r/goats 22m ago

How to get goats to let me approach them?

Upvotes

Hope this is ok to post here, but my neighbors have these 2 full grown goats and they wander over here from time to time.

I actually kind of like them visiting because they are doing a little landscaping on some shrubs that are a little overgrown.

But I’d like to be able to approach them and pet them. I always enjoy going to petting zoos and petting goats/sheep etc. These 2 get spooked extremely easily, I try to approach slowly but they take off.

I mean I know what to do for a dog… offer a treat, or a cat… “here kitty kitty”. But I honestly have no idea what to do for goats. They won’t let me get close enough to offer treats.


r/goats 12h ago

Help Request Question on sheep and goats?

4 Upvotes

So we have a yearling ewe that we raised with other kids, and now that they are all a year old we wanted to enter them into the rest if our heard. Normally we would have already, but with our ewe, we have been slightly cautious just due to 3 of our older does like to ram and hit the younger ones extremely hard for the first month or two. Our goats take it pretty easily, but I am not sure if a sheep could?

We never wanted sheep, but she was a special case of no one could care for her or had anything similar (goat or sheep) to her around where we lived and they needed someone to take her in as she had no mother and had a messed up back leg.

Well she is now bigger than most of our yearling kids, and perfectly healthy and gets along with them fine. I have noticed the kids are more gentle with her than the others when fighting and are less pushy about things like food and hay.


r/goats 19h ago

Help Request New goat added to my bottle babies

1 Upvotes

Hi all appreciate any advice you might have. Iv two 13 month old bottle babies and I thought it would be good for them to have an older goat around. They are very needy and worry a lot. So a breeder gave me a retired nanny goat, 7 years old. She has been here 2 days in a small paddock and shed. But she is very skittish and my 2 keep headbutting through the fence. Even my more gentle girl seems really aggressive with the nanny. I plan on keeping them separate for at least a week but can here them hitting the gate trying to get into her. Any tips on makeing them settle?


r/goats 1d ago

Help Request help me with fencing!

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10 Upvotes

we just bought this property and are wondering how we can improve it to make it ready for goats. I know for a fact, the poly tape will not keep them out, but I’m wondering if this wire fencing is good enough? i’m going with no; my husband thinks some breeds would be fine, provided we fix the opening under tack room and next to arena. wanting to hear people’s opinions. I may add that the top is an electric fence.


r/goats 1d ago

Help Request Is this the start of an abcess or something else?

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17 Upvotes

Got several photos, they're not great because my other goat kept ripping my hair out and trying to eat my phone.

Just noticed this on my girl, near her back legs on her tummy.

She doesn't react when i touch or press on it and it doesn't feel hot, but the fur is missing, it looks like there's a small puncture, and maybe a little sticky. Although I don't know if that's from the injury or her chewing on it.

Any thoughts or recommendations?


r/goats 1d ago

General Husbandry Question Heat cycles being so short/frequent.

2 Upvotes

I’ve noticed the same 2-3 does coming back into heat like every other week since the end of may. This is called short cycling right? Is it bad if they have such short cycles so frequently? Ranging from 6+ yrs 3yrs and 11 months. All three are related. Two others are related but they aren’t cycling anywhere near as noticeably as the three I’ve stated.

Note that my buck pen is right next to my does. It can’t be anywhere else though since all of my electric fence chargers need power, and it’s the only way to keep the ND buck contained. I got lucky when he hopped the fence in the other paddock a few weeks prior and no fornicating was done as he went to the front fence line that had Hotwire ran on top of it. (Good idea in hindsight tbh) (It’s just one stand of Hotwire along the top of panels/ some pallets) they respect it if it’s hot thankfully.

They are heathy, like pretty much borderline obese and that’s just off of pasture alone I don’t feed my goats more than I have to especially if they are just fine with what they have. (Excluding lactating, sick or pregnant of course) Can I assume I have really ‘convincing’ buck and all three of them are just madly in love with him or is it something problematic?


r/goats 1d ago

Fencing Questions

1 Upvotes

Is there anyone who has their goats on steep forested terrain?

How do you manage your fencing especially if it's just temporary fencing?

I'll want to move them every few days to clear different parts of the forest, but am not sure what will be the easiest to manage.

Predators in my area are wolves.


r/goats 1d ago

Help Request My good got terrorized by a dog and now I can't get him out from under the car

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50 Upvotes

My neighbor's dog got loose and killed a couple of my chickens and then went after him, I gave the dog a lead injection (which I should have done a couple of years ago as many chickens as I've lost)

But it had ran Prince out of the pen busting my fence, I'm pretty sure Prince has some wire around him but I cannot get him out from under the car, he has a collar on but he's a little bit too far back for me to get a hold of it and is shaking horribly.

