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+--- Thread: Problems Getting Babies yo Follow. (/showthread.php?tid=6794)
Problems Getting Babies yo Follow. - Starting Over - 04-27-2026
We do fine out on road until they encounter small hackberry seedlings on shoulder. Then i have totally lost them. No browse in either my goatyard or big pasture. Their only chance to chew on branches. They come to complete hault. Can't get them to move unless I put on ropes and drag. I can just see this in a real forest. Did not have this w: my Nubies. These are American Alpines. When i put on 4 ropes, they tangled and tripped me other day. Skinned elbow and had to really fight my way out of a football tackle.
RE: Problems Getting Babies yo Follow. - Nanno - 04-27-2026
That is a difficult situation for sure. When you can't offer good browse at home, it makes it really hard to take them out and expect them to follow you instead of stopping to gorge on every tasty bush along the way. I'm not sure what the best solution is. I'd start by putting your leader and one other goat on a leash and see if the other two will follow. Having only two on leashes will certainly make things simpler for you. If they other two won't follow, try switching which goats are on leashes and see if you can strike the right combo. I have a little of that problem this time of year when we walk from home. Walking from home is tricky because your goats don't feel worried about being left behind. They know exactly how to go home by themselves if you leave them, so they don't have nearly as much "glue" as when you're in unfamiliar territory. I have discovered that my "lackey" goat (Scout) is actually the one every other goat follows. If Scout stops to browse, everyone else hangs back with him. If I put the lead goat (Pest) on a leash and Scout decides not to follow, everyone hangs with Scout. But if I put Scout on the leash, everyone (especially Pest) sticks with him. I'm not sure why Scout is the one they they like to follow because he's not the leader. Scout has a firm position as the right-hand-man of whichever goat happens to be on top, so he's been they lackey to Finn, then Sonic, and now Pest, but he's never the lead goat himself, nor does he aspire to be. So I find it interesting that all the other goats stay with Scout. In the past, the other goats tended to follow whichever goat was in charge, but not in my current herd. So try leading different kids and see if one of them is the one they all follow. Leading two will make it harder for the other two to remain behind because they'll be outnumbered by you and the other two goats. Usually goats like to stay with the larger part of the herd.
I think also that if you can get them to a destination, let them stay there and browse for a while before you head back. This makes the destination rewarding. You don't want them think you're a killjoy who makes hiking no fun at all, and they'll be less tempted by goodies along the way if they know that goodies await them at the end. Hiking in totally unfamiliar territory is also a pretty good fix for this problem. Once they're good at following you in unfamiliar territory, it's easier to persuade them in familiar territory because following has become a habit. Best of luck!