# Mean goats



## littleman (Sep 10, 2008)

So four of my does get along great and then I have two a three year old and her daughter from this year, are so mean to the other girls (they bite hard they take hair off and butt them really hard) that I keep them separate, but it is more work for me, but the three year old is my favorite girl. How do you deal with mean goats like this. They are very nice to me.


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

Usually they work out these herd relations on their own if there is enough space. Keeping them in a bigger pen sometimes helps with aggression. The other thing that I've seen work is a "ram shield" which is a big piece of leather that fits over the head and stops them seeing directly in front. Here's a little blog entry someone wrote about using them, complete with pictures: http://curioussheep.net/RamShields.aspx.

I never had to use them on my sheep, and have always managed to avoid these problems by setting up a different group, changing the amount of space and other management techniques, but if you have only a few goats and don't have a bigger corral or pen, a ram shield on the aggressor might work.


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

I had a herd matriarch who was quite a bully. There was one doe in particular she picked on and prevented her from eating whenever possible. It got to where the doe being picked on was loosing condition and I really needed the bully separated. The bully went to a new home and the other doe actually took over as herd matriarch- albeit a MUCH fairer one. She's a the top of the pecking order when it comes to feed, but I don't cringe when she interacts with my bred does and everyone is able to eat at least. I don't have a set-up to maintain multiple herds, so I can't really tolerate bullying beyond normal herd dynamics.


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## NWgoats (Jul 17, 2008)

I had one that was mean as well. She found a new home. I don't tolerate
meanness. She bit and slammed smaller goats into walls.


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

NWgoats said:


> I had one that was mean as well. She found a new home. I don't tolerate
> meanness. She bit and slammed smaller goats into walls.


I wasn't going to mention this, but I had a doe just like this once... she went into the freezer. I tell people that this kind of goat tastes better.


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

:lol


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## NWgoats (Jul 17, 2008)

I truly thought about it. But, she was a very nice doe in all other ways.
And she was only mean to smaller goats. She went to a home where all
the other goats were bigger than she (and they had horns) :twisted
Apparently she behaves VERY well there. :biggrin


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

It really boils down to your goals with the goats...
If you want a breeding\show herd a goat with a bad temperament isn't a good idea to keep around. Unless you have the time and energy to keep them seperate from everyone else, if not then there is the constant worry of them raming one of your pregnant does into aborting or other things that could have been prevented had you just put them in the freezer or sold them. 

Lynn


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

I really don't want to stigmatize Alpines here, but Alpines can be brutal to each other, but as sweet as pie to us, just as you said. I haven't found a way to make my Alpines get along in the 20 some yrs of having them. So what I do is keep the evil ones in seperate pens and rotate (I have to do that now) pasture time with the others. As soon as I get my other fence/pasture made the evil ones will have theirs and the not so evil their pasture.


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## NWgoats (Jul 17, 2008)

My full Alpine was nasty as well. The one that found a new home was
a Mini Alpine. I finally gave up and now have Saanens. :sigh


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## Tracy in Idaho (Oct 26, 2007)

Meanest goats I ever had were Lamanchas, LOL! They were 100x worse than any of the Alpines -- biters, every one of them 

At any rate -- if they are really bad, they get sold. I only have one of those crop up every so often.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

You have Alpines! LOLOLOLOL......Good luck getting them to get along all the time. The times my girls get along is a good time indeed. Many, many times one has to be sequestered out for a few days or a week (or more) at a time.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

My alpines from Tracy's place play nice. But, they're babies, so that might make a difference. My adult alpine is kind of a b**** to everyone else. One time my saanen was laying down, and I saw the alpine walk up and grab and YANK on the saanen's teat! Ornery goat! She is not usually that mean, but she does throw her head around and butts at the other goats. Then at other times she lays with them, and hates to be alone.

Whatever you do, probably won't really work, and especially won't work if you aren't there to see them. They gotta work it out between themselves.


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## Twillingate Farm (Oct 26, 2007)

I raise Toggs and Boers and though I've never had a goat bully problem as severe as yours, I discovered that when my Boer buck is allowed to range with the girls (October through April), the 'pecking order' changes completely! He's very, very gentlemanly about his authority but there is NO question that he's in charge and it is extremely peaceful. Come spring, when he's separated from them, the herd queen takes over and tends to be quite bossy though not vicious. She does push yearlings around at the hay feeder but that's normal behavior.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Yes alpines can be mean as well as any other breed. Sometimes it is lineage. And sometimes it is just the goat. It is one of the things we cull for and not just in alpines.
If you do not have the room for another pen/pature then I too would suggest selling. We HAD a nubian that if she was preggers she would bash anyone or if another doe was preggers she would bash them. When we sold her the new owners were told of her behavior. They know what to do as I have instructed them to house her separately so this does not happen. Otherwise she is a very loving animal that produces well. We do not separate, you either get along or go.
Tam


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## lorit (May 10, 2010)

I've got alpines too and they are not all mean. But I did have a yearling last year that was horrible - bent cattle panels trying to get to a kid on the other side, broke a latch, etc. Literally dangerous to herself and others. She went to the auction. I think as with anything part of it is inherited and part is "taught". But bad attitude more than normal herd dynamics is not allowed to stay.  
I also think crowding as mentioned can be a factor - when my girls are brought from the pasture and not yet put into the individual pens, they tend to butt around more - they need their space and ability to eat without being crowded.

