# successfully adding a new goat to herd



## pbfarm (Mar 14, 2009)

Hi-We have had the misfortune to have lost 2 of our 3 wethers to disease over the past year. Now poor Lewis, a 4 y.o. colored angora, is alone with 3 hens in the yard. We really, really want to get him a friend but wonder if it would be best/smart to get an older goat or if a youngster would be fine. We would introduce any new goat gradually from being 'fence buddies' to living together over a period of time. (Lewis has a fine set of horns, so don't want any domination 'accidents')

Thoughts? OR if you have a wether that would fit our situation, plz contact me! Thanks!
Beth in Utah


----------



## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Hi Beth, welcome to the forum!

If you get a younger goat you'll have to make sure there is plenty of space for the younger guy to get out of Lewis's way or he may be injured. That worry will continue till the younger goat is big enough to fend for himself. Keeping them penned next to each other is probably the best option till he is 2 yrs or so. Getting a bigger goat will go smoother with some head butting for the first few days then some aggressive dominance displays continuing on through the first couple of weeks. They should settle down and be pretty comfortable with each other after that.

This is all pretty general information. Each goat is different, so the amount of time for each step will vary.


----------



## tiger408 (Jan 13, 2009)

Sorry about the loss of your two boys  

Can relate to the concerns about introducing new goats though. We recently put our does and wethers together in one large area... up to this point they have shared a fence line since last summer. So they are going through the "place in the herd" bit right now. Lots of pushing, grunting, shoving, chasing and biting (the lead doe has quite a few chunks of hair missing now thanks to the lead wether ... grrrr) ... but for the most part they all get along. We don't have the concern of injuries due to horns though as all of our goats have been disbudded. 

I do think the idea of being fence buddies is a very good idea. Let's them get to know each other and have a few battles etc... while having a barrier between them and space to get away from each other. In our case we have ages ranging from 7 months to 4 yrs old all in one large area now. We also have a small fenced in area for the does to go at feeding time since they get grain and the boys don't.


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

Hello,

I just wanted to point out that it's not necessarily a higher risk situation if the goats are horned.

From my experience, fights for rank are even faster solved when the goats are horned because they can communicate the "nuances" of the fight better (horn clanking, head butting, horn twisting, etc.) which the dehorned goats can't (and so often resolve to biting). I rather see the horned goats fight then the hornless. Had to treat striped ears (skin peeled off by bites) in more than one case and the sore, bloody heads have to be treated as well.


----------



## peak (Apr 27, 2009)

I've got two nine week old boys, each with horns...would it be a really bad situation to introduce another dis-budded kid of the same age? I've had the current two for about two weeks, already thinking of adding more!


----------



## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

There shouldn't be any big problems at that age. Just know the de-horned kid will be at the bottom of the pecking order.


----------

