# Collars?



## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

I have a background in horses, and it's my personal belief that you shouldn't turn a horse out to pasture in a halter because they could get caught on fencing, branches, one another, etc. It's just a danger that can be easily avoided by removing the halter.

I'm scheming my eventual goat pasture situation, and where I live now, we've considered doing in-ground electric fencing and having our smell-driven coonhound wear a collar that will beep/eventually deliver a small shock if he tries to escape the yard.

I've read a lot here about electric fence netting being an effective enclosure for goats. Has anyone ever used invisible electric fencing/collars on their goats with any success? I'm hesitant to consider it because if they're grazing during the day and their collar got caught on something, I'd have no way of knowing  Thoughts are welcome!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I thought of the same, BUT goats are a visible barrier type animal and I found that if they see the fence and get a jolt they associate the jolt with the barrier and steer clear of it. Maybe try using the flags that came with your dogs fence, but place them close together and see if your chosen goat stays inside. As far as collars on goats, unless their pasture is full of trees and shrubs they can get hung up in then collars wouldn;t be good, due to their browsing nature, goats would rather reach up into branches and vines to eat than to graze like a horse, making the risk of collars causing problems higher.


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

I know folks that do have some collers on. However, I am really big on saying no one that. Just not safe. I too have a horse background and so on but truth be told is if you never have an issue you are still at risk for one. My thoughts is why risk it?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with the others...collars left on unattended can be a disaster waiting to happen.... I personally.. don't recommend them left on...  

As for the electric fence netting...I have never used it so I can't help you there....but hope someone else can soon...


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

I never have a goat without a collar on, for emergencies, The collars are mostly breakaway collars or plastic collars, in case they do get hung up on a fence, but i live in the land of fire, being able to grab everyone and load them quick is a necessity, and having collars makes itso i can take 3 or 4 at a time


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

please dont leave collars that wont breakaway on your goats...

This spring, while i was on a trip, the person watching my animals left the gate unlocked, only one goat got out, and she got caught on a spruce sapling and strangled herself. She had a week old kid.  sad situation.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

yea , breakaways are the way to go.. and the plastic link collars last a fair bit, unless you have a psycho goat


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

Also living in a fire area... we keep collars on our goats. I do however leave them very loose (when they put their heads down to graze the only thing that holds the collars on their neck is their ears) If I need to grab them I pinch the top of the collar in half to tighten it enough that it doesn't come off of them.


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## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

Thanks so much for all of the great responses.

I don't think I live in a high fire risk area (being only about a mile inland from the ocean) and I would never want to put an animal in a unnecessarily risky situation.


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## jberter (Jan 21, 2010)

I have seen the collars on the goats on here from fifferent breeders and wonder if it's all that safe??? No affence to those that do, but, I have never left collars on mine or my dogs either so they wouldn't get caught on or in the fences. My dogs are all microchipped for I.D.-ing so when I go to the dog shows and if one were to get loose sense we travel out of state to dog shows, but getting back to goats and collars, I would just be very leary of putting one on my goats. My luck one would scratch it's ear and get a back foot stuck in it. :roll: Can you tell me or recomment a safe collar for goats???


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

We leave collars on ours but ours can't go to pasture. the only way they get browsing is if I let them loose and when I do, it's for a small amount of time and I am with them. We leave collars on our outside dog as well. You have to have something to catch them with if they are outside, loose.
But I can see them with or without them either way...I keep the collars looser as well. 

Collars or no collars don't really bother me...Either way would work.


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## nutmegfarm (Dec 23, 2009)

All of my adults have collars on 24/7. They are thin nylon show collars. I don't have to worry about them getting caught in pens because everything is wood, no loose nails, and they aren't jumpers, that kind of thing. They are very laid back, and never want to go out to pasture because they are lazy ladies I do not keep collars on kids, for the reason that they are jumping, playing, and usually they will pull the other goats collars off I'm also out there at least 3 times a day, anything that they could get possibly caught on (which is pretty much nothing) they can stand up and not strangle themselves (same with milkstand, mine is low enough that if they were to fall, they just stand there.) Its completely up to you though, thats just how mine are kept


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

Mine only wear collars when I am handling them. None of my goats are difficult to catch though. If you had a goat that was not very tame then collars definitely help when trying to get ahold of them until they get used to you.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

plastic chain collars like dairies use.. cheap and can be fixed.. I dont care where i lived, my goats will always have collars so i can catch them and lead multiples in emergencies I've had them going on 7 years and the only goat who have ever gotten stuck on anything are the boers and their horns


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

Speaking for my own herd, I am affraid a breakaway collar here would break upon my grabbing a pulling in a panic while my goats pull the other way. When we had a fire here it was simple. I decided, a trailer went to the gate and they were all loaded, if someone had not loaded they would have been let loose to catch later. They are smart enough to move when they have to and if they can't, catching would not have been an issue to begin with. Good news is we got the fire out before it would had been an issue but you can never be too careful. Brush fires are an issue in my area.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

there are different thicknesses of the plastic collars and the wild ones do break sometimes, but its easy to fix

and i do not own a trailer, i have a pickup rack so i have to be able to catch all my goats and lead them.. i also dont have pastures , oh well .. one day.


