Addy's Settling In

Lanthanum

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I just bought a new Nigerian Dwarf doe, 7 months old, that hasn't been handled by people. She was in a herd with four other Nigerians so I thought she'd be fine with my pygmies, so I put her in a seperate pen and placed my tamest doe in there with her for company and to get her used to the herd. However, I have found out she is very aggressive. She is horned and about four inches taller than my biggest pygmy. I checked up on her and she was pinning my friendly baby Scout against the fence and butting her violently when she got near her. Scout is tiny compared to, (I named her Addy, short for Adventurer), and Addy could seriously hurt her, so I left Addy in the pen alone and let Scout away from her. Addy also tries to headbutt me when I come near her, is she just afraid? The people I bought her from had sold her mother the same day so I assume she is just afraid and confused. This aggression cannot continue on my farm. She is in a pen where she can see and talk to the other goats but cannot hurt or be hurt by the others. She is not tame whatsoever. How do I fix this? I bought her as a milk doe so I need her tame enough to milk and friendly with my other goats. How do I fix the relationship with the other goats and with me? Is it another "give it time" thing? Or is there something I must do? I CAN NOT have an aggressive doe, especially with her having such a size advantage to be able to seriously hurt my others
 

CntryBoy777

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There certainly are many with much more knowledge and experience than me, but there are some things to consider, like....was her mother the herd queen of the group of 4? The hierachy tends to follow blood lines...also, her whole world has changed with no familiarity around her. We have pygmyies and they were pasture goats with very little human contact, it took us working with her for about 4wks with the then 8yr old doe; she was very skiddish. Once we found something they liked...which happened to be sweetgum leaves....I would cut some and go in with them and hold the branches as they ate. I would continue moving my hand closer to them, but didn't touch them...after the first wk I was able to reach and touch them with my finger tips with the branches between us....the two young wethers we got with her was the first to really warm up. Now, she comes to me and tugs on my sleeve for rubbings and treats...we've had them for a year and a half now. So, it will probably take some time for her to get comfortable, accepting, and touchable. I would keep her in her present situation until ya see the Aggressiveness subside, especially towards you. Sure hope it goes well for ya!! :fl :)
 

Lanthanum

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There certainly are many with much more knowledge and experience than me, but there are some things to consider, like....was her mother the herd queen of the group of 4? The hierachy tends to follow blood lines...also, her whole world has changed with no familiarity around her. We have pygmyies and they were pasture goats with very little human contact, it took us working with her for about 4wks with the then 8yr old doe; she was very skiddish. Once we found something they liked...which happened to be sweetgum leaves....I would cut some and go in with them and hold the branches as they ate. I would continue moving my hand closer to them, but didn't touch them...after the first wk I was able to reach and touch them with my finger tips with the branches between us....the two young wethers we got with her was the first to really warm up. Now, she comes to me and tugs on my sleeve for rubbings and treats...we've had them for a year and a half now. So, it will probably take some time for her to get comfortable, accepting, and touchable. I would keep her in her present situation until ya see the Aggressiveness subside, especially towards you. Sure hope it goes well for ya!! :fl :)
Thank you for the advice, my first two pygmies were pasture goats also with no human contact and it was the same with me, although they were never aggressive, just extremely skittish. They are three and a half now and still hate being pet, though they will eat from my hand and come as close to me as they want, and sometimes rub against my legs, but I am never allowed to touch them. My baby Scout is very friendly however and loves being pet. I have never, however, had to deal with an aggressive goat, and am quite afraid for my other goats. This Nigerian Doe is registered but comes from a bloodline of overheights, her sire being 25 inches at the withers, and her dam 23. She is much taller than my pygmies, my largest billy being only 19 at the withers. My Scout is currently 10 months old and only 14 at the withers, she is very small and it would be very easy for Addy to hurt her. I am mostly worried about my other goats, but need Addy to be able to trust me as well
 

Lanthanum

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This is Addy
IMG_4481.JPG
 

CntryBoy777

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Really nice looking girl!! I posted pics of mine on my journal page earlier if you are interested....the wethers are boer/pygmy crosses each have more of one than the other and is easily seen which is more boer and which is more pygmy. The older doe, almost 10 now, is the black one in the pics. I did noticed that ya are in Ga, so ya may can get some honeysuckle to entice her with, but that would be what I worked on first. It is best to isolate any new animal anyway, so ya can watch them and have a fecal test done just to be on the safe side with your established 'Herd'. You certainly would hate to introduce something that could infect them all. There is a guy here that went out and bought 80 boers from different places and put them together on his land, 2 wks later all 80 were dead. So, it is an easy step to do to protect your herd.:)
 

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You are going to want to quarantine the doe so leaving her alone is no issue as long as she can see the other goats. It sounds like she butting out of fear which isn't good but better than butting out of aggression.

