# To Collar or Not to Collar



## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

What is your opinion on collars or not? I'm worried about them getting caught on brush and other stuff, but on the other hand how to you control them if there's nothing to grab on to? Is hair loss as a result of wearing one constantly a problem with goats? I wouldn't want my girls to have bald patches on their necks like my dog does .


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I used to have collars on all my goats. Never had one get tangled up but I also put them on fairly tight......not tight enough to choke but not loose and can easily get things under. My goats are brush hogs lol so they are always in the brush and trees. Mine were not collars though. What I did was got a huge thing of thinner leather and cut into strips, punched out a hole on each end and put a ear tag threw it. Now on the really crazy goats they would snap when I got my hands on them but the more calmer ones it held up.....I figured if they ever did get in a jam it would bust loose.
Now I say I used to have on all of them, I only have on like half now, which are my older ones and harder to handle get actual collars. I now have a catch pen so I don't NEED them.
As for hair loss, most do not have it but some do. I couldn't tell you why that is.


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## Davon (Sep 22, 2017)

I used the plastic chain link collars because I didn't want to risk them getting strangled. They worked OK until the last year they kept getting them off. I think they did it rubbing their necks on corners. I got sick of putting them back on their necks, so now I just keep a tarp strap on my milking shed and loop it around their neck to lead them back to the pen.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

All of mine have rope collars. I've never had any real issues other than getting hung up in sticks, but I am out there pretty often so they never have to wait long. I also try to give them big enough collars so that they can slip them if they try hard enough.

They've never gotten bald patches, but I think I tend to tie the collars pretty loose.


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## GaGoats2017 (Sep 5, 2017)

I sometimes leave them on a few of my does, ones that are older and smart enough not to jump around and get stuck. I've never had any problems. Only one time they started fighting, and one ended up getting its horn stuck in another ones collar and they drug each other around for a while. But I was out there with them and split them up quick. That's when I decided to take them off. I never had any problems with hair loss. 

I have some that are crazy and like to climb walls, I would never put a collar on them lol. I don't put them on my bucks unless I have to move them, they are always getting into something so it's less of a risk.

Over the years showing in the same facility as hundreds of goats, I have only seen 4-5 killed because they tried to jump out and ended up getting stuck. Sometimes by the collar, sometimes they don't even have a collar and can get hung on their own horns.

I am always sure to buy the kind with the thin plastic snap, incase they do get caught they will break the clasp before they break their necks. But still enough to be able to lead them.

I have found it's almost like goats TRY to hurt themselves lol. So most might be perfectly fine...then you get that one that proves you wrong. I think it's all just personal preference, depending on your goat.


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## GaGoats2017 (Sep 5, 2017)

Actually with the hair thing, I have had some of my market goats that would loose hair and get a callus/raw spot on the back of their neck where the collar rubbed. But they were shaved short, so I think the added hair will protect them from getting spots like that. I've never had hair loss problems with unshaved goats.


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Mine have nylon collars with the plastic snap fasteners like GaGoats2017 mentioned. I haven't had to find out yet but I am hoping it would pop open if they got hung up. Their collars are loose and they haven't had any hair loss at all. My only issue so far was when one girl was in heat my buck would hook her collar with his horn to hold her. Since the collar is loose she always managed to slip it off his horn, though. One reason mine have them is because of the risk of them getting out. I plan to (but haven't yet) get small name tags just like my dogs have.


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## Deborah Haney (Jul 11, 2017)

Mine wear collars with tags because I'm afraid of them getting out, even though our fencing has been tested by goats and dogs of all sizes by now. They're pretty loose right now because the babies haven't grown into them yet. One can still slip her collar off with ease. Once they're bigger I plan to have the collar as tight as it can safely be to prevent branches from getting stuck under them. Right now I can't imagine a branch small enough that it can get under the collar but strong enough that they can't snap it in a heartbeat. If they do manage to get stuck by such a branch they're sure to let me know. I have class for 3 hours/day 4 days/week and someone is home 24/7. Their pen is close enough that we can hear them from the house. Even if we can't, I have a baby monitor and security camera on all the time with the parent unit of the monitor in my room, where I spend 80%-85% of my time, if I'm not already with the goats.


