# How to get my goats to allow me to touch them?



## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

I have 2 wethers who are 10 weeks old. I've had them for 6 days. They shy away from me when I try to touch them. I have gotten them both to take grain from my palm.
My question is....if they back away from me when I try to touch them...even when I gently scratch them on their chest when feeding them, should I be a little more forceful and hold them by the collar and pet them? Will that show them they won't be hurt and touch feels good or will it scare them more?
I want to be sure they allow me to groom and handle them.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

I've found that forcing a goat to let you touch them usually doesn't usually work very well. They don't like the feeling of being trapped, and they remember that you were the one that trapped them. 

To make friends with shy goats I feed them by hand. I start gradually and get them used to coming to me to get the food. Then, I start slowly trying to pet them. They seem to be most comfortable with someone touching their shoulder or their back, one hand at a time at first. I've found that even very shy goats enjoy a good back scratch!  Petting their heads, faces, legs, chest usually comes later for me. 

A great way I have found to make friends with babies is to sit on the ground and let them jump on my lap. They'll be shy at first, but they soon come to see me as a big jungle gym and quickly loose their fear of me. At 10 weeks old, your little guys might not be little enough for this to not end painfully for you (they have pointy little feet! ) but it might be worth a try. Once the kids are comfortable jumping up on my lap, I start petting them, then randomly grabbing and holding them, and eventually they become accustomed to just about anything.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Grab a great book, plop yourself down in their pen, and read away!

Also only feed them yummy grain (if you feed it) and treats right near you! You can keep a bag of animal crackers out there while you are reading and just offer one close to your body every 10 minutes or so. I wouldn't expect them to be completely comfortable for at LEAST a month.


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

Okay, thanks for your response. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't loosing ground by having days go by without touching them. I'm spending lots of time in the pen with them and they're much more comfortable with my moving around them and the sound of my voice.
They were handled some by their breeder but they were 2 of about a dozen babies and many more adults so I'm sure they weren't handled constantly.
I'll try scratching on the shoulder instead of chest and not forcing it. Thanks for the advise!


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

Animal crackers.....like the kind human kids eat?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Just sit and read a book so they can come over and sniff you. Let them touch you without you touching them.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Nab58 said:


> Animal crackers.....like the kind human kids eat?


Yes, they have a sweet tooth just like us. Mine also devour bits of licorice stick. If you want to go a little more healthy, raisins or fresh apple slices are very popular. I've been told goats really love salted corn chips but never tried them.

You may notice that even after they have come around to being petted, they will become even more relaxed & trusting over a period of many, many months. I found that very interesting with my current goats, who arrived much like yours.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

If I have a skittish kid, I catch it at night when it's getting sleepy and hold it, talk to it, pet it, etc, until it goes to sleep. Works wonders.


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

Soda crackers also seem to be a good treat for goats. Or at least my boys like them and we always seem to have a package of them going stale in the kitchen. I also have a bag of licorice flavored goat treats that my husband bought when my first goat was too young for them.lol Slowly working our way thru the bag.


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## Miles2go (Apr 21, 2016)

Awww, I'm sure they will warm up to you! Ours are about the same age and we've had them about the same amount of time. We went to visit them 3 times before we got them home and spent about 1-2 hours with them each time. They warmed up to us pretty quickly again when we moved them in. I like all the advice here. I've been watching their behaviors all week and I notice that when they are in the pasture eating they don't want to be interrupted but when they are done they are ready for lovin


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## JumpingGoat (Mar 10, 2016)

Just sitting is a great way to gain there trust. It takes time but it really pays of. 

Another thing that i find works is offering some grain in your hand tgen whyle they eat giving them a pat


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## 4-HGoatGirl (Jul 5, 2013)

I have one goat that is very moody and she'll go from giving you the stank eye when you try to touch her one day to all up in your business the next day. I pretty much catch her and hold her sometimes and once she's in my arms she's fine. She'll come up with me when I have something interesting no matter what her mood, as most goats' curiosity gets the best of them regardless of shyness. I had another goat who hated being touched and now she is desensitized and loves scratches all over her body. Her progress has been amazing from shy to open. Through scratching and brushing, she began to like touch. I hope you have good luck with your boys! They are absolute cuties!