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

Now see there, makes since. Here is to hoping for the pastures!


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## goatshows (Oct 5, 2007)

I keep collar loose on my adult animals. I never keep collars on kids just afraid of them getting into trouble. I also have a fense jumper who is friendly and will come to you if he gets out. I refuse to put a collar on him!


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## ENC (Jan 3, 2010)

My goats all have collars, except for the babies they just grow to fast. When I let a few out at a time I will clip a lead rope to them. As long as there are no knots in the rope it won't get hung on anything and it makes them easy to catch when it is time to go back to the pen. I have had more problems with horns getting stuck than collars. Now all of my goats are polled. 

Evan


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## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

I guess I'm just paranoid about having kids running around in collars...and again, this would be more to institute an invisible electric fence than to be able to easily grab them if need be. I appreciate the input that goats really do need the visual fence line/barrier, because although a perimeter invisible electric fence would allow them the biggest space to roam and the deer to still get in, I wouldn't want to use a method that just wouldn't work for goats.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

Just FYI...You definitely DO NOT want deer in areas that your goats spend a lot of time in. They carry a type of parasite called meningeal worm that can cause permanent damage to a goat's central nervous system and is often fatal.


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## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

Uh oh...this poses a serious problem if I'm to have goats where we live. I imagine creating a somewhat permanent space for the goats (anywhere between 20x20 to 40x40) and then supervising them to graze on the rest of the acre. My landlady is VERY partial to her wild deer, and I don't know how I could restrict access to the rest of the property where the deer will still be able to wander in whenever they want.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

Having a permanent area for just the goats is a good idea. You can let them out to graze during the summer with very little risk but as soon as the weather begins to get cool and damp in the fall you may have to confine them. 

The way meningeal worm is spread is through snails and slugs that become infected from deer droppings. They like to eat the meningeal worm eggs and larvae in the droppings. Infected slugs cling to plants and leaves that are near the ground and the goats pick them up while they are browsing. In the summertime, slugs are not very active so the risk of a goat inadvertently eating one is small. In the fall, however, the slugs are out and about more and the risk of goats consuming them increases greatly.


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

A good LDG will keep the deer at bay as well. Hope that helps?


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## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

It would help if I knew what LDG stood for! 

Is this deer/snail issue something everyone deals with around the country, or is this something more localized to California? I can ask some local goat folks how they deal with that. My guess is that they don't have the great love affair w/deer that my landlady does and just keep the deer completely out of where they keep their goats.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I think it is more of a problem here in the east and midwest but you are right--It would be good to ask some large breeders in your area to find out how common it is in your area.


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## tararuns (Feb 12, 2010)

And I just figured out what LGD stands for. That is going to be a huge no-go, because we're already at capacity dog-wise for a two person family (3 indoor dogs, 1 large, 1 med and 1 small) and there's no way in heck our landlady would allow yet another dog.


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## jberter (Jan 21, 2010)

I also ment to mention that my hubby made me a shepards hook to catch the goats with when we first got them, made it soo easy and less stressful for them and me and then I was able to handle them and put their dog collars on for feet work and med's up on the goat stand he made also. I just love that guy,, :wink: :shades: ,,, then they came off when let back in their pens or paddock.


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## lupinfarm (Aug 26, 2009)

I collar both my girls and haven't had a problem yet. Obviously that doesn't mean I couldn't have a problem, but the girls are only out in the field when I am home and I can see the field from all the front of the house.  I don't trust them enough to go out without me here LOL last time they escaped and decided to try to break into the pony's field. She has never seen a goat in her entire life. 

I too come from a horse background, but both my horses wear halters in the field. The pony currently wears a nylon halter although I've been searching for a little while to get a nice leather one or nice snap-release halter for her. She can go out without a halter, and is relatively easy to catch without one as long as you have some grain. The big mare is a nightmare, she's only just starting to come around so I can go in there and she doesn't jump at everything I do. She has a nice leather halter sitting in the house, but she's so jumpy and was so terrified of me up until now that I couldn't get close enough to get her old nylon halter off, or change it, or anything and if she were to get out, we'd never get her back without her keeping a halter on. Unfortunately that is how it has to be. 

And my collars have plastic buckles, I've broken a few myself... and I test a couple before I buy real ones for the does.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

jberter: If you see this, could you post a picture of your shepards hook? I would love to see it, maybe my hubby could make me one!


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## countrymom (Apr 1, 2010)

I put plastic break away collars on mine. They are all tame and I really don't have much trouble catching them it just makes it easier. They will break and I do loose some collars from time to time but it works for me. I've never had a goat that got hung up that had a issue. The collar either broke or was loose enougth that it got out of it.

This is my first kidding season and I don't have collars on my kids and won't until they are a little older.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I lost my best boer doe (imported direct from Sth Africa as an embryo) because she got her collar stuck in the tree and hung herself. Since then I've been scared of collars. 

But I'm putting some breakaway collars on Dotti and Bullseye ...


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