week ago. They are terribly nervous and absolutely scared of us. Part of this stems from them escaping the first day they arrived and we had to chase them all over our little town, through 30-40 acres of pasture. I think they have been traumatized from that experience!

We have them in a large fenced off area with plenty of pasture, weeds, etc. It is a 4.5 foot high fence covered in sheep fencing. We also have a 3 sided shelter with a heavy livestock gate on it.

We lock them up every night, but it's a complete struggle and ends up with us chasing them for a half an hour and then getting them into the shelter- they scream, run, etc. I fear we are making things worse having to chase them every night- we seem to be traumatizing them! If we leave them be, they will not go into the shelter at night, instead they curl up together along the fenceline.

I've been trying to lure them with feed, but they don't trust me and won't come to me. I'll leave feed in the shelter and then sneak up and shut the gate on the shelter, but lately one will go in and the other will stand look out for me! I might be lucky to lock one in, but the look out will run away and then scream for her sister and I have to catch her. They are smart!!!!

Anyway, my question is do you lock your goats up every night? We do have coyotes, mountain lions and bears around where we live. The coyotes are the biggest threat. I wonder if the coyotes can actually jump the fence?

Any tips on getting them to trust me? To go into their shelter at night?

I'm on my own 5 days a week (with three kids and my husband works out of town) and have to wrangle them in every night. It's getting harder and harder. We have collars and some rope on them to catch them, but they are fast and it becoming an impossible task!

Thank you!!!!

 

[SarahFair]

I would probly "starve them out".

Leave them in the shelter once youve got them in there. Give them fresh water but make sure they get good and hungry...
Go out a few times a day and offer something by hand (pick a green branch off something, or grain, or hay). If they dont want to take it, dont leave it.
They will eventually get hungry enough to come over..


That is what I would do

 

[heatherlynnky]

I've not had goats long but i did mine the same way I did my chickens. When I first get them I keep them in an enclosed area for several days. They have their food and water of course. I sit in there as i get time. I bring treats. i sing. I talk to them. By the time I let them out, they know me and they go into their area on their own each night. I just have to shut the door after them. Bribery with treats works. For my goats I also put molassas over their dry pellets and mixed it up really well. Big treat and since it always ended up on my hands some they would come lick that off and then stay to be petted. Just an idea.

 

[poorboys]

are they with their mama's, they should follow her. i have never locked up my goats, just at a certain time in the evening they all go to their barns, with a new one i usually have to show a kid where it's at but at some point they naturally go in just because their nosy. good luck, but I would'nt chase them, it makes it harder on both of you.

 

[Stacykins]

I lock my goats up every night too, I hear the coyotes singing most nights. Very close to the house, too. Here, the evening routine is the 'running of the goats'. All I do is open their pasture fence and they make a beeline for the barn. They all get some grain (the wether gets a small handful) and are excited to go in each night. But that took a while to happen, heh.

I'd suggest trying to gain their trust. Treats galore! And don't just give them treats when you are trying to get them to go in. During the day, go and sit with them, with a pocketful of treats. If they come near you, give them a treat. Eventually, they will learn to associate you with treats, and be enthusiastic about seeing you. They'll likely even start to follow you, too!

 

[20kidsonhill]

I would just keep them in the shelter area for a week or two, with hay and water and offer grain one or two times a day. This will help them establish a homebase so to speak. You may also want to try to put a smaller box inside the shelter, like a large covered dog crate, or a box made out of pallets(with a roof), ect...something with a small dog hole in it for them to get in and out of, but gives them the feeling of plenty of protection. I find our kids love to hide(lay) in small spaces.

Make a catch corner for when you need to get your hands on them. Go to the back corner of the pen and build a small pen(4x4 feet) in the corner that has a gate or gates that swing and move easily. Open it up so it runs an 8 foot length along one wall and 4 feet from the wall, just slowly herd the kids around the big pen to the catch pen so they go into the opening and then slowly close them into the 4x4 foot area. Now you don't have as big an area to chase them in. MOve slowly around them, squat down low to catch them in the corner.

When you put out hay, just sit down for a little while a few feet away and get them to trust you enough to come eat hay while you are sitting there. Then when they get more hungry and more whiling to eat grain do the same with the grain. Sit near by, but not so close that they wont come up to the feed. Every few days move a little closer.

Or just catch them in the catch corner and sit with them for a few minutes each day.

You are right, chasing them around is not helping the situation at all.

After a couple weeks, let them out of the shelter area and see if they are more willing to go in it for feed in the evenings to close them up.

 

[Catahoula]

Your situation is very much like ours three months ago. We got our boer wethers when they were 11 weeks old. They were wild kids. We also have a three sided shelter with a gate in front. It sit inside ~40' round pen. We fenced in about 2 acres for them. When we first got the kids, we left them inside the shelter for a few days. I'd go inside and sit with them and bribe them with food. It took a few days before they stop jumping every time I moved. After about a week, I let them out of the shelter but they remain inside the pen. By then, one of them was friendlier and would come to me and the other follows. I always have some treats too. They also know I bring their favorite food so they'd follow me into the shelter so I can lock them up at night. I keep their water and food inside the shelter. After a few weeks, I started to let them outside the pen. They seem to know the pen and shelter is safety and anything spooks them, they run back into the shelter. It just takes time. Now...they would hang out by our deck and bleat...when they want attention, food or whatever....
We lock them up every night because we have mountain lions and bears. They pretty much know I have good food at night so whenever I go out now, they would follow me into the shelter.
Even after three months, one is still a little shy and he may never change. One thing I learned is that I never chase the goats. They always win. Instead, I stand a better chance running the other way and they would follow.

Good luck!

 

[Rebbetzin]

I wonder if the coyotes can actually jump the fence?

Any tips on getting them to trust me? To go into their shelter at night?


Thank you!!!!

We have coyotes and bobcats here, and the coyotes can easily and quickly dig under a fence, and bobcats easily climb fences. Our goatpen has a 6ft chain link fence with rocks and railroad ties around the bottom of the fence hopefully discourage digging under.

Last year we lost two lambs and a kid, to local preditors. We do now have an inner more secure pen where the new kids are kept at night.

We make sure the kids get handled a lot when they are born. As for older kids, I think spending some time with them where you are not chasing them is a great idea. Maybe try taking them on a lead for a walk with some treats. There has to be a way of "befriending" them. You will have to overcome their first impresson of you. Keeping them locked up for a bit and hand feeding them might be a good idea. Sort of force them to "like" you.

 

[Teeah3612]

We have had our new doe (Sassy) for about 2 weeks and she is starting to get used to us. We spend time with her each day and I make her sit on my lap from time to time. We always make sure not to startle her, since she faints. Of course, when we first got her the fainting thing made catching a lot easier. She will now let me walk right up to her and pet her, but she doesn't come when called yet. She is easy to herd into her secure pen at night.

We leave the boys out, but she cried out the first week and we were afraid she would draw the coyotes down to the yard.

Peanut, our buck, is one year old. We let him and his buddy (Buttons) free range during the day and they come running back to the pen when you clank the food bowls at night. Peanut was a bottle baby and thinks that people mean food. Teach your girls to associate you with food and you should have no problem getting them to come running.

 

[GoatCrazyLady]

When I got my 11 week old nygerian, he was the same way. I let him settle in with the other two for a week and then started picking him up and taking him to a small area by ourselfs and he would sit on my lap while I pet him & talked to him. After just a few times he really came around. Loves his pets now!