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+--- Thread: The Steps of Goat Aggression (/showthread.php?tid=172)
RE: The Steps of Goat Aggression - Erikthviking - 12-12-2023
(12-04-2023, 05:51 PM)Nanno Wrote: Keeping his distance is actually good progress. Pain to be avoided is still something learned. He needs to learn that hitting people is painful! A hot stove is an inanimate object. It harbors no ill will toward anyone. Yet we all learn as children that we must respect it and not put our hands on it, either on purpose or even by accident because the stove does not care. It will burn us regardless of our intentions. When a child first gets burned they might stay as far from the stove as possible for a while until they realize that it's not going to jump out and burn them for no reason. In fact, it's a great thing to cozy up to, but it still has to be respected for the hot object it is.
Any stout fencepost or a barn wall will do for tying your goat up. He should only be tied when you're there, such as at feeding times or if you're working in the barnyard. You can also tie him up and trim his hooves. I would probably work with his hooves whether he needed a trim or not just to drive home the point that I'm in charge and can handle him as I please. My favorite halters are the Sopris X: https://www.soprisunlimited.com/halters
A big goat like yours would probably wear a size 6. They're not cheap, but they'll last a lifetime and unlike other goat halters, these actually fit.
A halter and a stout rope tied to a fencepost or a ring in the wall of the shelter should do the trick. He'll probably rear up and act crazy at first, but oh well. It's unlikely that he'll actually hurt himself, but keep an eye on him anyway just in case. When (not if) he hooks a leg over the rope and gets tangled, you should let him fight it for a while until he either figures out how to untangle himself or gives up fighting and looks defeated and helpless (or looks like he could injure himself, like if he wraps it around his neck). At that point, rescue him. It only takes a few times for the dumbest goat to figure out fighting doesn't work and that he needs to stand quietly or he'll get himself in trouble. It also leaves a good impression when you rescue them from being entangled. They start looking to you as a source of help.
Okay, I think I am past the point of jynxing myself now, so I will update. Since my last post, I have had no negative interactions with my buck. I still carry a baseball bat when I am in the pen with him, but I have only had to so much as point it at him one time and he immediately backed away. A couple of days ago started to come into the barn when I was in there, saw me, and rushed out of there as fast as he could. Another week or so, and I will reduce to carrying the riding crop. So far so good. Thank you for your help.
RE: The Steps of Goat Aggression - Nanno - 12-12-2023
Yay! I'm glad he's staying far away from your space and that he got the message that you're not to be messed with. Once he realizes that you aren't interested in harming him or competing with him, he should start being more comfortable coming near you without confronting you. He just needs to learn that balance.
Our boy Pest recently toppled my big king wether, Finn, from the top of the "goatem pole." I never saw them fight. It seems like Finn just didn't think his spot at the top was worth defending against a hormonal buck. Now that Pest is king of the herd for the first time, he's starting to stand up to me a bit more, as if he thinks there might be another rung to climb. I'm keeping an eye on his behavior. I hadn't carried the riding crop out with me in ages, but I brought it the other day as a reminder. Pest started pushing on the gate when I let him out that morning and when I tried to shoo him away he braced and presented his horns at me. I pinched his ear and instead of backing away, he clipped my hand with his horn. I chased him around a bit but his hackles were up and he didn't look very submissive so I brought the riding crop out with me when I did chores that evening. Pest immediately remembered it, backed down, and hasn't given me any more trouble these last few times we've interacted. I don't think I even had to touch him with it. I'm keeping our interactions to a minimum so he doesn't get any ideas. Friendliness so quickly leads to dominance in bucks! It's unfortunate that they're wired that way, but I have to respect that it's how nature made them.
RE: The Steps of Goat Aggression - Sherridjones@yahoo.com - 01-17-2026
So glad I found this group. I’ve had 4 wether males, bottle raised &
Admittedly spoiled for 1 1/2 years . I’ve realized I’ve treated them more as pets. They have many acres to graze in the day and I put them in a pen at night when I feed them. They’ve been much more “rowdy” and I assumed it was the cool Texas November-January weather. Today, they scared me. I was out in the field with my grandbaby in my arms and my daughter. The dominant male started rearing up at my daughter. She hit his nose with a cell phone and he stopped only to turn attention toward me. At first i thought they were playing but they all quickly started bullying me with pushing, rearing up &
Hitting me with horns. They were distracted by another of my adult children rustling around with the feed and I got my grandson and daughter out of the field. The 4 then starting running at me (at about 30 yards away ) and got to within inches of me rearing up and about to hit me when my son shot his handgun in the air to startle them. They stopped for about 5 seconds and then starting pushing me around again. He had to fire 2x more to give me opportunity to get away. I am so rattled now and afraid of them to be honest. I appreciate the advice/ information in this thread. They are big and I am not sure I can be brave enough to correct this aggression.
RE: The Steps of Goat Aggression - Nanno - 01-18-2026
Yikes! This IS scary and it sounds like your wethers need some very real behavior modification! The most difficult scenario is when you buy several baby wethers at the same time. They learn nothing about herd hierarchies from that situation but tend to become bullies. Make sure when you go in to feed that you carry some kind of "weapon" with you for self-defense. I always recommend a riding crop, but a spray bottle or squirt gun works very well on some goats. When they challenge you, get big, get loud, and get aggressive. Face them full-on and put your hands in the air. Yell and clap and stomp. Make them think you are 10x bigger than you are. I will sometimes throw things as well. Sticks, pinecones, horse poo... whatever objects come to hand that won't actually injure them (rocks are not a good option except as a final resort when it's your safety vs. theirs). Your goats must not only respect you, but they must also respect any humans that are with you, especially children.
Best of luck with your herd. I hope you can get their behavior turned around. Read through all the posts in this thread. I've typed up a lot of detailed info here about body language and goat social interactions that will help you understand why they do what they do and how to interact with goats in a way that they understand and can respect. Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to approve your post. For some reason it didn't show up in the "today's posts" list yesterday when I was approving new members. Your future posts will not need approval to show up.