# Partner wants to get rid of Gumpy :(



## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

So my partner really wants to get rid of our girl Gumpy. We found her quite some time ago now running down the road and could never find her owners. She was pretty wild but we have got her to the point of enjoying a pat and scratch. She will come up to us in the garden and gets along with the dogs. We have tried to train her to be restrained and to lift her legs etc but she just freaks out if you try to restrain her in any way. She is also weary of people she doesn't know. 

We decided to get another goat as it was cruel (well I think it is) to keep her on her own. We got Kuta who we are weaning off the bottle now as we hoped getting a super take baby and having Gumpy see how friendly he was with us would help tame her up a bit.

We have them separated and supervise them together in the afternoons. At first it seemed Gumpy was getting better with him but the last 2 days she has smashed holes into his pen (which is very well built) and terrorised the poor little guy. Do be honest she's just being a downright bully. If I am not standing next to him she will charge him. He's now super scared of her. My partner came home and found him hiding and trembling so he was really upset by that. I told him give it a few months but again today she had smashed and even bigger hole so that we had to replace the entire side fence and Kuta was hiding and terrified when we got home.

My partner thinks Kuta will be ok on his own and worst case we can get another kid while Kuta is still young and they can be friends. I love Gumpy and while I hate seeing Kuta be so scared I don't just want to give up on her. My partner says it would be different if she was tamer, but that she's too difficult to manage. 

I can see his point of view but I love her so much and I want her to have a good life. I'm worried she will end up as a curry. I understand that might be "all she's good for" from a farming and pet point of view but I really have grown fond of her. I don't know what to do.  I've never given up on an animal before


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## brigadoonfarmgal (Jul 14, 2016)

I am so sorry to hear about Gumpy! I had beautiful doe who acted like a bully (as you describe Gumpy) I wanted to keep her for breeding very badly but between the damage she did to my barn/fences and the other hurt goats (the last straw was when she rammed a 4 week old doeling who was nursing and broke her leg in two places) I sold her and I will never tolerate that behavior again in my heard.... Good Luck!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Whatever decision you both make, do it while you are not upset with the goat or each other. The doe may be upset that you are spending time with the new one. She may just be jealous. Even though she isn't overly friendly, she is starting to bond with you and her seeing you pet another goat may be upsetting to her.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hi goats rock that's what I think. I'm going to wait it out as long as I can. We have re-enforced the fence for now. I feel like she sees all the animals go inside at night but her which doesn't help


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Maybe she's in heat ?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

nicolemackenzie said:


> Maybe she's in heat ?


That's exactly what I was thinking too!
The age gap between the two really isn't the best, you basically have a 2 year old child and a teenager, she finds him annoying lol part of being in a herd is to show dominance to the lower ones and make them understand who the top dogs are. Of course this can not be done because the little guy is little and you have them apart and step in when it gets abusive.......I would too so your not doing anything wrong. If she is in heat she is more testy then normal. But a couple of suggestions. First maybe a friend for her that is her size and age. This really could go either way. She really might just be a mean jerk and she might pick on the new one too (if that's even a option) but it might give her a friend that she can butt and play around with and maybe also straighten her behind out as well  for then fence, I totally feel your partners frustration on this. The BEST investment I ever made was a electric fence. It keeps heads out of the fence, stops them from running on the fence and best of all keeps them from fighting threw the fence. It really only takes once and it's like night and day on how they respect the fence. That will keep her from taking the fence out and also lets her see the little one jump around and do his thing and she has to stand there and put up with whatever he's doing that she may find totally annoying lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Well said.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

I've had to introduce our 'bully' (to other goats, not us) to 2 bottle babies before. I've had to keep them separate until they are 3-4ish weeks old, then start introducing them in a neutral area (not each other's pens). Then eventually they just got to being in with each other and once they worked out the pecking order everything was good. I'd say by 8-12 weeks they could be safely in together. Just keep letting them play together in a neutral area, also as others are saying she could be in heat and especially testy. Just my experience. Good luck!!


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I admire your patience and thoughtfulness in this hard situation. I guess I am not as patient as you. I would worry she would injure this little guy in the future to the point that he would have to be put down or worse. Too many really nice goats out there - maybe you could place her in a herd with more mature animals that could stand in with her - she may just need a herd situation to be comfortable.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I think Gumpy is jealous and territorial. This has been HER yard and Kuta is an unwelcome intruder. One thing to keep in mind is that young kids usually grow FAST, so it shouldn't take long for Kuta to get to a size where he can hold his own and even give Gumpy a run for her money. In the meantime, however, the situation is frustrating. I have had a little experience with mean goats going after others, and I find it helps to tether the mean one in a safe area (making sure they can reach food, water, and shelter) and let the other run loose. This keeps your fences safe, keeps Kuta safe, and may help Gumpy tone down her attitude. It should also help her overcome her fear of being restrained. The best tether for this situation would probably be a runner, which is a rope stretched overhead across the yard with a shorter rope attached to it that will slide up and down its length. This would give Gumpy room to run and be less likely to get caught on things, but she still couldn't dominate the whole area. Kuta will quickly learn how far Gumpy's reach extends and will learn to avoid her area except on his own terms and by his own choice. Having Kuta be able to approach her and Gumpy _not_ be able to approach him gives Kuta a psychological boost while hopefully deflating Gumpy's ego a bit. I hope you can make them work out together because they're both adorable and I know you want what's best for them.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

