I agree with what the others have said.
Will the buck be a bottle baby? None of our BB's have had any issues with being aggressive or overly obnoxious.
Raising bucks is relatively easy; common sense is your friend and thankfully it seems everyone here has some
As mentioned above, no head rubbing, blubbering, pawing, the whole bit.
The people who have "bad" bucks over and over are generally not handling them the way they should.
You need to be the boss buck. They should step back when you push them back. They shouldn't be overly crowding you when you walk in the pen- of course when you have a bucket of grain they will crowd you then- but other than that they need to be respectful. Coming up for a rub or petting is fine, I avoid the top of the head because of the scent glands, they might get over enthusiastic and try to rub that stink on you
The first rut is really when I really enforce these rules… some poor lil' bucks go into their first rut and thing their stuff don't stink, it is your job to remind them you are top buck. When you do this when they are young, they will grow up with a respect. If you wait until bad behavior starts and then try to teach them… you have your work cut out for you!
If you have ever watched a herd of bucks, you will notice a "top buck", a buck all the others respect and don't generally spar with or mount (yes bucks mount each other- very often).
I can go into buck pens right after being around does in heat, and not have an issue.
The lamancha buck has recently forgot some of his manners. He has started blubbering and even tried to mount… UM OH HECK NO! As he was jumping up (taller than be at this point- when on his rear legs he's over 6ft tall) I swiftly gave him a good, swift bop on the nose and pushed him down (standing normal now) Hollered at him and kept standing tall over him and started pushing him around- using the side of my leg and pressing my weight (whole 100lbs ROFL) into him- all while yelling at him- whenever he would raise his head up to look me in the eye I would bop him in the nose and continue pushing him back. Once he realized I'm not playin' his game he backs off, I continue to follow him around and keep pushing him back; all while hollering at him.
He is getting much better now
Now, the reasons why I'm using these methods:
Bucks yell at each other, especially during rut. Younger/lesser bucks will generally respect the "top buck's" yell and step back from the Top buck. So by me yelling at them in a serious tone, this puts a little light on in their head.
Pushing- on needs to be careful with this and know the appropriate time to do this and WHEN to do this. If done in the wrong situation it could make the animal worse. I know my goats and know how to handle particular situations. One needs to have a good understanding of goat behavior and know how to "read" these animals correctly. Some people can, others can't.
With our bucks, it doesn't take much pushing to get the point across.
The pushing is obviously to show them you are "Top buck". Again- if you watch bucks together the boss will turn around and give the lower buck a good whack to whip some respect into the youngsters
Of course, when I push them I'm generally using the side of my leg- this puts and even pressure over a good section of the goat and causes NO harm.
Nose bop- this is a sensitive area on a goat and a quick bop doesn't do any harm. Obviously with this you need to be smart and don't use excessive force.
Sticks, brooms, rakes, etc. can be used- not to hit the goat but to make yourself look bigger. I don't use this often because I want the goat to respect ME, not an object.
Flipping a goat on it's side did teach one of our mini's very quickly.
If a buck is really naughty, I might follow him around to keep him moving to enforce that I won't be challenged.
Thankfully we haven't had many "bad" bucks, but we have had a few that weren't as respectful and these methods work. For an adult aggressive or dangerous buck I would be weary of these methods. Life is to short to have aggressive bucks, I know a lady that was almost killed by a Nubian. Again, these methods posted are more for younger bucks and bucks in their first rut.
All of our boy (except for the one I'm working with) are all well behaved gentlemen with no issues whatsoever. They do love to be pet and rubbed by us but they aren't allowed to do it back.
But, you obviously, as you know, should never leave a young child alone or unattended with a buck. You are a mom so I know you already know that
Playing games with bucks, no matter how well trained you think it is, is not advisable. It might be fine for some time, but it can go very bad. They are still livestock and need to be treated as such.