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## LizWiz (Sep 12, 2017)

I don't use collars, but I would like to. However I am scared to hang my goats like some people say can happen. - If this is rare I will use collars. So use dog collars or .. ?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I just buy the cheap dog collars at the dollar store.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

I'm going to kind of off shoot here. What about halters to lead goats? I feel like it would it be easier to lead them with one than a collar leash combo?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I wouldn't leave a halter on 24/7. Those are loose and can get stuck on things and no way of coming off. But for just leading it will be fine. I find the collars to work better because I don't have to fight to get it on and latched. The ones that don't have collars I just have a rope, basically kinda like a lasso and I toss over their head and then can lead them with that. But I have a few halters here and other then the kids using on their show goats have yet to use them


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Jessica84 said:


> I wouldn't leave a halter on 24/7. Those are loose and can get stuck on things and no way of coming off. But for just leading it will be fine. I find the collars to work better because I don't have to fight to get it on and latched. The ones that don't have collars I just have a rope, basically kinda like a lasso and I toss over their head and then can lead them with that. But I have a few halters here and other then the kids using on their show goats have yet to use them


Oh, of course! I didn't mean leaving the halters on 24/7 . I meant like this type of halter lead rope thingy: https://www.jefferspet.com/products/sheep-goat-poly-rope-halter-color-red . I should have been more clear.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I find that the benefit of keeping collars on my goats outweighs the small risk that one might get hung up on one. I put collars on my babies once they get to be about 25 lbs. at about 4 weeks because at this point they're too big and rambunctious to easily pick up and move. I also like to keep ID tags on my adult goats' collars. I bought a bunch of cheap nylon collars with plastic clips for the babies. They're strong enough to hold a kid if he's tied or led, but they break if the kid panics or gets hung up. 

For the older goats I use leather collars. I find that nylon wears the hair off the necks but leather doesn't. Leather also can break under heavy strain but doesn't snap easily enough that I have to replace them often. The average lifespan of a good quality leather collar seems to be about 4-5 years. Good quality doesn't necessarily mean expensive. The "bully" collars I use on my pack weathers run about $13-$16 each and last for many years. My bucks are wearing nylon collars with a plastic snap because their necks are growing so I didn't want to invest in leather. I would not use nylon unless it has the plastic clip as a "breaking point". 

So far no goats have ever gotten hung up here. I know collars can be a liability, but accidents are pretty rare. Fences, feeders, gates, farm equipment, trees, and a goat's own horns have been implicated in accidental goat deaths too. My young goats (usually 2-3 months up to a year or so) like to hook each other's collars with their horns on purpose in order to drag the other goat around. I used to panic about this but now I'm used to it. They've always unhooked themselves before an accident happens, and eventually they lose interest in the game.

I always use halters when handling horned goats up close so I can have control of their horns via their head. I also find that it's much easier to handle big goats with a halter because they can easily drag me by the collar and not even realize how hard they are pulling. I try to avoid leading horned goats directly by the collar because I don't want to risk getting a wrist caught between the horns, but the collar is a great place to clip a leash and it's also handy for maneuvering goats briefly through gates and such.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

All mine have collars on at least part time. Nylon for those I've decided to let leave the farm, Leather for the keepers (instant id for others, and a reminder to me) However, my goats are horned, and when I witness a really serious fight, then those collars come off, until things calm down. Then the collars go back on. 

A friend of mine keeps them on quite loose. I prefer mine close to the neck. Less chance of catching imo. I've never had a hairloss issue, either with my close collars, or my friend's loose collars. My dogs (and I have MANY) do not have hairloss either. I don't know what is up with that.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

I put plastic chain collars on my goats when they were being watched for me when we went on vacation. (I usually grab my goats and lead them around by putting my hand behind their head and putting just a little pressure beside their cheeks, but I didn't want an inexperienced 'goat wrangler' to have to try and learn this without me.) It took some longer than others, but every single goat managed to slip out of their collars. They lasted the week I needed them to, but in the long run I was rather disappointed and I have given up trying to keep collars on my goats.