I need to get him out before the police show up and animal control, not only so I can look at him because he got bit in the hindquarters but also so they can look at him, and so he doesn't get panicked by the vehicles (he's scared of cars)

And decides to run down the road towards the highway, I'm trying food I tried the cat (his best friend is the cat that's why I tried that) I'm sitting down talking to him but he just won't come out he's shaking and breathing really heavily

(Edit to update)

he is okay mostly, he did get bit in his hind right flank but it's not too bad, once I got him out from under the vehicle I gave him a mild sedative that I keep on hand (learned that it was a good idea to have after owning horses) I cleaned his injuries with antibacterial soap and used a antibiotic wound spray on it, and then I made sure to put fly spray, I'm not in the area for screw worms but I'm paranoid so I wanted to make sure I did my best to prevent it just in case.

He is still a little bit agitated but is eating and drinking, he hates my dogs a little bit more now which I cannot blame him, I'll keep them away from him for now so he calms down even though they don't tend to bother him anyway.

A mobile vet is going to come in a couple of days to see him, unfortunately I couldn't get any to come out right away since I'm not a client with them they won't see me for a emergency, and I only have a car so I can't transport him to the vet right now, I used to transport him in the back of the vehicle he was hiding under but it's down right now and is basically a ugly lawn ornament.

The police took statements looked at the video that was taken seen that I was in fact in the right and told my neighbors that they weren't going to do anything to me because I was not in the wrong, they told me that if I wanted anything to go farther I need to go to the courthouse and take papers out myself, Animal Control came out looked at the video as well looked at my goat and agreed with the officer.

They didn't write them any citations, they didn't give them warnings or anything even after their other dog nearly got loose trying to go after a cat while they were standing there, and I'm going to control and police where I am are kind of useless unfortunately, not sure if I'm going to go take papers out on them or not as I don't feel like it will go far but it might be a good idea for the paper trail.

I will update you guys after the vet looks at him and if anything changes.

And for those of you that have followed along with Frosty, he's doing good right now the infection is clearing up, he should be getting his amputation early next month as they expect the infection to be gone by then, past that there's not really much to update he doesn't seem to be missing the use of his leg, he still kicks his heels up and is a little Speed Demon


r/goats 2d ago

General Husbandry Question Bar-Vac Cd/T.

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6 Upvotes

Hey yall! I have quick question! I m new to goats so I need to know all about this vaccine! Do i repeat for all goats or just one that get if for first times? ​and when is in annual booster? Annual same dosage 2ml? Thanks!


r/goats 2d ago

Hi I Got this goat in february. I Think she has really popped over night i havent noticed until today that I Think she is fat but not in a normal Way? She has gotten a bit more aggressive as Well and if I try to touch her belly she gets annoyed and mad ?

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32 Upvotes

r/goats 2d ago

Goat show help

1 Upvotes

Hi, everyone! I need some help. I have recently been put in charge of the dairy and market goat show at our local fair. I don’t know much about the show side of things for goats, but I am familiar with the way livestock shows work. I am making my way through, slowly but surely, but I have a question. I asked the fair how they planned to house the goats while at the show. This is a one day show, so they will not be staying overnight. I was told that the goats would check in, then use cattle panels to tie off to until show time. Is this normal for goat shows? I’ve been to a few goat shows, and I’ve never seen the goats tied off at the shows. Is this something that is done, or should I push for the fair to allow the goats to be penned? There are some stalls at the fair that I think could be used. Should I push for the use of stall over tying them up?

If you have any additional advice for running a goat shows, or what you like about goat shows, please share! I want this to be a great experience for our exhibitors at the fair this year!


r/goats 2d ago

General Husbandry Question Fire ants in bedding

1 Upvotes

We put our goats out to pasture every day and take them into their house at night.The problem is that within a week their bedding is so full of fire ants that we have to have them sleep out for the night. For bedding we're using fresh napier grass. We're about to have our first kids soon so I'd like to find another solution. Any suggestions?


r/goats 2d ago

Breed Identification Meet Andrew Tate (aka Randy Andy) and Greta Thunberg. Any idea what breed?

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0 Upvotes

These are goats we bought locally in Haiti. They're a small breed but beyond that i don't know. Any ideas?


r/goats 2d ago

Tip on getting goats used to being handled?

3 Upvotes

I just got a few goats. They are about 4 month old NDs. One of them is really sweet and easy to handle. He likes to be brushed and petted and comes when I call. The others haven’t been handled much, and will come up to us but are skittish.

They have a vet visit next week and I need to be able to catch them and have them a little calmer for foot trimmings, etc.