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

So it's been two weeks since the goats came to live with us. They still won't let me walk up to them and pet them on the back or sides without moving away. Mookie won't allow us to touch him at all and Papi allows it but moves away after a couple of scratches. I've been sneaking my hand under a branch I'm feeding them and petting them. They don't know it's me touching them and allow me to pet them and only move away once they figure it out.
What am I doing wrong? I spend a ton of time sitting with them and feeding them branches. They will eat grain out of my open palm. I'm a little disappointed we haven't made more progress.


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

Nab58 said:


> So it's been two weeks since the goats came to live with us. They still won't let me walk up to them and pet them on the back or sides without moving away. Mookie won't allow us to touch him at all and Papi allows it but moves away after a couple of scratches. I've been sneaking my hand under a branch I'm feeding them and petting them. They don't know it's me touching them and allow me to pet them and only move away once they figure it out.
> What am I doing wrong? I spend a ton of time sitting with them and feeding them branches. They will eat grain out of my open palm. I'm a little disappointed we haven't made more progress.


They could just be shy by nature. The two we recently got are only interested in me on their terms. My bottle baby is a ham.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Those are sure a couple of cute goats you got!

Do you sit so you're lower than they are? That really helps with all shy animals. You look smaller & less dangerous that way.

We never tried this with goats, but my daughter had good luck with singing to guinea pigs & chickens to get their attention & calm them. Some animals like instrumental music, especially harmonica & accordion. 

My goats aren't too shy any more except one, who's also shy of other goats even, but even she did make progress. Mostly they just kind of put up with being petted on the side of their necks & sometimes their muzzles, but what they really DO like a lot is sniffing noses with me. They often initiate it.

Mine were so shy when I got them that I started by just feeding treats through the fence. The fence made them feel safe from me so they were braver. The would also sniff noses with me through the fence. My face seemed less scary to them than my hands.

Something interesting was that my buck got pretty sick a couple months ago, & I had to feed him with a syringe for a day or 2. He seemed to really hate it, but after he was better I noticed a huge difference in him. He is so much more comfortable with being touched now, even on his back & sides & face. I don't think he enjoys it, but he will more ignore or tolerate it rather than go away. I'd had him over 2 years then, so I guess it's never too late for progress!

Good luck! Some goats are slower to make friends than others. Mine were a feral breed, & the particular ones I bought hadn't been handled much. Yours are sure to come around even better than mine did!


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

To pet shy goats, you can put some feed in a trough and while they're distracted by the feed you can pet their backs. I'm not sure if this is really as effective as feeding them by hand (since the food is out of the trough and not coming directly from you) but most goats will stand and let you pet them while their eating (distracted) even when they don't like it otherwise.


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## GodsGarden (Feb 6, 2015)

They will get better. When you sit on the ground do they come and investigate you? Try sitting with your legs out in front and put treats around. Wear shoes with shoe laces. They should come up to eat and then chew on you and them climb on you. Don't move, just ignore them. Like sometimes when you go in the pen just don't look at them and walk around them but get close enough so that they notice you. Then lay down. Hopefully they will be like, wow, what is going on?, and come and chew/jump on you. 

You can also take them for walks. The first couple times will be hard as the will fight against the lead. Don't pull or lead them. Just stand and when they come closer to you back up. So, they will jump and pull against the lead and you just hold it steady. Then when they move to you the lead will slacken and you slowly back up. Make sure to take them to yummy things that they can eat. Keep the leading short at first. Like 10 to 15 minutes. After a while they will learn that following you they get to yummy things.

It will just take time but they will learn to love you


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I agree with most of what is posted. 

I got two doelings around the same age as yours... they were dam raised ( NOT that dam raised kids are not friendly, but they owner did not interact with them)... anywho wouldn't let you get near them. They were scarred of the barn broom...anything that moved at a non sloth pace.

I put them in a small pen, and just sat with them, sometimes I would catch them and just hold them a few minutes. I cleaned stalls everyday to get them use to it.

