# Do you use collars and what kind?



## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi I don't have any collars on my girls but I'm thinking I need to give them some to give me more control when they are fighting to push through the gate and get on the milkstand for example. I also wouldn't mind one for my buck who can be a knucklehead some of the time. I was thinking of using the plastic linked chain that I've seen several people use, I saw it sold by the foot at the hardware store... if you use this what do you use to link it?... does it need to be something that breaks away in case they get it caught on something? Also about how many feet in circumference is a full size dairy goats neck? (I know I can measure with a tape but I'm being lazy and seeing if anyone has a rule of thumb they use for full size goats and I'm also not certain how tight it should be.)


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I am not sure on the size of your goats neck. For the plastic chain they make links that open. I found the ones I got were too easily broken. There may be different brands out there and some might be stronger but I found they were only good for holding gentle goats walking. 
I use the cheap dog collars from the $ store that are nylon with a plastic break away conector. I want it to break if they ever got caught on something but not when I am trying to lead them.


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## bessmiller (Jan 23, 2012)

Ditto--cheap dog collars work great!


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

I never use collars on my goats except when I am trying to move someone. I usually have a few hanging in the barn and have a small one in my pocket. I just worry that they will get caught on something or one will get a leg through another's collar or something like that.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I go to the pet store and buy dog collars.... yes I do get the $10 collars  I leave them loose when they are outside so if they get caught it will just slip off over their head, if I need to lead them, and they are being a pain, I will tighten them, otherwise I just leave them loose....


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Please Please Please be careful with leaving them on. 

They can get them hung up on the darndest things and you go out and find the dead because they choked to death or hung themself.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I use the dollar store ones with the plastic clips...they work but if you pasture on brush/scrub be wary as they can get hung up. Also...I used to put a collar on my bucks but found that during rut it's best to take them off as the neck swells and if you aren't on top of things, that collar can get too tight...also, since I do have horned goats, I have caught them rubbing on another and getting the collar between their horns....can easily be a danger.

I currently have 2 of my 5 does who wear a collar, simply because the other 3 have figured out how to remove theirs.


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

Ours all have the plastic chains on. We got ours from Hoeggers and they so far have worked great!!!! They come with a connecting link


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I use plastic break-away collars that SandStoneStable gave to me. I really like them. The only problem is that (like Liz) two of my does have figured out that they can rub on the fence and remove them.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

I don't use any collars except on my milking dairy doe. The rest have no need. My buck leads beautifully by the beard and my kiko cross doe is too wild for one. The two boers I'm buying are ex show goats and handle just fine. My kiko buck will be taught to lead by the beard as well as a halter but for now he gets to pretend he can go where he wants.

My dairy doe has the plastic chain as well. Never had a problem with it. it doesn't get hung up, doesn't break easily and she leads on it just fine.


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

I use these types of collars. I have only had Beep get hung on her collar once and it was a cheap nylon plastic clip cat collar that I kept on her when she was a couple of months old. It didn't break away like you might think and by the time I got to her she was near dead. It was out own stupidity. My dad left a ladder open and I didn't notice. As you can see in my signature though she's still alive even after wearing the metal buckle collars for three years. I noticed that the flexible nylon collars if they get caught on something are easy to twist as the struggle to get away and easily choke a goat. My goats would get their horns caught on them while fighting and choke each other sometimes.

So I use these plastic coated collars. Not only are they HIGHLY durable, stain and odor resistant, but they just don't seem to get caught on things. They can get get them looped though something but it slips right off and it is stiff enough that it doesn't twist around things. So if you are going to invest in some collars get these. They will last you forever. My goats have been wearing them for two and a half years 24/7 and there is no wear other than loss of color due to the Arizona sun. No cracks, no tears nothing. The only other thing other than the color loss is at the rounded end the fibers split for the urethane after being chewed on but its just cosmetic.

