# "Touch me not" goat



## Silvi (Apr 18, 2020)

Hello there, 
I would love some tips and stories how to handle one of my goats since I am new to them. We had her around a month ago. Happy, friendly goats, very playfull, eats from hand, runs towards me then I come, BUT she hates being touched. She was tied all her life (she's two y.o.) and never been milked (never had kids). She was not treated badly, just more or less ignored and left alone cause previous owner did not want a goat yet got stuck with one. I am planing to breed her as soon as she is in heat but I'm a bit concerned if she might stay this "touch me not" goat even after kiddind and I do want to milk her. Both goats are free in pasture and I would rather buy another goat then tie this one just to be able to catch her. So, is there hope she might get used to being touched? Are there some tricks for that? I try to hently touch her when I give treats or bring fresh grass and branches. She's tiny bit better but very far from my othet goat who learned to love being scrached.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

It will take time. Remember she is not used to affection. Maybe try be in a holding pen with her. Slowly moving closer. But do it in an unassuming way. Always use treats. She will trust you enough eventually.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Just sit with them. Talk aloud when you are in with them doin chores. Sit a d read to them. Wait for her to come to you in her own terms. She will become curious and come closer and closer. Let her be curious without you tryin touch her at first. Have treats handy. When you give treats you may be able to get a scratch on the chin with the treat hand. Try not to go over her head with scratches at first. Ours love to be brushed to the piunt it is nearly a riot when the brush comes out. She may never want much attention. 

We have a buck who was never touched. We can get a chin scratch with treats and as occasional rub down his back when he walks by us. But he just does not care for it much. He has gotten better since we have had him.


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## Silvi (Apr 18, 2020)

As long as it is possible to gain goats trust  I spend quite a lot of time with them so time and patience I guess. What I need is to be able to milk her. Otherwise I love her the way she is  Thank you!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can do all that and she may be ok with touching but there is a chance she may never be ok with it. You just have to work with her and try above suggestions.


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## Silvi (Apr 18, 2020)

ksalvagno said:


> You can do all that and she may be ok with touching but there is a chance she may never be ok with it. You just have to work with her and try above suggestions.


So there is a chance she will never be a milking goat which I can keep free in the pasture? I need to make a decision until autum to breed her or to buy one more goat.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Sadly as with any rescue. It is 50 50. You can only try and show her a kinder side.


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## Silvi (Apr 18, 2020)

I see.. She is so friendly though. I give her a chance and see after another month then.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Silvi. I think so. Then you can make a better decision. Get to know her. You may find a connection with her.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

I drank my morning coffee with my skittish goats. Just sat out in the pasture and ignored them. They would eventually become curious and approach me, then I would talk gently to them and eventually reach out for brief scratches. They are all friendly now. It sounds like your goat is already much friendlier than that. My buckling was very skittish when I got him. It was over a month before I could touch him. He would approach me, even follow me, but would run if I tried to touch him. You wouldn't know that to watch him now. It just takes time and patience. She may never be as friendly as some goats, but since she is already willing to approach you, I think there is hope for her. If your other goat is friendly (I think I recall that you have two?) pet the other goat a lot so that the new goat sees that petting is ok. Best of luck with her!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Since she is already a sweet gal..i would wager she will come around. Treats, patients and time should do the trick.


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## mariella (Feb 23, 2017)

Do you have a milk stand? If so feed her on it but don't lock her in so if she wants to leave she can. One thing I do is they don't get feed unless they are on the stand and I'm sitting next to it, she will get used to you being there. Then when she's used to you being there start bussing yourself around so she gets used to you moving around her while she eats. Then just lock her in and brush her. You don't want to make the milk stand a bad/uncomfortable place to be so take it easy and don't spook her.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All great advice.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

Silvi said:


> Hello there,
> I would love some tips and stories how to handle one of my goats since I am new to them. We had her around a month ago. Happy, friendly goats, very playfull, eats from hand, runs towards me then I come, BUT she hates being touched. She was tied all her life (she's two y.o.) and never been milked (never had kids). She was not treated badly, just more or less ignored and left alone cause previous owner did not want a goat yet got stuck with one. I am planing to breed her as soon as she is in heat but I'm a bit concerned if she might stay this "touch me not" goat even after kiddind and I do want to milk her. Both goats are free in pasture and I would rather buy another goat then tie this one just to be able to catch her. So, is there hope she might get used to being touched? Are there some tricks for that? I try to hently touch her when I give treats or bring fresh grass and branches. She's tiny bit better but very far from my othet goat who learned to love being scrached.