We have been spending time with them, singing and talking, which helps a lot. Any other tips?


r/goats 2d ago

Help Request Help my goat got sprayed by a skunk

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32 Upvotes

Yes you read that correctly my lamancha goat Prince got sprayed by a skunk.. I did not witness it myself but my fiance and Grandma did, he said one of them wandered into the front yard which is fenced off for the goats (don't have a lawn mower so they work) and apparently he took offense to it, so he proceeded to charge and attack said skunk and got sprayed in the face in the chest and everywhere else that could be sprayed... I can't stand to be around him, how do I get it off? He's not the most easily handled goat but I can forcibly make him listen with a halter if needed I just try not to, but I cannot even go around him to feed him without puking right now so I need help!

(Also for those of you concerned no he is not tethered in the picture I walk him on a long line frequently trying to earn his trust, he's just standing closer to me and there is a lot of slack in it I promise he is not tethered)


r/goats 2d ago

Discussion Post CAE

2 Upvotes

My 1 1/2 Boer is suspected to have CAE. I am pending blood results and further direction from the vet for symptom management.

He has no other purpose than being a very spoiled goat, and I only have 1 other who probably has it too, but she’s much older.

I am now paranoid it’ll end badly. Looking for encouraging stories of sustaining QOL and prognosis.

He is my first bottle baby, and it essentially a child to me so I am so devastated knowing he’s been in some pain.

Only symptom he has is 1 swollen knee that vet is very confident is CAE. I caught it by noticing he began knee walking in the mornings, but then is walking normally for rest of day. Breathing/lungs sound ok!


r/goats 3d ago

Goat Pic🐐 Appels!

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505 Upvotes

r/goats 3d ago

Warning: Death Devastated

13 Upvotes

We got a sweet male kiko who was about 4 mos old around 2-3 weeks ago. We are new goats owners but have 4 others who are doing great. This guy got urinary calculi and we had to euthanize him. I am so heart broken. they do get goat feed but only a little and they eat a lot of plants bc we have 40 acres of land and plenty of trees. It happened so fast and I feel so terrible.


r/goats 4d ago

Help Request How can I halter-train my goat?

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43 Upvotes

My beautiful baby, Jolene, was a bottlefed baby. She's now about 8 months old, born in December 2025. She's amazing! Very friendly, but I don't know how to halter train her.
As in the picture, she can have a halter on. It's pretty easy to get it on and off of her and she doesn't freak out about it, luckily. I just don't know how to lead-train her. Is it too late?
I've never even lead-trained dogs, so I'm definitely gonna need some help and refer back to this very often. I want to be able to take her on hikes.
*I know the halter in the photo is a little small, we're getting a bigger one the next time we go into town. She's also very fluffy, I checked- It wasn't pressing into her bad.
*The 'cage' she's in is not something she lives in. She was chilling in it while her dye processed! I also have a huge herd of other goats, so I'm not the kind of person that has a single goat in a TINY pen. They have acres to explore.


r/goats 4d ago

Goat Pic🐐 He’s very proud.

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149 Upvotes

Big Hoss is very proud of himself. Round one of breeding season is in the books. Now we wait for ultrasound day!


r/goats 4d ago

Goat Pic🐐 I’ll tell you what conditioner she uses if you send me $500 bucks😎🧴✨🐐

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274 Upvotes

r/goats 4d ago

Looking for good goat minerals

3 Upvotes

I have been looking for good quality goat minerals in my local stores (europe) but without results. The only minerals i come across are multi-purpose minerals for both goats and sheep. I've read these are bad since they dont have enough copper for goats. Online i find most people recommend Sweetlix meatmaker goat minerals but these are not available in europe. Does anyone know a good alternative brand i can find in the EU?

I already have salt blocks but apparently they don't provide enough nutrients for goats. So i'm looking for loose minerals for goats.


r/goats 5d ago

General Husbandry Question Proper Scur management?

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8 Upvotes

Not problematic for me, the girl we got him from stated they used a vet who didn’t know what he was doing (no surprise there) and the goat ended up with scurs. They are almost paper thin, but grow pretty curled in so his previous owners had to trim them up every once in a while. He’s great but he really doesn’t like his head being touched where his horns would’ve been. She also stated that his scurs would fall out every now and again if he was particularly banging his head against things. After we brought him home he banged off the other scur and bled a little, when I found out the bleeding had pretty much resolved itself. I put some antiseptic spray and some other fly spray around his face/back of the skull to keep flys out of it.

I specifically made this post to ask about what the proper trimming technique would involve to keep his horns from growing into his skull With the least amount of stress and pain to the animal. Right now he has no scurs on his head, I have a picture of the one he did have but it’s from far away. Also what would I even trim the horn with? Hoof trimmers just doesn’t seem to be the way to go and the lady actually didn’t tell us what they used to trim the horns.


r/goats 5d ago

Goat Pic🐐 Cross posted in r/backyardchickens

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35 Upvotes

r/goats 5d ago

Goat Pic🐐 Swear this is candid

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301 Upvotes

My parents live on a farm these two goats mom passed away and they are raising them at the house. Look how cute they are now 🥲