Some feed stores carry them. This is the cheapest I have found them. As well as here, here and on ebay. They are called both plastic and urethane coated collars but they are the same.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I lost a doe wearing a collar as she got it caught on a tree and hung herself. From that day i refuse to leave collars on in the paddock. I do however ha a bunch of collars and leads at their feeding stations, they all walk over and stand in their places amd i can put the collars onthem so everything is nice and orderly. The one exception is my bottle calf who wears a halter so i can tie him up from outside the paddock before i go in, which is necessary otherwise he hurts me uninyentionally. I tend to think there is less risk with a halter vs collar


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I do the same as Joy. I like the ones that do not break away since some of them put up a fight when Im trying to get them to go where I need to trim their hoofs. I have yet to have one get caught, but I still watch them. I am home almost every day, and if I go some where they are penned up, and there is nothing they can get stuck on in there.


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

I don't use collars because I can lead my boys without them... they are pretty good around the gate... and I find that if I am actually doing anything with them a halter works better.... so I don't see a reason to risk the collar.... Just my personal situation.... 

In your post you said that you wanted it for when they were fighting to get to the milkstand... I would think that it would be hard to grab all those collars in that situation.... If I were you I would work more with them respecting the space around the gate... teach them to back up when you wiggle a rope or something at them.... it will be less chaotic that way I would think....
Good luck!
M.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

naturalgoats said:


> In your post you said that you wanted it for when they were fighting to get to the milkstand... I would think that it would be hard to grab all those collars in that situation.... If I were you I would work more with them respecting the space around the gate... teach them to back up when you wiggle a rope or something at them.... it will be less chaotic that way I would think....
> Good luck!
> M.


Hmmm... I think your goats must be much better behaved than mine. I mean I do work with them a lot and spend a lot of time around them and they are big spoiled babies, but they are not patient and they do not respect any space... they are just pushy...


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

I used to use the plastic chain collars from Hoeggers, but I guess my goats are too smart... They learn extremely quickly how to break them! And with my bigger does, the collars break on me when I try to lead them. So I stopped using those.

Then I tried dog collars. Those worked okay, but they get pretty dingy looking after a spell, and they chafe the hair around the neck (even though they're really loose).

I've tried halters, but all the goats hated that.

I've tried nothing but that was a nightmare.

I only just found the collar that really works for me! Baling twine!!! I braid it into a long rope and then knot it. It creates an indestructible, nice looking collar that works better than I had expected. It feels like chain on the goats when they try to pull away, since it's narrow and hard, so my problem goat no longer fights me. It's durable enough to withstand their antics, but at the same time if they get caught on something, they can just back out of them. I had some sky blue twine that I made collars for everyone out of, and I have to say it _does_ look rather nice on my white goats. :wink:


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi Caitlyn, I just came back to this thread after sometime. Love your idea about collars made from bailing twine. You mentioned they can back out of them if they get caught... how tight do you make them and how many strands of twine do you use?


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

I just do three strands and make a simple braid. Makes it virtually un-killable. LOL.

I make the collars pretty loose. If you look at the pics below, you can see that the collars are resting against the front of their shoulders. If you were to pull their collars up to the head, as though to lead them, then they could simply back out. So when I need to lead them, I just have to gather the collar up in my hand. I would just rather take the extra step of holding more collar in my hand than normal, and know that the goats can slip out during an emergency, then having a tighter collar that can cause problems. I can't really give you any measurements, since I just eyeball it and every goat has a different size, but luckily these collars are easy to tighten or loosen!




























Oh, and when I make them, first I braid my length of twine, and then put a knot on each end once finished. Then I take the two knotted ends and knot them together to create the collar. I find that if I don't knot the ends, the the collar tends to fall apart at awkward moments.


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## xxLavenderxDreamsxx (Apr 28, 2012)

Love the baling twine collars  

I crochet collars for my goats (at the moment I'm going through a rainbow phase) - they're easily replaced, they don't leave marks on the fur when left on for extended periods, they're durable enough, and they stretch and/or break in an emergency.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

I use breakaway dog collars as well. I have found them a couple of times on the ground when I have gone out. One of my does collars was really loose and she had just kidded. I was standing there when her doeling slipped her head thru Moms collar and Mom lifted her head up. The doeling was dangling and then slipped out. So they are loose enought but not so loose anymore that that could happen again. I was glad I was there to witness it and help. 

Good point on the bucks collar. My buck just went back into rut. His collar went from very loose to now snug and I keep checking it to loosen it. 

I buy my girls new collars every year after they kid. I feel it is their treat. They look better when the babies buyers come to get them and they are due for new ones every year.


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