# Am I Smarter than a Nigerian Dwarf Buck?



## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

As some of you know I am taking care of another farm's Nigerian Dwarf buck. He's a small yearling. His name is Jack-a-Bite, but we call him Jumping Jack because he won't stay in his pen.

Until now. I think.

I just worked for 2 hours straight with no breakfast and not enough coffee to reinforce his pen with all manner of zipties, baling twine and garage detritus.

Am I smarter than Jackie? Only time will tell!!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You will have to let us know! :-D


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

I got a ten spot on ole Jack...sorry Groovy :angelgoat:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

LOL, I hope you will be. Keep us updated.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

yes please let us know, mine stayed in great until the does came into heat LOL


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

^^ that sounds like my bucks! This last breeding season one of my boys was his normal mild-manner self and then when a doe came into heat he turned into Superman. "up, up and away!" :lol:

good luck groovy. hope it goes well!


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Umm, well that sounds like a normal young buck... Let us know how it turns out...


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Aaaaaaaaaaand.... I came home after an outing with my mom and there was an adorable oh-so-innocent looking buck in with my does.

Drat!!!

But last night my 14 year-old and I went in with hammer and nails and zipties and wood and twisted, maniacal laughs.

Now he CAN'T get out!

I hope.

I'll take pics when I do chores in a few minutes so you can all evaluate our work.

All I can say is he'd BETTER stay in. My hands ache terribly from working in the cold with no gloves for so long yesterday. My legs and back are sore and I even have a painful toe from the experience (arthritis there).

AND I made the stupid mistake of letting the does out of the barn before I was completely finished and Ditza (queen of curiosity and destruction) threw zipties to the wind and ate the plastic bag they were in. The entire bag!!! GAH!!!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

They're so annoying aren't they? I had a Nigerian that would get out of anything, and he taught the others how. We got his replacement before he left and, well, he taught his well behaved replacmemt, too. I mean, it was like a week that they were together! :GAAH: We have electric fence, so there isn't a whole lot we can do to reinforce it. I hope your little guy stays in for you!


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

groovyoldlady said:


> Ditza (queen of curiosity and destruction) threw zipties to the wind and ate the plastic bag they were in. The entire bag!!! GAH!!!


:slapfloor::slapfloor::slapfloor::slapfloor:


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

I feel your pain! I've got several that are great "helpers" like Ditza...tool bags and boxes of nails and screws scattered to the wind! 

I just had an idea...have you thought of reinforcing the DOE pen? Lock the little buggar OUT instead of trying to lock him IN? Just a thought...Good luck!


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Ok. At this point, I am claiming SUCCESS! He tried and tried but, thus far, has not escaped.

Of course, with Ditza plotting ways to undo all my handiwork.... :wallbang: (She ate 2 binding straps and a zip tie this morning in spite of my ranting stew pot threats. I really do hope she doesn't get a tummy ache! Or maybe I hope she DOES!

So here's the set up: We have a small barn with one stall and no aisle. There is a storage bay on the right with a separate entrance that you cannot see. We have one fenced in pen that my daughter's cleverly divided into two with an extra length of cattle panel. We already had a piece of detritus that was gate-shaped. So we "installed" that. We reinforced the bottom of the panel because the ground is frozen solid and I couldn't pound a post into the ground.

I knew the toys would be a problem with a leaping goat, but they are frozen to the ground and totally immovable right now. So we did string up some mesh fencing above the cattle panel to hopefully deter him from leaping.

We were dumb. ;-)

He sleeps in a large airplane kennel (found it on the roadside for FREE!!!!!!) insulated with blankets and towels and a tarp. If it's below 20º F, we throw Lola in with him so he can keep warm at night. She's already been bred by him and is the only doe small enough to comfortably fit in the kennel with him.

Now the entire top is meshed and trellised and strung and wired and wooded and - anything else we could fasten up there!


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

Talk about creative! My kind of woman! LOL I think the rose trellis is choice! :hi5:


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Looks good, maybe you could rig up the trellis with mesh and a hinge, think of a big fly swatter 

he steps on the teeter totter and as each end goes down it swats him :lol:

Do you hate it when they cock their heads and their eyes are horizontal and you know they are sizing up what has been newly erected, planning their escape:snowlaugh:


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Hey...how come his lot is clean and no snow :thinking:


magic wand or pixi dust :whatgoat:


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Bansil said:


> Hey...how come his lot is clean and no snow :thinking:
> 
> magic wand or pixi dust :whatgoat:


Bizarre Maine weather. We sent the snow to Tennessee!!!!

(And I have daughters who shovel out the pen after every snowstorm so we don't have to deal with Lake Caprine when the snow melts in Spring!)


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

smart idea :snowlaugh:


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Thats my kind of pen! Good job!!!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I like it.  Good work.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

As you can see from my signature picture I have dealt with Houdini's before. My LaManchas destroy things; my Nigerians plot ways to escape. Oy!


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Good job


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

I feel your pain, I really do:lol:
I've now had Nigerians for 3 years and the first 2 were AWFUL! My pens are built for Alpines, then I bring in Nigerians...and BAM! suddenly my pens are no long goat proof. Those DARN kids especially! They're little Houdinis! They busted out, went under or jumped everything:wallbang:
I think I finally managed to get things figured out to the point of being able to keep them in. And my kids are all bottle/lambar raised instead of dam raised so that helps, they aren't always trying to get to their dams, but actually content sometimes for a little bit if the lambar is full:lol:


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Well, I am calling our new set-up a success. He is STILL in there! :laugh:


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## WitchHazel (May 5, 2015)

Woohoo! Congrats! We're currently trying to goat-proof our shelter. Using, among other things, a bunk bed rail.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

I have 3 pieces of an old bunk bed that are currently in use as fencing/gates/gap blockers etc. :lol:


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

groovyoldlady said:


> Well, I am calling our new set-up a success. He is STILL in there! :laugh:


Yay!! Congrats.... Hoping it sticks


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

Great job groovy! I love your pen. That fits my style to a T :lol: Whatever works, right?

This might seem kind of obvious...but have you tried telling him "stay"? :laugh:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good work.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

He hasn't escaped even once since I posted!!! :-D

In addition to outsmarting the buck, I also outstubborned Ditza today. She did NOT want her hooves trimmed. But trimmed they are. 

I am smarter than a Nigerian buck AND I am mooooooore stubborn than a bossy LaMancha!


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

^^^Way to go groovyoldlady!! Is your parole officer on board with you keeping your own buck now?


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

congratulations :thumbup:


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

groovyoldlady said:


> He hasn't escaped even once since I posted!!! :-D
> 
> In addition to outsmarting the buck, I also outstubborned Ditza today. She did NOT want her hooves trimmed. But trimmed they are.
> 
> I am smarter than a Nigerian buck AND I am mooooooore stubborn than a bossy LaMancha!


You are awesome, groovy!! :hi5:


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

I think I already said: Poor little prisoner!


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