Overall I love my alpines and love their personalities and don't see them as "mean" in an overall sense.


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## littleman (Sep 10, 2008)

I have the room to keep them separate and they are just for milk/pets. All my girls are related the three year old and her half sister are from a alpine that was very mean, so I gave her to my sister. But the three year old is my favorite. They have lots of room. So alpines are just know for being mean/bossy. I love my alpines though


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Your biggest problems will come during pregnancy. It isn't just a small coincidence that most have stories about Alpines, and bashing like some of them will do, will lead to abortions in your herd. Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

My Alpines are typically very peaceful when bred. They get big and lazy. The problems start when one doe in particular kids (Miss Mikey). She turns into a maniac and if I leave her with the herd to take the kids up to the house, by the time I get back out with her wormer and hot water, she's out in the pasture, afterbirth swinging, fighting with the entire herd. Her first year another doe kidded and I left the kids with her and went to the store...by the time I got back, Mikey and the other doe were completely exhausted and panting and still smashing each other and running over top of the kids. I keep her because she's my favorite and has beautiful kids, mostly does, who have NOT inherited her fighting behaviour. The rest of the year she is just fine and can be kept with kids that are not her own without problems.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

I get rid of all mean goats as mean goats can teach the whole herd to be mean but with your herd ,keep the 3 year old and get rid of the daughter goat and if the 3 year old has horns,then band them this winter as she "will" have a attitude adjustment . Like Vicki said some does will abort their kids due to another mean goat.
linda


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## BrokenHalterFarm (Feb 16, 2010)

The alpine wether I had was the meanest one in the herd here. He was pretty ignorant to be honesy. Next would be the pygmies. Those things are evil.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

As my herd has gotten larger, I have found it more and more desirable to separate by size/age. Especially with pregnant does. Even their friendly games can get too rough. One of my yearlings aborted last winter, and I know that is why. She was very active and a great fan of games. A well placed slam to the side will do it.


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## Rosesgoats (Apr 22, 2011)

My Nubians are the meanest of my bunch. The Alpines are much sweeter to each other. I think the Nubians are not nice to the other goats because they are the lowest on the totem pole. They are always fighting to establish their places in the herd. The Alpines are already on top so they don't need to fight for it.


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## littleman (Sep 10, 2008)

I don't have goats with horns, I have four boys all under 9 years old and I don't like horns anyways. The three year old is polled so it is very nice, I was thinking of selling her daughter after she kids this coming spring, that way my three year old isn't in a pen by herself. I do have 26 acres, though only about ten are fenced with four different big pens. So horses/donkeys in one the two mean does in another, the four does in another and the two bucks and one wether in the other one.


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## Becky-DixieDoesAlpines (Oct 26, 2007)

My Alpines get along very well, and all live together fulltime.


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## littleman (Sep 10, 2008)

Well watching them today, I noticed that the two are the meanest when I feed them grain or a treat.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

Unless you love them and they are worth $$$ , I would sell them as the 2 can really torment ,stress and teach the others in your herd mean ways. I had a Boer doe that could ram another doe down in the dirt .... she is gone now and the herd is calm.


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## Grumpy Old Buck (Feb 5, 2011)

Alpines and attitude (won't bash them, and yes "pun" intended), but they can be exasperating with their will to "fight to the death" sometimes.

If you try putting a large (almost obnoxiously big and loud) bell on the bullying herd queen it may give a break to her ability to sneak up on unsuspecting herd subordinates. Also, many times it will create such a 'fashion statement' that other herd members will be frequently near her, looking at the bell, and thus create a 'living shield' that moves with her (and buffers the lower ranking goats).

Lastly, sometimes this little 'extra' for her to wear satisfies her fashion ego and may be all she needs to help her paxil-deficit attitude to mellow out. Herd queens are vain, and if they get something special that the others do not, sometimes it just chills them out.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

A bell sounds like a wonderful idea! I am going to try a bell for my doe Carmella. She isn't horrible but she does need to quit bashing the lesser goats.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

:rofl I'm getting my herd queen a bell. She needs a little "bling"!


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Most of my goats are mean if there's treats involved, but in day to day life, with a large enough pen, meanies and lowlies can coexist together at our farm. I like the bell, though! I definitely have some ladies that think they are above the other goats (or humans for that matter, so maybe I should wear a bell and show them who's boss!!!!!) :laughcry


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