# chewing on clothes?



## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

Hey all! I wanted to ask about what I think is a bad habit. My goat kids are about 4 months old, and they both will chew on clothes. my bottle baby is the worst, but even the non-bottle baby does it occassionally. You will be petting them and they start to chew on clothes. I have discouraged this by tapping the nose or rubbing vigorously on the face and it stops it for a little bit but they always do it again. What do you do to get them to quit?


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I flick the nose or push them away from me. Unfortunately, bottle kids are always the worst when it comes to habits like this. Your other kids should stop much easier with continuous discipline, but the bottle kid will be a little slower to stop...if at all. Good luck! :thumb:


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

My little ones do that too...but none where bottle babies....I smack them on the nose as well....but... they come back for more.... I never think to take out a water gun or spray bottle and try that..... :wink: :thumb:


----------



## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

Now that is an idea Pam lol! Super Soaker LOL!


----------



## cdtrum (Aug 25, 2008)

I have almost 4yr olds that still do this.....good luck! Mine love shoe strings too!


----------



## Saanens N Alpines (Oct 20, 2010)

I have some adult goats that still like to chew on my clothes. One loves the tabs on my rubber boots, one loves my zipper pull on my jacket and will pull it up and down. Some love the feel of my raincoat and some like pocket flaps! My hair is another favorite with the young ones.


----------



## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

Bella's favorite is the strings on hoody sweatshirts! Unfortunately hubby taught her that those were chew toys. He thought it was funny, and it did distract her when we would have to do something like give a shot, but I wish he hadn't done that! LOL! I have finally gotten her to stop chewing on my fingers, but she will still think about it and lip a little. I give her nose a little smack, and eventually she starts to think that it might be something she is doing lol! Thankfully she is a very sweet baby!


----------



## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

My wether, Bailey, is 15 months old and still does this, especially when he wants my attention. He has also become very capable at pick-pocketing too. I guess that's what I get for carrying raisins and peanuts in my pockets. I have heard that squirting them with water will break bad habits like this, but I have never tried it.


----------



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Mine do this too, but it's not enough that it's a bothersome concern. I have one doeling in particular that likes to chew on clothing a lot, the others just do it randomly. 

The spray bottle is a great idea, but if your like me your usually too busy to remember, and when you do you end up setting it down to do something and can't get back to it to make it affective...since they will probably stop what they are doing when you walk away...LOL

My biggest problem is, we have 2 bucklings that jump all over me! They are real sweeties and just want love, but I've been trying to work with them on the jumping. Now THAT can be annoying...it's like they gang up on you one on each side - if one is doing it the OTHER MUST DO IT TOO....they are comical though, these two are buddies and everything is competition for them...heh...

Oh...my buck has a fascination with the belt loops on your jeans. If you have your back to him doing something he will reach up and pull on it or chew on it....he's so silly!


----------



## Randi (Apr 22, 2011)

All my girls pull on my clothes, not chewing exactly, more like little children tugging for attention. If that doesn't work they will start tapping me with their hooves. Saucy will bite--then give me the big "I'm sorry" look. It's hard to be mad cuz they're so cute!


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

HeHe...cute stories.... :thumb:


----------



## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

LOL! Mine paw at me too! I don't mind this as long as they are not jumping on me. Its more of a "hey, pay attnetion to me!" thing. I want them to be safe for children to be around, we have 2 young boys and other children are here all the time too. Thankfully they do not butt us! The will butt each other but they have never once butted us! Even with each other they do not really butt, but more put the heads on each other and push.


----------



## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

It's a goat law that to be a real goat you must chew on clothes. Somehow this is passed down in the "jeans"


----------



## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

:slapfloor:


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> It's a goat law that to be a real goat you must chew on clothes. Somehow this is passed down in the "jeans"


 :ROFL:


----------



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

My youngest buck loves to chew on jackets and you better not go in the pen with a skirt because he will sneak up and grab it and nearly rip it off. I raise minis, so I let them get away with a lot because I'm not concerned about them ever doing damage to anyone...so they get to climb on me and nibble my clothes and hair, but they absolutely do not get to nibble fingers because I don't want them to get carried away and actually bite. When they won't take no for an answer and they don't respond to flicking them in the nose, I pinch their ear really quickly and hard and then let go. They HATE it and learn super fast what they are not allowed to do. Flicking or swatting doesn't seem to deter them too much as they are always getting butted by the other goats, so getting whacked is normal to them and they just do it again.


----------



## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I always thought having your clothes eaten was just part of raising goats. :shrug: I like living in a petting zoo.  
The other night after feeding and checking on everybody we were just standing around admiring our herd, (We do this; we are weird.) I suddenly jumped and yelled. Hubby laughed, "Somebody get skin?!?"
Trouble (wonder where he got that name) had been nibbling the hem of my jacket, reached under and got my pants along with some of my hide. :laugh:


----------

