NubianNerd
Chillin' with the herd
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- May 18, 2009
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Before we go any further, I want to make it clear that she is NOT aggressive toward people, only other goats. She is also not my goat.
A few years ago, I sold a doeling (Sonja) to a friend of mine as one of her first goats. She was one of those doelings that is just born to be queen, from the day she was born and bossing the other kids her age (and even a few of the older ones!). She retained this attitude as she grew up and through her first freshening. However, this year she had a horrible freshening--both her kids tried to come out at the same time, the vet got involved, she was in a lot of pain, one of the kids died either while he was still in there or shortly after he hit the ground. The other kid seemed to have some brain damage but she'll probably end up okay.
Sonja, however, has become downright dangerous to all of the other goats, even her daughter from last year. Her owner says that when she comes in the barn, all the other goats either run out or try to hide under the manger, poor things. She nearly crippled another doe this past weekend, which is what spurred this post.
Her owner needs things to get better soon or Sonja will need to be re-homed. I stand by the goats I sell, and had planned to take her back, but circumstances have come up so that I just can't take on another milker. I've agreed to help with re-homing her if necessary, but I'd rather it not get that far and I think she could be pretty difficult to re-home without working on this problem.
I do NOT want to see this goat go to auction or butcher, she's got many more productive years in her and her owner is willing to do just about anything to get her sweet Sonja back. So I'm wondering if anyone here has some tips on getting Sonja back to a manageable state. I was thinking of recommending an herbal calmer, like MareMagic or something. Has anybody had any luck with such products in goats? I would prefer a less costly way, but since she's aggressive to the other goats, that seems like really difficult behavior to modify. Hopefully someone here will prove me wrong!
Thanks in advance!
A few years ago, I sold a doeling (Sonja) to a friend of mine as one of her first goats. She was one of those doelings that is just born to be queen, from the day she was born and bossing the other kids her age (and even a few of the older ones!). She retained this attitude as she grew up and through her first freshening. However, this year she had a horrible freshening--both her kids tried to come out at the same time, the vet got involved, she was in a lot of pain, one of the kids died either while he was still in there or shortly after he hit the ground. The other kid seemed to have some brain damage but she'll probably end up okay.
Sonja, however, has become downright dangerous to all of the other goats, even her daughter from last year. Her owner says that when she comes in the barn, all the other goats either run out or try to hide under the manger, poor things. She nearly crippled another doe this past weekend, which is what spurred this post.
Her owner needs things to get better soon or Sonja will need to be re-homed. I stand by the goats I sell, and had planned to take her back, but circumstances have come up so that I just can't take on another milker. I've agreed to help with re-homing her if necessary, but I'd rather it not get that far and I think she could be pretty difficult to re-home without working on this problem.
I do NOT want to see this goat go to auction or butcher, she's got many more productive years in her and her owner is willing to do just about anything to get her sweet Sonja back. So I'm wondering if anyone here has some tips on getting Sonja back to a manageable state. I was thinking of recommending an herbal calmer, like MareMagic or something. Has anybody had any luck with such products in goats? I would prefer a less costly way, but since she's aggressive to the other goats, that seems like really difficult behavior to modify. Hopefully someone here will prove me wrong!
Thanks in advance!
