# Friendly buckling = friendly buck?



## sierra marie cooke (Dec 23, 2019)

I recently bought an adorable buckling, he was terrified of me when I first got him. We have become friends since then and I LOVE him to bits. He is sooooo uber friendly he will follow me around for pets. He loooves pets and scratches. I was wondering do friendly bucklings become mean bucks or will Peaches stay my little sweety?


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I usually caution people to not make bucks their sweety. He can have back scratches and learn to lead on a collar, stand tied, allow hoof trims. He can have occasional treats, but you don't want an in your face buck. Never let him butt you, cut you off or get too annoying for attention. He needs to respect your space.


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## sierra marie cooke (Dec 23, 2019)

He's never tried to be mean, though he is pretty young. He is already peeing on his face though. All my goats are big pets, they're all kinda like dogs. He will follow me sometimes and and push his nose into my hand for attention. But he doesn't bug me too much. He does seem to respect my space, or at least I think he does. He's the goat in my photo, he didn't mind me taking a selfie with him.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Yeah, overly friendly bucks can turn into pushy, sometimes dangerous bucks when rut and testosterone kicks in. They need to respect you, and sometimes there is a fine line between friendly and dangerous. Mine are friendly, but know their boundaries. If I give treats, which I do to all my goats, the bucks treats go in their feed buckets with their grain and not from my hand. And...even with the does, they need to "earn" the treats by doing something I want them to do....stand still on the milkstand, pose correctly for show, that sort of thing.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

If you wether him, he will not become a hormone crazed buck. Unless he is a superior buck that you have for breeding, wethering (neutering) might be your best bet to keep him as a good buddy.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

They can look sweet but often their friendly playing as kids is their way of asserting dominance. Does he cross in front of you while you're walking?


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## sierra marie cooke (Dec 23, 2019)

Goatzrule said:


> They can look sweet but often their friendly playing as kids is their way of asserting dominance. Does he cross in front of you while you're walking?


He follows behind me. He will approach me, but he hasn't crossed in front of me while I'm walking.


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## sierra marie cooke (Dec 23, 2019)

lottsagoats1 said:


> Yeah, overly friendly bucks can turn into pushy, sometimes dangerous bucks when rut and testosterone kicks in. They need to respect you, and sometimes there is a fine line between friendly and dangerous. Mine are friendly, but know their boundaries. If I give treats, which I do to all my goats, the bucks treats go in their feed buckets with their grain and not from my hand. And...even with the does, they need to "earn" the treats by doing something I want them to do....stand still on the milkstand, pose correctly for show, that sort of thing.


It's the same for my does, they trade milk for feed. My two first fresheners are angels on the stand too... I think I'm lucky with how good my does are. My buckling though I don't think he's done anything disrespectful. He doesn't push me or pester me when I'm done petting him.


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## sierra marie cooke (Dec 23, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> If you wether him, he will not become a hormone crazed buck. Unless he is a superior buck that you have for breeding, wethering (neutering) might be your best bet to keep him as a good buddy.


He's a registered alpine buckling, so he's going to be my breeding buck. He does have 2 wether friends to keep him company.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

The issue is a lot of people won’t put a stop to things that seem cute now but will be dangerous when he is a hormonal, depending on the breed 200 pound animal that only has one thing on his brain. And also won’t establish personal boundaries. I have had 3 absolutely sweet bucks over the years and I didn’t put up with anything from them. I had a firm hand and have no issue making a lasting impression when they did something that was NOT ok. A lot of people can’t do that. They can’t swat their baby because he’s adorable and friendly and crawls into your lap to get their attention for loves, because he only wants loves now but one day he’s going to want girls and plowing you down to get to them won’t bother him. No buck is 100% trustworthy but one with not a speck of fear and respect of humans is the lest trustworthy of all.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

If he's friendly as a kid, most likely he will be friendly when he is older.
I've never had a "mean" buck.


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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

We have Nubians and TanMan is as nice a buck as you can ask to own. Bottle raised and gentle to handle. However after he got older and through his first breeding season he became a little bolder and just a hand swat was not enough to discourage him. The cattle hot shot did the trick. I can walk out in the lot with the hot shot and he knows to keep his distance other wise he is up close and friendly. So during breeding season he stays in his pen until needed and we keep an eye on him even though he has never tried to get ruff. He leads easy and gets on the milk stand and easy to trim his feet but A two hundred lb billy standing up on his back legs is about 7 feet tall and quite impressive. So keep him friendly but respectful of you.


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## NDinKY (Aug 3, 2019)

Like everyone else said, it’s all about them respecting boundaries. All of our bucks are friendly, and like getting some petting on the neck and back. They’re actually easier to handle than the does when it comes to foot trimming. 

Our youngest buck just turned one year old and just got to breed a couple of does for fall. He’s turning into a jerkface and we’ve had to get onto him multiple times. Probably time for the spray bottle to come back out. He’s challenging the mature bucks who are twice his size and not backing down from them. Typical young buck. He’s not mean, but feeling his hormones.


