Chat
12-01-2023, 08:48 AM
Sorry, I didn't realize what a huge post I'd written there! Sometimes I get a bit carried away.
If the buck is 3 years old and was gentle before you got him I can see why you want to make the effort to correct his behavior. Since the buck came from a different herd, it's very possible he was with other goats that were dominant and he's now in a position of leadership for the first time. This change in power dynamics can certainly go to some goats' heads! This is why changing the herd structure (sending the buck back to his original herd for example) can sometimes be a very good solution. We often don't realize just how much herd social dynamics affect our goats' general attitude and interactions with humans. Many of us have had fully bonded, bottle-raised goats that became shy and timid of people because they were being bullied by other goats in the herd every time people entered the pen. It wasn't the human-goat interactions that ruined the relationship. It was the goat-goat interactions that ruined it. Right now you're having to establish yourself as boss of the herd in the absence of any other bosses telling this buck what to do, which makes your position a lot trickier. Some personalities aren't cut out to be good herd leaders. I've started paying attention to that when I sell goats to people. A goat with a mean personality should go with a dominant goat that is a firm but gentle leader. If the mean goat is dominant it makes herd life miserable for everyone and creates headaches for the new owner. A mean goat can learn to be gentle if he has good examples to follow from a good herd leader. That's one thing I love about having big pack wethers on my place. They've established a herd hierarchy in which aggressive young bucks are repeatedly put in their place and required to behave, but the wethers aren't mean or antagonistic toward the upstarts. They simply require (and enforce) a certain type of behavior, and when that behavior pattern is followed they all get along great and can be good buddies. The bucks raised by my wethers eventually become gentle leaders themselves. It's fascinating to watch how goats interact in a herd. I try to take lessons from them.
If the buck is 3 years old and was gentle before you got him I can see why you want to make the effort to correct his behavior. Since the buck came from a different herd, it's very possible he was with other goats that were dominant and he's now in a position of leadership for the first time. This change in power dynamics can certainly go to some goats' heads! This is why changing the herd structure (sending the buck back to his original herd for example) can sometimes be a very good solution. We often don't realize just how much herd social dynamics affect our goats' general attitude and interactions with humans. Many of us have had fully bonded, bottle-raised goats that became shy and timid of people because they were being bullied by other goats in the herd every time people entered the pen. It wasn't the human-goat interactions that ruined the relationship. It was the goat-goat interactions that ruined it. Right now you're having to establish yourself as boss of the herd in the absence of any other bosses telling this buck what to do, which makes your position a lot trickier. Some personalities aren't cut out to be good herd leaders. I've started paying attention to that when I sell goats to people. A goat with a mean personality should go with a dominant goat that is a firm but gentle leader. If the mean goat is dominant it makes herd life miserable for everyone and creates headaches for the new owner. A mean goat can learn to be gentle if he has good examples to follow from a good herd leader. That's one thing I love about having big pack wethers on my place. They've established a herd hierarchy in which aggressive young bucks are repeatedly put in their place and required to behave, but the wethers aren't mean or antagonistic toward the upstarts. They simply require (and enforce) a certain type of behavior, and when that behavior pattern is followed they all get along great and can be good buddies. The bucks raised by my wethers eventually become gentle leaders themselves. It's fascinating to watch how goats interact in a herd. I try to take lessons from them.