All great advice!

I had a very very aggressive doe. She was murder on the kids. Literally she would try to kill them. She was a feral born goat and just took a couple years to settle down. I was patient with her, I protected the kids (obviously), and I trained her to do a few things. "Go to your dish" "back" etc. So if she was being naughty I would say "go to your dish" and she would stop what she was doing, run over to her dish, and get a treat. 

Kuta will grow. Most goats eventually can work it out. Not always but usually. Keep him safe until he's bigger.

I really loved the advice to not make any decision when you're upset with her or each other, that is super smart. I've done that with goats and regretted it later. There are a couple goats I wish I still had. I take a much longer approach to getting rid of a goat now. 

Keep us updated on your decisions. Goat keeping is sure not easy is it?!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh and on a side note, my once very aggressive doe is now a kid cuddler and #1 kid sitter!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses.

This is something we have been considering for a few weeks now.

I think part of it is jealousy-However we always make sure to pay her as much or more attention when Kuta is around.

She's now trying a technique of climbing up high and taking leaping jumps trying to land on him  Kuta is about 5 months old now and still tiny. He was sold as a feral that should be about Gumpy's height but this doesn't seem to be happening. All the other goats I have seen around his age seem to be much bigger.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Also she is not on heat

Here's a pic of Kuta yesterday-so tiny


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh my word...He's adorable. However, he IS tiny for 5 months! Has he been tested/treated for coccidia? That often stunts the growth of kids. I also had a kid that didn't grow well because she had an enlarged heart. She was little and cuddly looking like that.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

As was suggested when you initially asked about getting a companion for Gumpy, an older wether her size or larger really would have been a better choice. Herd dynamics can be really really tough and obviously Gumpy is an aggressive queen. Now you have have 2 solo lonely goats... Perhaps you can find a breeding herd for Gumpy to live in (where the herd structure with other dominant females) will likely keep her in line. I would post her for sale so it doesn't come between you & your partner.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hi groovyoldlady he has had all his vetwork done and healthy but I will get another check up to make sure. He eats and drinks fine though and his poos are good.

SalteyLove yes a few people did suggest getting something a bit older but as we had the pen we wanted to go for something around 3-4 months as we could keep them separate but also hoped as they could see each other they would be more comfortable with each other by the time they met-and when we asked our vet they said this was a good idea and it was fine. I guess we are learning the hard way now that its not. 

We have someone coming to look at her on thursday who has a herd on 27 acres nearby so hopefully that works out.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I think some does so need a bigger herd.

I sold a doe who I thought was rough with my other goats this past spring. She went from a herd of 4 to a bigger herd with more space. They LOVE her!

So she may not be the type of goat that does well in a tiny herd. 

I second getting a fecal done ( including cocci- have them send it to the lab) on Kuta.

He must also have nigie, Pygmy or another mini breed in him. I don't think he will ever be as big as gumpy.

You could also rehome Kuta and get a similar aged/sized wether for Gumpy instead. Meet them first and see their personality. Ask about their place in the herd. A grown up bottle baby should be plenty friendly.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hi Nicolemackenzie

I will take Kuta to the vets and get a fecal done just in case. 

The reason we are thinking of rehoming Gumpy instead of Kuta is because Kuta is much tamer and easier for us to handle. Also as he is smaller it's better for him to stay here and Gumpy to go someplace larger.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

ThingsGoatSerious said:


> Hi Nicolemackenzie
> 
> I will take Kuta to the vets and get a fecal done just in case.
> 
> The reason we are thinking of rehoming Gumpy instead of Kuta is because Kuta is much tamer and easier for us to handle. Also as he is smaller it's better for him to stay here and Gumpy to go someplace larger.


That seems reasonable.

See if the vet will let you just redo the fecal if he was seen recently unless you have other concerns


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

I know before I got him the previous owner took him to the vets as he had the runs, and he was medicated for it. A few weeks later he was also vaccinated. 

I'm happy to get another vet check it wouldn't hurt. The goat vet is pretty reasonable with her prices too


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