# Skittish wether



## scentasia (Jul 20, 2012)

I've had my 3 ND wethers for almost 2 years now and have recently begun to add to my herd. 1st came a 2 1/2 mth old banded bottle baby who does quite well with my other guys. Last week I brought home a 2 mth old who, when I saw him at 3 weeks was fine about being handled. When I went to pick him up at 8 weeks of age the breeder put him in my car (crate). When I got him home, he wouldn't come near me! I am making him eat his grain while I hold his bowl, and I'm hold the hay/grass as I feed him. I also get him to eat treats from my hand but you can feel the tenseness in his body - and he's quick to run away, especially if the "big guys" come near him. Yes, they will butt him and he won't butt back 
My question is...has anyone ever "tamed" a skittish goat before? If so, how? I spend at least 1/2 hr twice a day working with him and I feel I've made some progress but will he always be that way? I would really like to be able to hold him and pet him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## happyhogs (Oct 12, 2009)

Both of my boys were skittish when I got them. I did exactly what you are doing...with the hand-offering of food and treats. I also leash trained them so they came to actually see me as their 'head of the herd'. I walked them on a lead and led them to choice browse, then hand fed it and gently stroked them while they ate. I took every available opportunity to touch them and talk to them in a soothing tone.

It took time but with patience and a gentle approach, they came round and are now pretty 'bomb proof'....they run to me as soon as they see me, wagging their tails and bleating. They come for head rubs and when I stop, they will paw at the ground, asking for more! If I sit down in their paddock, they will have head butting duals to see who gets to lay beside me or back up between my legs for a full body scratch!

Recently, when poor Teddy went down with life-threatening UC issues, he was so remarkably trusting despite me torturing him daily with ammonium chloride drenches and injections. He would still come and lay beside me to receive his cuddles and I think he got great comfort from the relationship we now have so......keep it up, it will be so worth it in the end xx


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

My 2nd doeling I got was very skittish!! She actually panicked so badly when she first got here, she just so happened to jump through one of the fence holes!! I ran through the woods and finally my family and neighbors helped me catch her. I locked her in a room with my other doeling and I would hold her for long amounts of times and spend a lot of time out there until she finally gained my trust. Now she is my sweetest doe and best producer!!


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## Buckleberry Woods Farm (Dec 20, 2013)

My doe was extremely skittish when I got her. It was a team effort to just get her in at night. She wouldn't take food from our hands and once in the pen would run up the sides of the pen and almost over the door. She stuck close to the other goats and would hang back when they came to greet me. I needed her to trust me and get used to being near me so I pulled her from the herd and penned her by herself for a week. For that week she only had contact with me. I would bring a book everyday and sit with her until she got more comfortable with my presence. After the week I took her out on a lead and walked her around. I tied her to a tree and walked around the paddock, hiding here and there. I knew I had her when she started calling to me when I disappeared from her view. I unleashed her and she hasn't left my side since. She trusts me and showers me with her affection. When she sees me coming she leaves the rest of the herd to be with me. She's a momma's girl now. It just takes time and patience. There may be time, as there was for me, where you will feel discouraged because the goat is not responding to you as you would wish. Just keep at it and he'll come around. Good luck!


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

All you need is lots of treats , love and patience. It may take awhile, but they should come around. It took three months of constant attention and bread to tame my new doeling, yet she'll still run away and be skittish from time to time.

And every goat has a different personality, so some will take longer to bond than others. The best way to do it is to feed them their favorite treats whenever you visit(bread, raisins and chips are popular) , and to take some time every day to just sit in their pen with them and talk to them
Eventually they'll see you as a friend, not a foe!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

It sounds like it's not you he's afraid of. I recently bought a 9-month-old buckling who was the same way. He had been bottle raised and was really friendly with people until shortly before I got him. The folks I bought him from said he had recently developed this skittishness and they didn't know why. It seemed to coincide with the time he was transferred to the buck pen. My theory was that he loved people, but every time he tried to go for attention, the other goats butted him out of the way because he was low man on the totem pole. Unfortunately, my big pack wether was only reenforcing the lesson that going near people = getting pummeled. So I put a shock collar on the big guy and zapped him every time he tried to pound the buckling while I was in the pen. It took less than a week for our buckling to realize he was safe from the other goats when we were there and the skittishness disappeared immediately. You don't need a shock collar to accomplish the same thing. A squirt gun or spray bottle works just as well, especially for little guys like yours. My wether is enormous and has horns and a bit of an attitude, so we took more extreme measures than most people have to use. Just make sure your little guy knows he's safe from the other goats when you're there and he should come around nicely.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

canyontrailgoats said:


> All you need is lots of treats , love and patience. It may take awhile, but they should come around. It took three months of constant attention and bread to tame my new doeling, yet she'll still run away and be skittish from time to time.
> 
> And every goat has a different personality, so some will take longer to bond than others. The best way to do it is to feed them their favorite treats whenever you visit(bread, raisins and chips are popular) , and to take some time every day to just sit in their pen with them and talk to them
> Eventually they'll see you as a friend, not a foe!