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## mariella (Feb 23, 2017)

What breed is he? In the picture, he looks kinda like an alpine? 
If he is a large breed imagen anything he does now as a 200+ pound animal. That means no jumping! Don't let him put his face in your face! 
If you are keeping him with horns be careful around him! I know he's not mean but I have had my fair shear of bruises from my sweetest buck because I let him too close and he wasn't careful with them.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

A lot of good advice here.


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

I Love my bucks. I love my bucklings. I respect them and teach them to respect me. I always ask myself, when you grow into a 200+ lb freight train. Will you stop and respect what Ive taught you.? And keeping this in mind, I agree with Jessica84& others that demand respect. Otherwise..we are the ones that get hurt.


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## Ashlynn (Oct 1, 2017)

My bucks have always been friendlier than my does, however they are also bigger, stronger, and stinkier than the girls. Like everyone else has said being friendly is fine and he will probably remain that way, but make sure it doesn’t cross into pushy, dangerous behavior that could hurt you when he is a big boy.


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Just put my 2 cents in from a Novice. I got one, he was a doll as a baby and for the most part he still is. The biggest thing, is he a male and he's intact so you gotta know.

I dont ever really take my eyes off of him. 
Firm but solid commands keeps clyde at bay for me but for the wife he is still learning. 
I dont let him ram my or anyone else.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Also don't scratch or push on his head. This goes for does and whether too but its especially bucks


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Definitely don't use the horns for discpline or leading or pushing or anything. They take that as a challenge and even the good boys will "buck" then. lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:nod::up:


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I have a couple of jr bucks that I walk daily, teach them to stand tied, and don’t let them jump, “snuggle” etc. They like the interaction but I’m also teaching what is ok and what is not. They grow fast. I NEVER turn my back on a buck.


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## olfart (Mar 7, 2013)

Our ND buckling was a spoiled kid when we bought him, and he still craves attention. Once he realized he's a buck, he started challenging me, shoving his shoulder into the back of my knee while walking with him, etc. Luckily he's polled, so no horns to worry about, but he has the horned instinct. He sometimes tries to hook my leg with his phantom horns. Every time I go to his pen now I carry a water squirt bottle. After washing his face with it a couple of times, now all I have to do is fire a squirt across his bow, and he backs off and behaves. 

When I need to work in his pen (cleaning his house or adding hay to his manger in his house), I put him out in the yard so I don't have to turn my back on him. He uses that time to visit his harem through the fence, and I can walk up and take his collar when I'm ready for him to go home. No problem as long as I have the water bottle.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Here's a pic of teaching baby to stand tied. I work with another while baby learns to wait for their turn. - I'm always within quick rescue distance.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

(thumbup)

Pretty doe.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Thanks - but he's actually a buckling! (shy)( I know - hard to tell here). 3 months old. Too bad he's standing down hill tho - he's starting to come together as I hoped.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:heehee:ops2::hide::imok:


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

Bucks who are spoiled may get creepy as they get older. You should try and draw a fine line on who is the boss.


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

toth boer goats said:


> :heehee:ops2::hide::imok:


:heehee:


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

I had a VERY spoiled mini alpine buck. He got aggressive with me, but I always carried a vinegar/water spray bottle, and that would help. He was REALLY mean to my dad. He would bite him whenever he got the chance! 

It was funny, one time he got out and was in the pasture with the cows, and was blubbering and snorting at the cows, and they didn't even realize he was there :heehee:


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> I had a VERY spoiled mini alpine buck. He got aggressive with me, but I always carried a vinegar/water spray bottle, and that would help. He was REALLY mean to my dad. He would bite him whenever he got the chance!
> 
> It was funny, one time he got out and was in the pasture with the cows, and was blubbering and snorting at the cows, and they didn't even realize he was there :heehee:


:heehee:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:haha:


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## That_Girl (Aug 5, 2014)

The best buck I owned was one I bought as a scared 3 month old boer/kiko. i slowly taught him to trust me, and we developed a very "professional" relationship that did include some play but he did very little posturing towards me.

this was a stark difference between this buck and other i've raised myself that were much more pushy and harder to discipline. when i raised twin bucklings, i sold one brother to a family. my buck did get pushy but i always met his challenges with equal or greater force but not cruelty. i didnt play with him or nag him. 
apparently, the brother buck i sold was nagged and played with, so when i saw him after a few years, he'd become a massive full grown buck with huge, spiraling horns and was a terror. all because he was not disciplined properly, he was made dangerous BY people.

the fascinating things about goats and other prey animals is how subtle their communication can be. some goat owners do not know their goats are effectively training them!

currently i have a spunky little doeling who likes to play rough, and i let her push on me, but not _move_ me. when a goat makes a person move or controls where a person goes, it's learning it's higher than you. My herd queen is a 165lb doe who loves to play and sometimes i push her (walk directly behind her and annoy her like a buck would) to remind her that i'm higher and she might engage in some posturing but i always remind her im in charge by simple not moving away from her. not hitting, or screaming or hurting! bucks are wildly different though and that needs to be taken into consideration BUT some small behaviors can be stopped by the same means.

when your bucking crosses that line, you must be prepared to meet him with firm discipline/ gentle assertiveness. you might scare him! that's ok! he Will come around. dont put his goat feelings above your safety later on.


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