Wondering if anyone has any good tips for taming goats to let us touch them consistently. We just bought two Boer goats that are 5 months old and apparently they were never handled much. We've had them home since Sunday this week. The little boy comes to us any time he sees us but still doesn't want to be touched. The little girl will come to her name sometimes if we have grass or something to feed her but she won't let us touch her at all. I don't want to force her because I don't want to scare her but these are our first goats so I'm up for any suggestions.
taming goats?
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HoneyDreameMomma
True BYH Addict
My suggestion is to find a treat they love and encourage them to eat it from your hand. Take your time with them, and keep in mind, some goats just aren't as cuddly as others. Sometimes the example of a tame goat helps. We have a doe who used to be very skittish and hated to be touched. After she had babies and saw that the babies would come to us to be petted (one of her girls is the biggest lovebug in our entire herd), she finally started letting us touch her. Now, she loves to be petted too.
Rocco
Ridin' The Range
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We bought our original four Boer does out of a large herd and they had never been human imprinted for sure. We got them home, let them out of the trailer into the pasture and off they went....thought I'd never see them again much less be able to have "pet quality" goats.
We originally used deer corn, then other treats and feed, but slowly they warmed to us. A couple of them became extremely people friendly, one other mostly friendly, and the last one would come for the hand out but - Don't Touch Me. We have gotten rid of three of the four now and still have, of course, the one that is the least people friendly. As it turned out she is the best quality of the four and is the most "goat friendly". She's herd queen over what is now mostly Myotonic does and she is usually a gentle queen.
But be patient, keep working with them and if possible sit with them in small spaces. Several of our recent does were not friendly at all until kidding time. At kidding we pen them. Being in there with them frequently (mainly to imprint their new kids), hand feeding the doe, etc, seems to work almost 100% of the time to gain their trust. But having that time in a more confined space and not forcing anything, in my opinion, is key.
We originally used deer corn, then other treats and feed, but slowly they warmed to us. A couple of them became extremely people friendly, one other mostly friendly, and the last one would come for the hand out but - Don't Touch Me. We have gotten rid of three of the four now and still have, of course, the one that is the least people friendly. As it turned out she is the best quality of the four and is the most "goat friendly". She's herd queen over what is now mostly Myotonic does and she is usually a gentle queen.
But be patient, keep working with them and if possible sit with them in small spaces. Several of our recent does were not friendly at all until kidding time. At kidding we pen them. Being in there with them frequently (mainly to imprint their new kids), hand feeding the doe, etc, seems to work almost 100% of the time to gain their trust. But having that time in a more confined space and not forcing anything, in my opinion, is key.
goatboy1973
True BYH Addict
Purina apple horse treats is the treat of choice for our goats. They will tackle me to get them. Three months ago we purchased a small herd of Koy Ranch Spanish goats. They are all Spring 2013 kids right off the ranch in Eldorado, TX which is a 1000+ acres. These goats roam the ranch like deer do, so to say they were wild is an understatement! When we got them to our ranch in Tennessee, they were placed in a large quarantine lot and stayed 100 yds.+ away from us at all times. When quarantine was up, they were turned in with the commercial herd which tamed them some. We then started feeding a little sweet feed to all the goats and now the little Koy Spanish goats will come to the fence and eat feed and are inquisitive but are still really flighty. Feed will help tame them better than anything I've found.
