What should I do with a very aggressive (and getting more aggressive) buck?

Ridgetop

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I am not sure where you are located in northern California. Go online and search "North California Stock Yards". You will find a list of about 6 in northern California. 5 of them are off State Highway 99. The furthest north is near Shasta, the furthest south is Hanford. One in Petaluma is closer to the coast. Call them and find out which ones sell goats. Be sure to find out which days and times they have the goat sales. If the sale yard is too far away, ask if you can bring him in a day ahead.

When you are checking with the auction yards ask about scrapie tags. If the goat doesn't have a scrapie tag in his ear, most stock yards have their own scrapie tags that they will tag with when you bring him in. You will fill out paperwork at the stock yard that you are the owner. If you want to stay for the auction you can, otherwise they will send you a check and the sale information showing the gross amount that was bid and paid, the percentage charged by the sale yard (SCOM), and the yardage, if any. The check will be for the net amount.

The auction will charge a % of the price he brings. Most of them will charge "yardage" per head for the number of days, including auction day, your animal is there. Ask about the "Yardage" charge - it runs from $.50 to $1.50 per day. My auction charges $1/per head/per day and 10% of the sale price. Sheep and goats are fairly high at the moment if he is in good condition. I don't have any sale yards near me, most have closed down in the past 15 years. I drive between 1 and 2 hours one way to the auction depending on traffic, which is heavy between me and the sale yard. Two weeks ago we couldn't go on auction day so we took several lambs in the day before.

Some auctions are good, some are less so, but since you are getting rid of a problem just take him to the nearest one and be done.

Even if
 

SageHill

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You’ve gotten excellent advice. There are only two places for him the auction or your freezer. Seriously do this asap. Getting hurt is not something that should happen ever. If any animal here is dangerous it is out of here. I bought a horse that was misrepresented and drugged. When the drugs wore off it was holy hell. She was out of here in less than a week. I trained horses for 20 yrs that one was dangerous to the point of deadly.
There is this rehab mentality around animals. Yeah some can be rehabbed - but to the cost of some other animal that doesn’t need rehabbing and has no safety issues not given a good home.
I’m in Southern California- the auction down here is in Chino. I don’t know of any others but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
There is one other place you can try to unload him - the person that gave him to you.
Good luck and don’t let anyone get hurt. You may know how to “read” him and avoid getting seriously hurt - but that’s not true for others especially children.
 

Ridgetop

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There is this rehab mentality around animals. Yeah some can be rehabbed - but to the cost of some other animal that doesn’t need rehabbing and has no safety issues not given a good home.
Too right! Blame the movie industry where the crazy animal is tamed by kindness from a little girl or handicapped person. Foolish idea since the truly crazy animal would kill the person immediately! Some animals can be saved, some can't. Some are truly dangerous and probably have something wrong in their brains. They need to be put down.

We adopted 2 mustangs one year from the annual BLM roundup. They were yearlings. One was able to be tamed, the other was crazy. You couldn't even approach the stall without him rearing up and thrashing against the corral bars. I was afraid he would get a leg in the bars and break it. When you went to feed him, he would put his ears back and charge at you. His behavior kept unsettling the other yearling and our other horses were upset by it too. After a month of this behavior, I called BLM up and returned him. They told me that there were some that were just crazy.


t I’m in Southern California- the auction down here is in Chino. I don’t know of any others but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Chino is where I take my animals. There used to be 3 in Chino, and one just for small livestock, but with the loss of the dairy industry they closed. There also used to be one in Antelope Valley but it is gone too.
 

Fangeddeer

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Ik it’s been awhile but does anyone know how to ask your family about this? They’re anti killing animals and think they can be saved or rehomed but I don’t know how to ask such things
 

Ridgetop

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What do you have to ask your family about? He is dangerous. You have scars from him. I would just take it to the sale barn and then tell your family you sold him because he was too dangerous to keep around. No need to mention killing him since you don't know what will happen to him after being sold.
 

SageHill

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Ik it’s been awhile but does anyone know how to ask your family about this? They’re anti killing animals and think they can be saved or rehomed but I don’t know how to ask such things
Hate to be blunt but you shouldn’t have to wait until someone has a cast from a broken bone or is in the hospital or worse. If it’s someone else you can add in lawsuits against you.
Do as @Ridgetop said. Just say you’re selling him. Don’t sugar coat it.
 

farmerjan

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A little story to show you what can happen with "less than safe animals.." I used to test a dairy farm that was owned by some Amish... the kids all help with chores and all, that is their way and I'm good with that... They had a heifer come in fresh and was milking her about a month... She would be fine for several milkings then go on a kicking spree... a kicking to hurt you kind of kicking spree. One time I told the farmer that he really needed to sell her before someone got hurt badly, not just some bruises... and it didn't matter if she was milking good... about 2 months later I was there, and noticed the cow was not there to be tested.... and the son came in with a cast up to his shoulder... he was 11-12 or so... and I said did you jump off the hay wagon and come down on your arm??? and his dad looked at me and said no, I was wrong, and that heifer went on a kicking spree when the son was helping milk and she caught him and flung him back against the pipe with a real bad kick, knocked him against the wall and broke his arm in 2 places... he has had to have 2 surgeries and may need another due to the way it was shattered.... the cow went to the stockyard the next day and put in the cull pen for slaughter... and then he said to me, I should have listened to you but I thought she would get past it.... and my son paid for it. I told him that I was no expert, but that I have seen too many that just have attitudes, and sometimes they get over it, but sometimes they don't... and too many farmers have told me that these animals are just not worth it and they wished they had gotten rid of them sooner.... many admitted they had gotten varying degrees of hurt from them...

You do not need to give excuses... you simply do as was suggested... tell the family that the goat was too dangerous and you sold it before someone got an eye put out or badly hurt from being slammed into again...
Or else return it to the person that gave it to you and tell them you will not keep an animal that is that dangerous and that since it was like that when they gave it to you, you were returning it to them so they can deal with it.
Me, I'd just ship it off and be done with it.
 

Margali

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@Fangeddeer if you don't feel safe working with the billy, DON'T! You mentioned breeder of your Nigerian doe coming to help with birth. Maybe the breeder can help explain danger the billy represents to parents / decision makers. It sucks but a lot of time the same info coming from "adult" is given more weight.
 
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