# Goat(s) killed another goat?!



## Rift (Sep 6, 2009)

This is hard to talk about, but now it has been a year.
We had 3 horned wethers, two were 2 yo. alpines and one 1 1/2 yo. alpine/togg/ober mix. The goat that was found dead in the pasture was the subordinate alpine. He was definitely low man in the herd. He was found dead in the pasture early in the AM and the other two goats were freaked out and standing off in a corner.
The neighbors said they heard a scuffle and banging, then a loud cry and then silence at about 5 AM. He had a small spot of blood on his neck and at first I assumed he had been shot. I shaved his neck and there was a small bruised area and a small abrasion. I Xrayed his neck and there was no metal, no fractures, no dislocations, but there was subcutaneous air in the tissues. In small animal medicine, you can see this with puntures or blunt trauma. There were no other wounds on him so I am positive it wasn't a dog or predator attack. He was necropsied and it revealed no disease.
It was hard to believe and all local goat folks couldn't believe it 
either, but I am convinced that one of the other goats butted him on the side of the neck and did spinal cord damage that killed him instantly. Now we have a Poncho without a Lefty and we still miss him. 
We replaced him with another baby who is now 1 1/2 yo., but I worry about him being the "low man". He is provided with a separate sleeping area and there enough feeding stations for all. 
There's nothing else I can do for him.
Anyone ever experienced or heard of something like this happening?


----------



## Cazz (Jun 9, 2010)

Very sorry for you Rift.  I would say it was from the others, because a goat is extremely strong, and, especially with horns, can be very aggressive to a lower goat, even if they haven't been threatened.
A friend with horned goats found one of her does dead with her horns in a tree - looks like she got stuck and then the other goats rammed her and broke her neck.  
It might be a good idea to take the other goats horns off if you are worried. So sad for your loss.  
Cazz


----------



## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

We have never had a serious injury from horned goats beating up on each other. We once had a broken leg in a kid but aren't sure how it happened. I guess it is possble but there are many other things that can kill a goat, from sickness to poisioning to internal organ failure to cancer. It would be a wild guess at this point to blame the others without more evidence.


----------

