# Collars, and some other newbie questions



## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

I have some questions about your goat collars.

Do you just use regular dog collars?
Do your goats wear tags?
If they wear them all the time do they get bald rings on their necks like dogs do?

What about harnesses? Does anybody have them for their goats?

Oh, and do goats sit? 

And has anybody here clicker trained their goats?
If you do, what do you use for treats?

And are goats ever ticklish? Maybe especially around the udder area?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I don't use collars on my goats and don't recommend it unless they are in a clear, clean, safe environment where they can't get caught or hung up. But I just use nylon dog colors for leading and such. They shouldn't rub on their fur unless they are too loose. 

Goats don't tend to sit, however I have seen a couple pygmy does that will sit every once in awhile when they want to rest. But most goats will never sit and you wouldn't be able to train one to sit.

Never clicker trained. I don't know if they would really respond that well to it. Goats really aren't the brightest creature, definately not as smart or loyal as a dog. So yeah, I don't know how well clicker training would work. Usually when they see treats they just run toward you and pay no attention to other things going on. But for treats you could get chopped apples, sweet feed (grain, molasses mix from feed store) etc.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

I have a nylon coller on all of my adult goats, we have all electric fences so they cant put their heads through and get stuck. Have never had a problem with them. I do take their collars off when they are in with the bucks. Sometimes the bucks rub their heads on the does necks and chest, had one buck with a large scur catch a does collar and lifted her off the ground. So now i just leave them off during breeding, even when the bucks dont have scurs. the kids pen is chain link, with nowhere they can get their head through. Kids get a nylon collar at about one month of age, when they are too big and awkward to carry around. 
i do keep a tag on all of my goats, it has their name and birthdaye on it. The does are also color coded. Everyone has a different color collar. Chrome is blue ruby is red juju is purple etc. This way if something happens and i cant feed (in an emergency) people know which goat is which. There is a white board in the barn with the goats name the color of her coller and what she gets in am and pm. they are also listed in what order they are fed. bucks and kids are much easier because the kids share feed in two large feed pans and the bucks are seperate when they get grain. 
I also use velcrow leg bands, in seperate colors. red means you cant keep the milk, usually that doe has been wormed or is on some sort of antibiotic. Yellow means mastitis, and that doe is currently being treated. 
I havea small herd, most of the color codes are in case i cant feed, i broke my ankle last year and my neighbor fed for me while i was at the hospital. She said the colors made all the difference. ok im babbeling again.
I clicker trained one goat, a whether i had several years ago, we used the clicker while driving and packing. mostly to tell him good boy rather then give him a treat every time. 
beth


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Iceblink said:


> I have some questions about your goat collars.
> 
> Do you just use regular dog collars?
> 
> ...


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

i only collar when i'm leading them...or another reason. but usually they go collarless.
I used to have tags for each goat....but i'd be broke if i bought them each new personalized ones LOL

preggo goats sit often, to line up babies in the canal. also i guess they could be tired and sit.

i dont think goats are ticklish, but they could be sensitive and may not like certain parts of their body touched, like the top of the head or udder or the oppisite and love to be handled...(like my yearling calypso! )

treats are usually cut up bananas, or apples. usually the ones that are bruised.


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

My goats all have collars - but none of them have horns. if I had goats with horns I would not leave them with collars on as they can get their horns caught in each others' collars.

My goats do not wear tags although it is a legal requirement over here - I simply keep their tags in my bedroom. "they fell off" =]

I dont think any of my goats would appreciate being asked to sit, either :greengrin: 

LW


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

IF you have to have a collar on your goats,please make sure it is a breakaway collar. I know Beth said she has never had a problem and that is great but there are a lot of people that go out to the barn and find their goat dead because it choked to death from it's collar getting stuck on something they NEVER ever thought of. Goats are great fro getting into trouble. They will so things that you never though would or could happen.
If at all possible leave the collars off. Plus they have the tendency to rub the hair off.


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## Iceblink (Dec 6, 2008)

Wow, thanks for all the great responses guys. I appreciate it. 

As far as clicker training goes, thanks for the inspiration Keren. I have clicker trained my chickens, and I'm pretty sure goats are smarter than chickens. I just had to make sure my expectations were reasonable. They say you can clicker train anything you can reward.


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## rebelshope (Sep 21, 2008)

As for collars, I do keep collars on mine. One solution to the getting hung up is these plastic chains ones. These have a special link that pulls apart if they get hug up. http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=3885&cat=103&page=1

For little goats, the cheap dollar store cat collars work great too.

For leading I either use a halter or a nylon collar.

Goat are much smart the people give them credit for. They are fairly easy to train to do simple tricks . I know someone who trained her goat to run down, jump in a chair, and lay down. An operate conditioning program, like "clicker" training works well. I like animal crackers for treats, broken. I used to love raisins but after my dog got them i don't buy raisins anymore. 
Here is a little girl training her goat. .. well more luring, but it is really cute anyway
http://www.truveo.com/Baby-Goat-Circus/id/3487783355

This girl has done some canine free style tricks with her goat.


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## Jenna (Jan 7, 2009)

I don't keep collars on my goats,I am afraid they will get hung up on something.

I think goats are smarter than dogs, but they don't have the " must serve human" thoughts so it takes longer. I have trained my favorite nigerian to do simple tricks for grain, she loooved it! Goats really don't sit unless they are uncomfortable with triplets on the way!


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## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

Most of our goat's aren't wearing collar's right now but we have used regular break away dog collar's on our goats but they have taken them off of each other. Our's don't wear tags and we don't use harnesses.


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