I have found halters to be very effective for leading goats. The halters seem to work on the same principle that I use to grab and pull the goats by their head; when the goats feel a tug on their head they naturally want to follow, whereas with a collar around their neck they'll fight and struggle a lot.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

ShireRidgeFarm said:


> I have found halters to be very effective for leading goats. The halters seem to work on the same principle that I use to grab and pull the goats by their head; when the goats feel a tug on their head they naturally want to follow, whereas with a collar around their neck they'll fight and struggle a lot.


That's what I thought might happen. It seems like if they were being led by their head they wouldn't really have a choice but to follow.


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## LibertysBoerGoatRanch (Aug 26, 2016)

We have only put a collar on one goat so far and that came off as soon as we put a buddy in with him. My mom is a horse person and has burned into my brain what can and eventually will happen if collars, halters, leads etc are left on animals. We have 4 or 5 halters laying around that we use when we need to catch a goats. It might take me a bit longer to catch my not so friendly goats but I'm okay with that instead of taking the "it should break or snap off" risk.


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## GaGoats2017 (Sep 5, 2017)

Yes! I loved the rope kind that you posted a link for. I don't use pinch collars, but I had a heavy weight crazy market doe. I tried them out on her and it was way better than a collar! She could fight all she wanted and couldn't choke herself out, and would walk way better with it. 

So I started trying them to walk my big bucks, and they did great!!

They might jump around, but they don't pull away hard at all. They follow along really well. 

I have a thinner version of it, I think mine were made for goats.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I have several big dogs, my friends have 30+ sled dogs. I use the old dog collars for the goats after they have been washed. We buy new collars for the dogs every other year, so I always have a bunch of collars to use. These are made for sled dogs- I use the limited slip collars. I put them on the does loose enough so that they can slip them if they get tangled in something (they never have). These are very rugged collars.

I don't put collars on the kids. Once they are bred for the first time (bucks and does), they get a collar and they stay collared for life.

I've had goats for 35 years and never had one get tangled by their collar.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

GaGoats2017 said:


> Yes! I loved the rope kind that you posted a link for.


I thought they looked great. And I love those pretty colors .


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## GaGoats2017 (Sep 5, 2017)

MellonFriend said:


> I thought they looked great. And I love those pretty colors .


Mine is black and pink striped  makes my bucks look real cute lol


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## Idahogoats (Sep 5, 2016)

We have dog collars on our 3 Wethers. We took the collar off our little Nigerian Pygmy goat. We thought we lost her. Leo has a curly horn which caught her collar and strangled her. My husband saw it happen and he got in there right away. She was laying on her. She was not breathing, he got in there and rubbed her face and neck and she came back to life. So no collar on Bunnie.


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## Honsby (Jun 26, 2017)

There is a branded break-away collar that you can clasp for when you want to tether them. https://www.breakawaycollar.com/


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

I used to have collars with ID tags but took them off after one of my goats got hooked on anothers horn. They are collarless now. I keep a collar leash around if I ever need it, but for the most part, mine stay with me and in sight when they are out and come when I call or shake some grain.

Until I saw mine get hooked, I swore by them in case the goat got out, lost etc, but I'll take my chances on that now and trade it for their safety

I think a a collar or halter if taking them out to browse or for a walk is fine, but only if you are with them. Break aways are probably fine, but test one to be sure it breaks.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

All mine have rolled leather collars on as soon as they slow down on growth. I have a mismatched handful of smaller collars for kids. 
Never a problem...
Each goat also has it's own *gasp* picket pin and picket rope.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

goathiker said:


> All mine have rolled leather collars on as soon as they slow down on growth. I have a mismatched handful of smaller collars for kids.
> Never a problem...
> Each goat also has it's own *gasp* picket pin and picket rope.