With love, time and patience, she will come around. I had quite a few skittish does, several from very large herds who had never been handled at all. I was always able to win them over. There are some goats that don't enjoy being pet, but are just fine being around you and being milked. If I could get them to that point, I considered it a success.
I would breed her and keep her at least until after she kids and above all try to be there when she kids. That is a great way to win their trust. If you are going to dam raise, help the kids find the udder and handle it then, maybe even milk some colostrum into a jar if she has a lot. While all her mothering instincts are kicking in, she might adopt you. My does always ended up trying to lick me while I was milking them after kidding. If your doe runs to you and is friendly and content, I think she should be a fine milker, but because she hasn't been handled, she may never appreciate being petted, or again she might come around in time. I would try just giving her treats for awhile and taking her for walks on a lead, maybe putting her on the milk stand and feeding her there if you have one.


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## R.Williamson (Mar 21, 2019)

She might change, she might not. I had one doe who absolutely could not stand to be touched.. until she came close to kidding.Then she wanted LOTS of attention. For a week after you could milk her and then she was done with it! Great Mom had beautiful kids but she just wanted nothing to do with people for the most part. When we got her she would about kill herself to get out of the other side of the pen when we walked in. Overtime she adjusted to a degree. She eventually got to where she would come up and take treats etc. I would, and still do, just randomly sit out in my goat pens both on the ground and in my chair ( gross? maybe but I clean the crud outta those pens lol). . The other goat I purchased at the same time was also stand offish. She is now our milker. I found out she is severely addicted to goat crack ( AKA Corn). So while being milked she gets corn. She acts up it is taken away. This is not her main feed but used as a treat/bribe. We slowly worked her up to what she gets. Now I simply open the gate, she goes to her corn, and I clean her up and milk. No tie, no headgate. At first I did have someone holding her. It has been a long path but this particular girl is my favorite goat in the pens. She is pet more than anything. I love all my goats but she is my go to. She has a permanent home with us , whether she ever has another kid or not. So my point in all this text? You never know. Just be patient. She may never be the "house milker" but she may just turn into a best friend who is a house milker. Only time will tell. It may take a LOT of time. The milker I spoke of I have had for 3 years. Yes, it took that long to get her to where she is. Multiple kidding helped.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Do you have a pen for her? You haven't mentioned how you house her. You will have to have a kidding area for her and dry shelter, so I assume you do. I would put her in her pen, after feeding on milk stand and get her used to you. You could feed her 1/2 ration (1st on stand) and the rest in her pen. Hold her by her collar and start handling her as she is eating both places.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I too have an untouchable doe. But she was raised her, petted and handled like all of them. She hates being touched. And she will not touch any other goat. But, she goes to the parlor, jumps on the stand, I tell her I'm going to wipe her teats etc, then strip her and milk her. She tolerates that. But don't pat her, pet her or do anything but put the milker on and off. Very odd! 

Except, recently! I scratched her withers on day, not paying attention who it was. Now she gives me one nudge, I can scratch for about 30 seconds, then she leaves! (She is 4). Oddball for sure! But a great milker, never sick, quiet, good mom, so she is a keeper!


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## bushes1172 (Aug 8, 2019)

Silvi said:


> Hello there,
> I would love some tips and stories how to handle one of my goats since I am new to them. We had her around a month ago. Happy, friendly goats, very playfull, eats from hand, runs towards me then I come, BUT she hates being touched. She was tied all her life (she's two y.o.) and never been milked (never had kids). She was not treated badly, just more or less ignored and left alone cause previous owner did not want a goat yet got stuck with one. I am planing to breed her as soon as she is in heat but I'm a bit concerned if she might stay this "touch me not" goat even after kiddind and I do want to milk her. Both goats are free in pasture and I would rather buy another goat then tie this one just to be able to catch her. So, is there hope she might get used to being touched? Are there some tricks for that? I try to hently touch her when I give treats or bring fresh grass and branches. She's tiny bit better but very far from my othet goat who learned to love being scrached.


