Southern by choice
Herd Master
If you have children please disbud. All our goats are sweet, friendly and well mannered and at one time I was extremely pro horn. But time, experience has changed that.Making a vet appt to have a preventative care exam done and to the store for probiotics and whole milk.
May just look at other goat breeds for a companion as we would like to have a larger goat to train to pack (when they are old enough and ready) for longer hikes than little Fern could probably handle.
She is not disbudded (assuming that means horns removed). We had originally desired to leave her growing as naturally as possible, but should it be a concern? And for what reasons? Is training a gentle animal and discouraging butting/hitting with horns not enough to reduce the risks?
Rescuing horned goats from vines and trees before they strangle is an issue, horns stuck in fencing is an issue. Although your goat may never try to hurt you it happens, horns get massive too. All that has to happen is the goat suddenly jerk back, startle and there is your face.
I wrote several articles here on BYH- they have not been updated in forever but I will do a brief update- we no longer sedate but do disbud all our goats. Safer, no losses since we stopped using sedation. Recovery better. IOW Instant.
Millie is still in our herd and will live her life here.
https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/horns-dis-bud-polled.31/
millie story dangerous horns- https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/de-horned-2yr-old-doe-week-3-update.28257/page-2#post-358403