So are you saying you tie out your goats? I have heard that was not recommended, but I have seen some people utilizing it successfully.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

MellonFriend said:


> So are you saying you tie out your goats? I have heard that was not recommended, but I have seen some people utilizing it successfully.


goathiker has pack goats. I imagine they have to be able to be staked on the trail. That would mean they have to be well trained for it when not on the trail. I imagine.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

One of my goats spent four years on a tether and was very happy (no fence could hold that sonuvagun and I had roses). Then we moved to a big place in the country where he didn't need fences and we got him some other goats for company and instead of thanking us he turned mean! I guess some goats prefer the life of a spoiled "only child".

Watching my goats hook each other through the collar used to send me into a panic. Now I'm used to it as it seems to be a normal phase of growing up. I did have one big wether who accidentally hooked a baby through the collar and yanked her off her feet. She was dangling from his horn and choking, but as soon as he realized what he'd done he immediately lowered his head and very gently removed his horn from her collar. He never did that again. And now the babies have much wimpier collars. Most of our kids break at least one before they get weaned, but they're cheap.


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I have Nigerian Dwarfs, and I don't use collars. I can just pick up and carry my adults to where I need them, though, if necessary. I prefer to lure them with treats, because they don't love being carried and I get kicked. They'll go anywhere with me if I have a plastic bag crinkling in my hand.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Mine wear collars all the time. I've never had a problem (7 years). But I have a very small herd and they are in a small pen close to the house most of the time. Sometimes I let them run loose in the yard. But most of the time when they are out of the pen they are tethered (We are out there with them - they are NEVER tethered unattended.)


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## JumpingGoat (Mar 10, 2016)

All of my goats ware collars. It just makes life a lot easier if i need to chatch them if they dont want to be caught and things like that.
Most of mine just have cheep dog collars that i replace maby once a year. I have never had any issues with them getting caught. At one point last year my weathers was getting a bit old so he worked out how to slip it of his head and did once get it a bit stuck on his face but i have never had any issues since.
I have never noticed any hair loss eather


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## Idahogoats (Sep 5, 2016)

My goats roam free. They have bells on them.. My husband has them trained with a whistle. There is always a treat waiting for them so they don't go too far and always in sight. He is home all day.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Idahogoats said:


> My goats roam free. They have bells on them.. My husband has them trained with a whistle. There is always a treat waiting for them so they don't go too far and always in sight. He is home all day.


By 'roam free' do you mean free range like you would chickens? Because I would be very interested to hear how that works for you.


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## Idahogoats (Sep 5, 2016)

We have 6 acres and they hang together in s group and move around. We tried tying them up and they hated it. Bunnie sticks with Leo and the two brother Nubians are inseparable too.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Idahogoats said:


> We have 6 acres and they hang together in s group and move around. We tried tying them up and they hated it. Bunnie sticks with Leo and the two brother Nubians are inseparable too.


Wow, that's great, I'm thinking about letting my goats roam my property since it is entirely fenced with chain link, but I'm not sure it will work because I don't know how I would keep them out of the garden, flowers, and poisonous mountain laurel.


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## Idahogoats (Sep 5, 2016)

We just have 6 acres of open land. The bells help keep track of them, we live alone on top of a bluff. Our two dogs keep are protective of them too. It is working out good. They don't climb on our car or truck. They are good goats. We only have 4.


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## Idahogoats (Sep 5, 2016)

We are building a




  








Leo and Bunnie




__
Idahogoats


__
Jun 1, 2017


__
our two nubian wether goats.




Leo is part LaManchia and Alpine. He is very sweet. Has funky horns and is very close to Bunnie...





tiny house. When we do landscaping we will put chicken wire around it.
Leo, out Lamancha/Alpine is the biggest brat.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Idahogoats said:


> We are building a
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's true, chicken wire wouldn't be too ugly. They are so cute. I love that you have a goat named bunnie .