They are now my most annoying goats when I am cleaning stalls! Always all over me...always bugging me for treats. Be careful what you wish for lol. They are my best goats in the stand for clipping, etc. however


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

I agree with what the others have staid. I got a doeling for my mom on mother's day she came from a farm that had a lot of babies and no time for socializing them. First day got her home we were walking her to her new pen, she got out of her pen and it took hours to catch her. I use little marshmallows for treats. It took a while for her to come around. I used her in 4H so that helped a lot


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I don't think it's a bad idea to catch a nervous goat and hold it. It might panic and fight you at first, but if you keep it restrained through the panic then sit calmly with it, talk and sing and pet, it will stop struggling and realize you aren't hurting it. It probably will not take treats while held at first, but you can offer them and eventually it will start to be calm enough to eat while in your lap. That's called a breakthrough! 

I had to do this with a very wild baby we adopted many years ago. He was so scared I couldn't get within 20 feet of him so I tied a long catch rope around his neck and would sneak up and grab the end then hold him there while I walked up to him. He went berserk the first few times I caught him but after just a few days I was able to shorten the catch rope from 20 feet to 16 inches. About a week later I was able to remove the catch rope completely. I probably caught and held him a good 5-6 times/day during those first few days until he calmed down. 

I think if I'd have waited for my goat to come and bond to me on his terms I would still be waiting 14 years later! You have to keep in mind that the goat is perfectly content without you in his world and he doesn't see a reason why he should let you into it. Food is a good motivation, but right now he's happy to just eat and not be petted or restrained. You may need to take an active approach to teach the goat that you are not going to hurt him and that it's okay to stand and be caught and petted. He'll eventually learn that being near you is a pleasant and rewarding experience, but he'll never get this if you can't start the process.


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

Thank you for all your input! da find, that's exactly what I'm afraid of. I get the feeling I'm playing by their game, not mine! I'm a little intimidated when they start to resist because I've never been around goats before but seeing that they're only going to get bigger, I'd better get on this now! I going to bring a brush and a leash down there and see what I can do. Thank you all again.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I would not use the brush at first unless you already know that they love it. Some goats are very afraid of brushes or dislike being brushed altogether. I have one goat that absolutely detests being brushed so I avoid it as much as possible. He trusts me so I can do it if necessary, but I have to be careful and respectful of his distaste for it. You also want them to get used to your hands at first, not so much the tools that are in them. "Stuff" can kind of distract from the main issue, which is gaining their trust. I would start with a leash (just to keep them near you in case they bolt away) and some treats and your gentle hands. Good luck!


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## goatygirl (Feb 16, 2013)

When a goat does not like me I pick them up and carry them around until they stop fussing then I put them down and do it again the next day.


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

Funny....there's 2 opinions...one is, make them love you and the other is don't force them, let them come to you.
I know with a dog, you can't let them be bratty and you have to show them who's boss. My little Boston terrier puppy nipped at us and we had to do an 'alpha roll' to pin her down until she settled down. It worked for her but she had a bold personality. Another Boston we had (she was a rescue) completely shut down if you spoke harshly to her. She was also very ill mannered but responded with food and kindness.
It may just be that my goats have different personalities and will respond to different methods. Papi, the bolder of the 2 thought nothing when I held him by the collar and brushed him.. He seemed to enjoy it. While Mookie fought being held by the collar and screamed bloody murder. He calmed down when I brushed him but was happy to escape. He was leery of me afterwards so that's a good thing.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Damfino said:


> I don't think it's a bad idea to catch a nervous goat and hold it.
> 
> I think if I'd have waited for my goat to come and bond to me on his terms I would still be waiting 14 years later! You have to keep in mind that the goat is perfectly content without you in his world and he doesn't see a reason why he should let you into it. Food is a good motivation, but right now he's happy to just eat and not be petted or restrained. You may need to take an active approach to teach the goat that you are not going to hurt him and that it's okay to stand and be caught and petted. He'll eventually learn that being near you is a pleasant and rewarding experience, but he'll never get this if you can't start the process.


That's a very good observation & would explain why my buck tolerated being touched much better after he was sick & I had to catch him & feed & medicate him a couple times a day. Of course he hated it, but nothing painful was done to him. Now it's a bit easier to do things like trim his feet or put a collar on him, so clearly I hadn't scared or traumatized him.


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