I think she will be fine eventually. I have one that was very shy never had babies and she didn't really want to be touched now she is the most sweetest loving goats that I have. I won her over, I would give her treats then pet her and now I hug and kiss her and she is the first one with her head out of the barn looking for me to come. Good luck I think she will be good


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

My packgoat, Sputnik, has been a "touch me not" goat ever since he was born. I call him my autistic goat. I trained him to be touched using food treats as positive reinforcement. With training he became a very willing trail partner and harness goat. He LOVES to learn and perform tricks, so one of the "tricks" I taught him was to accept being brushed, petted, etc. I have used clicker training very successfully with Sputnik and I try to put a hand on him almost every time I give him a treat so as to reinforce the idea that "touch = good".

Here's a trick Sputnik learned about 18 months ago: 





Sometimes these "touch me nots" just have a different way of learning.


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## Zippy Two Dogs (May 4, 2020)

We have one recent wether and one doe who are both "touch me nots." They were not raised around humans and were incredibly skittish for the first 1.5 years on our land. It drove me crazy (and still does!) because they can be so difficult to catch for hoof trims and shots. One of the best feelings was when our girl finally let me scratch her back last year. 

I've gotten into the habit of sitting in one particular spot in the pen and scratching our other, friendlier goats who come right up to me. All five goats have learned that when i'm sitting in that spot, scratches are the only thing that will happen. Now they take turns coming up to get some love--and usually the "touch me nots" are first in line! I suggest picking a spot like this in your own pen, a spot they will learn is dedicated only to getting brushed or scratched. Eventually they will come to you. Just be patient, gentle, and don't make fast movements. And try not to get angry if you get a whack from horns! It's all part of the process. Once they're comfortable with you in that spot, it will translate to other areas, too.


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## Zippy Two Dogs (May 4, 2020)

Damfino said:


> My packgoat, Sputnik, has been a "touch me not" goat ever since he was born. I call him my autistic goat. I trained him to be touched using food treats as positive reinforcement. With training he became a very willing trail partner and harness goat. He LOVES to learn and perform tricks, so one of the "tricks" I taught him was to accept being brushed, petted, etc. I have used clicker training very successfully with Sputnik and I try to put a hand on him almost every time I give him a treat so as to reinforce the idea that "touch = good".
> 
> Here's a trick Sputnik learned about 18 months ago:
> 
> ...


This is amazing! Omg Sputnik is huge!


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Sputnik is such a big boy. Wow. I like the reinforcement.
I am fortunate that I dont have a touch me not goat. Destiny loves cuddles. And now that she is weaning and discovered that treats are fun we will start training her properly.
Be patient with your goat.


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## bushes1172 (Aug 8, 2019)

Damfino said:


> My packgoat, Sputnik, has been a "touch me not" goat ever since he was born. I call him my autistic goat. I trained him to be touched using food treats as positive reinforcement. With training he became a very willing trail partner and harness goat. He LOVES to learn and perform tricks, so one of the "tricks" I taught him was to accept being brushed, petted, etc. I have used clicker training very successfully with Sputnik and I try to put a hand on him almost every time I give him a treat so as to reinforce the idea that "touch = good".
> 
> Here's a trick Sputnik learned about 18 months ago:
> 
> ...


That is awesome, normally they don't like you touching their horns. That is such a great idea to teach them something good with their horns instead of ramming you with them. Love it


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

bushes1172 said:


> That is awesome, normally they don't like you touching their horns. That is such a great idea to teach them something good with their horns instead of ramming you with them. Love it


Yeah, I didn't train this trick until Sputnik already had a very solid foundation in other commands and understood the clicker training. He didn't want me to touch his horns at all at first, but once he understood that I was using them for a specific purpose and not just messing with them, he didn't mind any more. I never touch his horns except for very specific reasons which he understands. A huge part of having him respect me is that he knows I also respect him by never messing with his horns for fun.


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## bushes1172 (Aug 8, 2019)

That is so awesome..he is a beautiful goat.. I have Nubians they are huge. But they are beautiful to.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:neat:


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