# Making goats quiet



## joecool911 (Jul 3, 2010)

Wondering about the feasibility of removing the goats vocal cords to keep them from screaming. High probability that they'd be eaten by a cougar if screaming in the woods.


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## Bwana Ken (May 9, 2011)

Sorry, but you missed April 1st by almost 2 months. This is a joke, right?


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## joecool911 (Jul 3, 2010)

Bwana Ken said:


> Sorry, but you missed April 1st by almost 2 months. This is a joke, right?


I know it sounds harsh, but we've used goat kid distress calls to call in cougar and bear. My question was serious, as I know that cougars key in on sound to find prey. Ask bow hunters who are making elk sounds when elk are in the rut.

Not saying I would do it, but I think it's worthy of discussion, for the safety of goats in high cougar density areas. Would you carry a salmon around your neck in Alaska near a stream? :shock:


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

If your goats are with you and accustomed to being with you, they aren't screaming in distress.

When you hike with them, if you turn a corner so that you are out of sight, they will talk to you. I generally talk back so that they know they aren't abandoned. But there is no distress in this normal chatter.

If you bleed one of your children while hiking, the cougars won't bother the goats. ;-)

Donkeys and goats don't mix. A donkey can kill a goat just by biting it's neck. So it is best if you keep your A** away from the goats. ;-)


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Sorry Bob but I am stealing that bottom line and using it in my sig!!!


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

What are the goat screaming about? Or are they nubian? My goats are very quiet, most goats I have met are quiet except for nubians. Even when harassed by dogs they make no noise. At the rendy last year with many goats it was quiet except for a few baby goats.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

The only time I have heard a goat scream on the trail was on our first hike when I intentionally left a 10 week old behind because he wouldn't cross a wet patch on the trail. He was a nubian and he went and crawled under an overhang until I came back for him.

I had to teach him to jump over, and then how to find rocks, and then how to walk through it. (I actually dumped him in while he was crossing a log.) Then he was fine after that.

But even when I went in the tent at night, the babies panicked and stampeded in circles around the tent in the dark, but they were otherwise quiet. Yes. I slept outside with them and they piled all over me.


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## joecool911 (Jul 3, 2010)

I have an Alpine Munchy cross that is a cry baby, for no good reason. He just wants to be with me.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

Dave said:


> Sorry Bob but I am stealing that bottom line and using it in my sig!!!


Just my luck.Out of all the truly profound things that I have said, that will end up on my tombstone.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

I would hope that I don't sound judgmental about things. I am actually a great advocate for using screaming goats as dinosaur bait (ala Jurrasic Park) but not for bears. There is a big difference between the two.

Dinosaurs humanely swallow them whole. ;-)

It's kinda like trying to attract bears to the sound of giggling babies. Aren't we just asking for trouble?


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## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but I live in a very high cougar density area. My Kiko has actually fought off mountain lions on two occasions (I'd prefer I had been there to do the dirty work). Anyway, just a few things I do to mitigate the danger. First, make sure that your goats crowd around you when they feel threatened. It's a whole lot easier to deal with the cat when he's close as opposed to chasing one of your goats that tries to make a run for it (same goes for hiking with human kids in cat country). Second, cats are one of the biggest reasons I prefer horned goats. Third, I have bells on all of my goats; I find that the man-made clangy bell noise tends to scare the cats off long before you see them. Lastly, I always have a gun and a mountain lion tag. You can shoot the things here to protect yourself and livestock, but it's much less of a hassle if you can just tag it and call it "hunting." We're lucky enough to have a mountain lion season that runs most of the year. I also never high-line the goats and leave them unattended. Actually, I never leave them unattended at all, because if they're not high-lined, they won't let me leave on my own.


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## Saltlick (Jun 12, 2011)

We have a lot of cougars here in the surrounding hills about 6-10 miles from where I keep my goats, but I never hike there anymore due to the poison oak (it's like nothing you've ever seen, higher than your head and lining the trails!). I know cougars exist in the Sierra Nevada and Sisters Wilderness where I do go hiking/camping, but like you I NEVER leave them unattended or high-lined alone, except if I'm on a stop-over in some campground and have to walk away 200 ft to use the outhouse, but in that case they just cry pathetically and embarrass the hell out of me.


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