Start with just sitting with her so she is used to your presence, until she realizes you are not her enemy. Find her favorite treat (Sweet feed works miracles). Once she realizes you are the good person she will love you:).
Since she has those horns if she ever gets aggressive you are going to want to show her who is in charge. When my buck was in an aggressive stage, I halter trained him and did jumping and things.

Congrats on the new addition and hope you can get things worked out with her!
Very pretty doe!
 

Lanthanum

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The woman I bought Addy from said she was vaccinated and dewormed, so I am sure they will do fine. I didn't know goats liked honeysuckle, I'll be sure to try that. I will give her time to settle in first before trying anything with her. Is it wise to let her out in the yard with the others? The yard is not fenced in but my other goats come to a whistle, and they love the grass they get in the yard. I can't plant grass until the spring, and when I had my donkey he ate all the roots so there's no grass in their pen. Will Addy run away if I let her out of her pen? She is extremely timid and will not come closer than she has to to any human being. How will I get them associated with each other?
 

Lanthanum

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You are going to want to quarantine the doe so leaving her alone is no issue as long as she can see the other goats. It sounds like she butting out of fear which isn't good but better than butting out of aggression.

Start with just sitting with her so she is used to your presence, until she realizes you are not her enemy. Find her favorite treat (Sweet feed works miracles). Once she realizes you are the good person she will love you:).
Since she has those horns if she ever gets aggressive you are going to want to show her who is in charge. When my buck was in an aggressive stage, I halter trained him and did jumping and things.

Congrats on the new addition and hope you can get things worked out with her!
Very pretty doe!
Thank you , I have tried giving her feed but she refuses EVERYTHING if I am near it, even sweet feed! She will gobble it up once I leave though. The woman I got her from was selling her for only 75 dollars, and her mamma was sold for 250. Only reason I got her for 75 was because she didn't have papers yet and she wasn't disbudded. Her mamma had both papers and was disbudded, and the woman showed me the papers of dam and sire so i know she is a pureblood Nigerian. Her sire was a HUGE Nigerian though, so I know she is going to get rather large and aggressive behaviour will definitely be a problem. Her sire was a black Nigerian, and he was definitely overheight. I'd have to say around 30 inches at the withers. Her dam was 22.1 inches at the withers though. I do hope this aggression subsides soon
 
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CntryBoy777

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Well if she is as ya say she is, then I would say yes, she will attempt to 'High Tail' it at the first chance she gets. She has no 'Ties' to your herd or you. I would leave her isolated for at least 2 wks minimum, she will watch the others from the distance and they will communicate with each other during that time, and she will get more acclimated to you and the routine. You will be doing more harm than good to put her in with them at this time, because she has no standing with the others and you'll be forcing the issue that will force them to battle, and an outcome ya may not want to face. Just be patient and let time soften that situation, because it will eventually happen as the 'Place in the Herd' will have to be 'Worked Out' amongest all of them.
 

Lanthanum

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Well if she is as ya say she is, then I would say yes, she will attempt to 'High Tail' it at the first chance she gets. She has no 'Ties' to your herd or you. I would leave her isolated for at least 2 wks minimum, she will watch the others from the distance and they will communicate with each other during that time, and she will get more acclimated to you and the routine. You will be doing more harm than good to put her in with them at this time, because she has no standing with the others and you'll be forcing the issue that will force them to battle, and an outcome ya may not want to face. Just be patient and let time soften that situation, because it will eventually happen as the 'Place in the Herd' will have to be 'Worked Out' amongest all of them.
I believe she will take over the herd when she is put in with the others, given her size. My herd's hierarchy currently goes as Bonnie, Scout, Clyde, and Bobo. Bonnie has always been the leader, she is older than Clyde and will not hesitate to put him in his place. Scout is her daughter and no one has messed with her, I'm guessing because Bonnie will hurt them if they do, so she has never been picked on or headbutted before. She looked absolutely terrified when Addy pinned her up to the fence and hit her hard. And if Scout has a good place in the herd, Addy will quickly either take over or get hurt.
 

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