I agree about the treats!!! I have a billy who I never tamed but is becoming a little more interested with my presence. Even he my most skittish goat runs to me and jumps up on me when I have crackers!!

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## TheGoatWhisperer (Jan 18, 2014)

I have a wether that was so friendly and then after they dehorned him...he was TERRIFIED of everyone. Took me at least a month of spending time with him, laying him on his side till he relaxed, treats (lots of them), and just taking him with me everywhere to get him to realize I wasn't going to hurt him. He is still pretty scared of men (a man dehorned him), but he follows me around everywhere now. Taught him to do a few tricks and he will fall asleep in my lap...I don't know what I'm gonna do when he is over 100 pounds lol. So Yes just keep working with him...don't give up he'll learn...just takes lots of time and taking it slow...never push them too hard.


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## nubeegirl59 (Feb 27, 2014)

When I bought my two they 6 months old and wild. I put them a large stall and took a lawn chair
to sit in. I spend an hour or more a day just sitting at first, then feeding treats. After about 2 weeks they were my girls! I can take them into the woods behind the house and they follow my every step. I must say though because they see almost no one but me and my husband they are still not friendly with strangers and freak when they see small children. 


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## newgoatgirl (Jun 19, 2013)

When we got our 3 month old Nigerian weather he refused to come near us despite that fact that our doe was always cuddling with us. My partner would hold the little guy while he ate his breakfast everydaybut nothing seemed to change. Then one day, I was brushing my doe and the little guy walked right up and sort of stood in line, once she was done, he sauntered over to where she had been standing. I started brushing him and from them on he got more cuddly every day. I think it was the feeding that worked, now he is constantly underfoot and more cuddly than my doe. Good luck!!


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## FriendlyFainterFarm (Mar 2, 2014)

Yes it is possible to tame a skittish goat  We've had a few does that we're really skittish, and it takes time and patience to get them used to you. What you're doing now is great, just keep at it and try treats and eventually start to reach your hand out slowly to pet him. He might run away, but that's okay just stay there for a little bit. Usually when I have to start getting a goat used to me, be a kid or adult, I just sit on a stool or bucket upside down in the stall and get them used to my presence. Eventually he will realize that you won't hurt him and start to be more trusting. You could also try lead training him once he is somewhat used to you, but don't force anything and when you think he has had enough you can stop for the day. Just remember it takes time but it will work eventually


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

This is a topic I was glad to see, I am on a Girl Scout camp, my goats will need to adjust to up to 100 small girls being in the area. Do any of you have experience with getting goats ready for groups of people? Any advise before they get here?


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## cteague (Aug 17, 2013)

I would ignore him. I tried catching one of my boys all the time and he would run and hide. So I started going in to feed him and just put his feed in his bowl. Then would pet the other. He soon started to come around and jump up on me to pet him. Now he won't leave me alone. Lol

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## happyhogs (Oct 12, 2009)

Chadwick said:


> This is a topic I was glad to see, I am on a Girl Scout camp, my goats will need to adjust to up to 100 small girls being in the area. Do any of you have experience with getting goats ready for groups of people? Any advise before they get here?


Exposure is the only real answer to that. My boys live at the primary school where I work, surrounded by 230 children aged 4 to 11. When the boys first arrived, they were skittish and very wary and when children approached them, they would grunt and raise their hackles, clearly not happy. Now they don't bat an eyelid and it is merely the exposure to the children on an ongoing basis that has led to their indiffence. Oddly though, I would say it is indifference rather than a want to be with the children.

If you do not have the time to accustom your goats to a large group because the group will be arriving all in one go and then leaving in a relatively short time, I would ensure that you very closely supervise any contact with the children and maybe use head collars.....they are a godsend when needing to keep close control of your goat, far more effective than a collar and leash x


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## Nichola2014 (Feb 9, 2014)

*Thank you all*

I would like to thank you all for the posts,because l recently bought a buckling and his not human tamed. Actually he raised by his dam. I will do what you all said and l will celebrate the results here. Thank You:book::book:


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## scentasia (Jul 20, 2012)

Just wanted to thank you all for your suggestions and confirming the best way to work with my "skittish" ND wether. We're not there 100% yet, but he is coming along! Yesterday "Lester" was in the pasture and I called him to "come", which he did! Then, when I went into the barn and sat on the bench, he came over to get scratched - and I didn't have any food to entice him! We'll get there! Thanks for the support!


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## FriendlyFainterFarm (Mar 2, 2014)

scentasia said:


> Just wanted to thank you all for your suggestions and confirming the best way to work with my "skittish" ND wether. We're not there 100% yet, but he is coming along! Yesterday "Lester" was in the pasture and I called him to "come", which he did! Then, when I went into the barn and sat on the bench, he came over to get scratched - and I didn't have any food to entice him! We'll get there! Thanks for the support!


That's great


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