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Ours are wayyyy too friendly to need a collar. We had one that was wild a while back that could have used a collar. But we lost her (birth)

Anyway I've never seen the need for collars unless you have goats who are not friendly.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Come to my place and I'll show you why super-friendly goats need collars! I milk every morning, but I don't need eight does, two wethers, two bucks and all the babies crowding into my milking area at once. It's much easier to manage them every morning if I can grab collars because inevitably it's the ones I DON'T need in the milking area who are hogging the gate space and not letting the others near. With collars I can pull them back enough to let the ones I want squeak through. Or if I have one at the bottom of the pecking order I can take her by the collar and personally escort her safely past the bossy goats who are clamoring at the gate. 

And when it comes to kids, for a month or so they're not a nuisance on the back porch where I milk, but once they get to be over 25 lbs. and rowdy they are more trouble than cute. Unfortunately it takes them about three months to get big enough where they can no longer squeeze under the gate. So I find it's easier to tie their collars to the fence for a few minutes so I can have a bit of peace while I milk. 

I also find that it's much easier to put goats to bed at night if they have collars. Most of the time they file right in, but if I have to put them away early they won't cooperate, and I don't like to entice them with grain. I also like to be able to control our goats if we have visitors. A few of my goats are friendlier than necessary and not everybody wants to get up close and personal with my goats. Sometimes I have to grab babies quick before they start jumping on a visitor's car. There are lots of reasons why friendly goats might need to be managed on the spur of the moment, and this is much easier to do if they have collars already in place.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Yeah I understand that. We don't dehorn our goats though and so I just grab their horns and move them. I have two who were dehorned before I bought them. But even those are easily moved without collars. I understand though why people use collars....just saying mine don't really need them. =) tami


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

None of my does (currently) has horns. My boys have horns, but I _never_ grab them. It tends to make them head shy and angry. They also get very good at ducking their heads when they don't want their horns to be grabbed, and this can be dangerous. I have Alpine crosses so the horns can get really big (too big to grab comfortably), and they have sharp ridges on the front that can cut hands. Grabbing horns is a big no-no around here. I sliced my hand that way once. Lesson learned. We take care when leading our horned boys by the collar since this can pose a risk to our lower arms. Usually our pack wethers are good enough we don't need to restrain them at home, but if I'm working with them or taking them out in public I always use halters.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

Wow that is not good. Well we have boers. So their horns haven't been issue for us here. But I realize some people love collars. I am not saying not to use them. We just don't use them. =)


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## Agreenwd888 (Sep 3, 2017)

I used to keep dog collars on all my goats. My matriarch oldest and largest goat at about 150 pounds leaned over the fence to eat at a small tree. Her top of the tree got hooked through her collar. And she was hanging, scrambling with her hooves on the fence trying not to hang. Luckily I happened to look out the window and saw her scrambling. This collar was the type with the pin that goes through hole, when I got out there I noticed it somehow tightened from the position I had it at. I yelled for my neighbor who heard me!! I couldn't hold her up w 2 hands and undo the collar. He came over and cut the collar off. I took all collars off my goats. I used to have nice collars that coordinated w my goats names =( I only have 5-6 goats at a time. I recommend if you are going to collar them use something that will break in the kind of situation that i had. Never use a collar with the pin and hole. A plastic buckle one may break but also may hold up. I like the leather or chain idea. I keep a leash at my station with a collar for bringing them from the station back to gate, can also leave a leash at your fence gate if u need to go in and grab one. I just throw it around there neck. I used a buckle collar to let them back into gate after milking. I have perfected the release buckle method on the collar as they are stepping through gate back into pasture =)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Goat Forum mobile app


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## LSRR (Aug 28, 2017)

I've got a herd of 16 that most of them wear collars. They're all super friendly and I don't really use the collars, but we go out in public and I want to be able to put their names on them. The ones that have the dollar store ones (7 of them) have all lost them. Some of those didn't even last a day. I'm looking in to making some decent leather ones, but it worries me that some will have horns and could hook each other. I don't have anyone over the age of 10 months in my herd, so if they do have horns, they're still itty bitty.

ETA - Mine all wander the 16 acre property we're on with the horses and chickens during the day. They haven't gotten hung up in anything.


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