# Pecking order



## goat fever (Oct 18, 2007)

I got a new goat last weekend. I was expecting my bottle baby wethers now 2 years of age to be the worst. But Andy and Amos are perfect gentlemen with her. It is my oberhasil doe named Kibbles that is really being mean. How long will it take for Kibbles to get use to Allie and stop chasing her around. Poor Allie just wants to be one of the gang but Kibbles won't let her. I even put Kibbles in another pasture for a few days but they all have to eat together because of the set I currently have. One 8x20 shed. I wish I had a barn with separate stalls. Well maybe someday right. I just want Kibbles to settle down and let Allie be one of the gang.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

Give it some time - they will let her settle in.


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## goat fever (Oct 18, 2007)

Thanks Kelebek. With the weather we are having I don't have a lot of time to wait. If Kibbles keeps it up, I will be sending her to a friends house until Spring. I can't have Allie standing outside all night because Kibbles won't let her in the shed.


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## Cinder (Mar 3, 2008)

I have only brought in new goats twice so all I can do is offer you my limited experience. When I brought in my 6 yr. old Nubian doe my other two Alpine does pushed her around for almost a full week. They literally rammed her into the fence.. it was awful to watch. Thankfully that was only for the first 2 or 3 days then they just kept her out of the barn during the day and would shove her around but not as hard.

When I brought my newest doe and her wether brother home things didn't go nearly as badly nor nearly as long. The wether would get between the other does and his sister (she was the one they really wanted to get to ???) and they only pushed him around a little and only for a day. The doe learned the first day to jump up onto the wooden spools or get behind her brother so she was seldom messed with. The wether is so much bigger than all my other goats that they seemed to realize pushing him around was not an option. It's funny because he is the biggest sweetheart and never pushes back.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

It will take some time. I brought a new doeling to my herd in August my girls wouldn't "attack" her but they would keep her from the hay racks and the barn, it took a good 3 weeks before the pecking order was established, now se's one of the herd and will keep my 2 boarders from " her space"...it's funny to see because she's half their size!

Maybe if it's possible, is there a way you can provide a shelter for your new girl inside the barn? I have a bench built into mine that allows the girls on the bottom of the pecking order to get away from the more aggressive does.


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## goat fever (Oct 18, 2007)

She has been sleeping in a water tank the past few nights. I can't put a bench in the shed because the new doe wouldn't be able to get up on it. She is a fainting goat and she can't seem to jumped. It is getting a little better each day. But I feed her and give her, her hay in a different pasture so I know she is getting the food she needs. It has been really cold here lately so I want to make sure she gets what she needs to stay warms.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

If you can put Kibbles in with just Allie for a few days. More then likely they will become best friends because Kibbles wont have anyone else to pick on or be friends with. Then put them in with the group.
Hope this helps
beth


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

expect it to take a week to two weeks for things to settle down.

I agree with Beth, putting them together especialy during the day will encourage Kibbles to accept her


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

Night would be best, when they get cold they tend to cuddle for warmth. Goats usually have a buddy. All of my goats have a special friend in the group. Chrome and juju hang out together tilly and juno aria sizzle and skittles are best buds. 
beth


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

maybe I have weird goats but mine keep them out of the shed at night if they dont like eachother :?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Mine are the same way Stacey....they will and have kept "newbies" out of the barn quite often, until the new one learns to be quick enough to get past whoever is blocking the door and under the bench before they know she's in there..lol


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I had the opposite problem a few weeks ago...my new goat took over and would not let my does anywhere near their food or water...he also chased them out of the shed. They were terrified of him and after watching a 200lb plus wether pin one of my 90lb doelings against the shed wall, I just separted them. I know he was just trying to "be the boss"...but it would have been too easy for him to hurt one of the smaller goats. He now has his own "house" and there's a cattle panel fence between him and the girls. He can still see and be next to them...he just can't make contact. Everyone seems much happier this way...


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