# HELP ME PLEASE! I have a mean goat



## rochelle (Jul 10, 2016)

I've had this Pygmy male goat for a year now and got him (I renamed these babies) "BULLY" and "BING-A-LING" and his brother for free when they were 1 year old cuz the ppl were told they were fainters and they weren't so they decided AFTER THEY NEGLECTED THESE BABIES that they didn't want them any longer! (if you looked my others posts you'd know the whole story.) Bully has thick horns, his brother don't have any...(we don't think they are blood brothers but they been together since these ppl bought them when they were babies.) Bing has sores on top of his head from Bully, and Bully will come up to me and take 1 of his horns around the back of my knee and pull me down if I'm not aware! But anyways I've read so much on what to do when a male goat dominates over you and NOTHING is helping. We got him banded last November along with his brother and I don't see any difference in he's mannerism at all! He's an *** from hell but I love him so much & his brother would be devastated if he wasn't around, BULLY is so mean to all my babies especially his brother Bing-A-Ling! 
what I have done to try to discipline him is...
#1 Carry a spray bottle and spray him in the face
#2 grab him by the horns, knock him on the ground & make him lay there with me on top of him YELLING AT HIM telling him to think about if he wants to live or die (if I'm getting him on the ground at this point cuz he's fighting me and his tough, I'm at my boiling point, cuz I feel so bad and I'm crying as I'm
trying to make him think, I feel like I'm abusing 1 of my babies) 
#3 put him in time out in the pen by himself while my other 7 babies now are out grazing, saddest thing is that his brother Bing stays by the pen & they both cry...breaks my heart after 15 minutes! 
#4 I've knelt on the ground and give him kisses and special attention, tell him I love him, I've even spent extra special time with just him to let him know he's special to me...
I don't know what else to do. My 4 yr old niece is petrified of Bully. He don't act this way towards my boyfriend but he's mean as hell to me & my nieces. 
I was thinking maybe separating him from the others for time out for abit but when all 8 of my babies aren't all together they are miserable...I don't know what to do to get control of him...I've thinking of getting rid of him cuz I don't spend time with my babies like I want cuz of him, he's gotta be FRONT & CENTER get all the attention! 
PLEASE ADVISE WOULD SO BE APPRECIATED, cuz I do love my Bully! I'm at a loss 













1st pix is Bully, 2nd Bing-A-Ling
(Named them this cuz BULLY is a Bully & Bing-A-Ling lets his brother Bully him which makes him his name  the previous owners named Bully "Elvis Presley" & Bing-A-Ling name was "Buddy Holly" HOW STUPID!


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

He sure is a handsome fella but listen. You love him. Enough to put yourself in danger?
Bucks do not like horns or head being handled. 
He was banded right? Were both dropped & fit into band?


----------



## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

You can duct tape tennis balls to his horns. You can also duct tape the end of 1 short piece of garden hose to each horn tip, so it forms kind of a loop, so he can't hook anyone with a horn. He sounds VERY challenging! I wish you much luck. Hopefully Damfino will come talk to you-he's so helpful! Have you read "The Steps of Goat Aggression" from Pack Goat Central? It's helped me quite a bit with my bad boy, though he's still a pain in the butt sometimes!


----------



## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Switching from water to vinegar in the spray bottle was a necessity once my boy turned 3. It helped a lot but I'm still shopping for a Hot Shot. :ram:


----------



## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

At my house, it would be time for Bully to meet his maker. I would not sell him, or give him away because he would probably end up in another abusive home, and no one, even a bully, deserves that.

I'm sorry for you.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If he had been that way for a long time, it becomes habit and banding won't help. For me personally it would be time to meet his maker.


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Band his horns. Might take his self-esteem down a notch.


----------



## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I agree with the "meet the maker". Humanly putting him down will be sad, but he doesn't deserve to be sent to another owner and mistreated. And your niece doesn't deserve to be terrified of goats the rest of her life. (Children remember this stuff!) so sorry you are in this position. One good thing, animals do not fear death like people can. It sounds like you have given him a good life. He will have one bad moment and that is it. 
Good luck with your decision, that is really rough.


----------



## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I agree...no matter how cute he is r how much you love him, what's best for everyone is to put him in the freezer. He likely will never stop and the more he "wins" the worse he will get. Sorry you are having to make a tough decision.


----------



## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

I agree with the others!  the reason he is aggressive is he has horns and his breed. Pygmies are really aggressive towards other goats (just like other mini animals its in there nature)


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is sad, but he will not change unfortunately.


----------



## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Unfortunately, Bully has learned some very bad habits that are probably not going to go away at this point. I agree with the others that it would be easiest for everyone if you put him down. There are so many good goats in the world that it's usually not worth keeping the bad ones. The only outfit that might want him (and who would be safe to take him) is a brush clearing operation where he was in a large herd away from people. You could look into that. 

However, if you're determined to hang onto Bully, banding his horns would be a wise first step. I love horns and I personally don't believe in banding them except as a very last resort, but Bully is dangerous. He's learned how to hurt and intimidate you and the other goats and this is only going to get worse as his horns get bigger. Banding his horns will make his head sore for a few weeks and will probably give him quite an attitude adjustment since he won't want to hit anyone until his head feels better. By that time he may have lost the urge, and he may have lost his status in the herd too, which can do wonders for a mean goat's outlook on life. 

Regrettably, it sounds like inconsistent training has caused Bully to look on you as a threat and a challenge, which has exacerbated the problem. Grabbing Bully by the horns was a mistake and something to learn for future goats. Male goats do not like to be grabbed by the horns. They take it as a direct challenge and a personal offense, and while some may submit, most will eventually take you on (and discover they can win). Don't beat yourself up about this. I made similar mistakes with our first goat and we had to live with the consequences for a very long time since I would not give him up. I never banded my goat's horns (in our case it wouldn't have helped because mine preferred to body-check), but I could never trust him around people and had to keep him strictly managed his whole life. 

Ask yourself if managing an aggressive horned goat is something you are prepared to do and whether you can guarantee the safety of people like your niece. Ask yourself whether you can still give Bully a quality life with different management. I was able to give my goat a quality life, and since we didn't have children there were no safety issues except when we had visitors, at which point my aggressive goat was always penned or tethered out of the way. Thankfully my guy was not mean to other goats so we did not have to remove him from friends. If you keep Bully and his horns you're going to have to find him a companion he can't hurt or terrorize. 

For discipline you must be consistent. Shouting at Bully while he's down isn't going to help and is likely making things worse. You may need to invest in a Hot Shot or shock collar to teach Bully manners when you are in the pen with him. I know someone who got good results from blasting an air horn at her aggressive goat. Always, always be consistent and try not to lose your temper. You know what to expect, so deal with Bully in a calm but very firm manner. He must never, ever touch you with his horns (or with his forehead should you band them). When you come in the gate he should step back. I worked with my mean goat enough that I could safely handle him and he respected my space, but I was never able to take him for granted. I always had to keep an eye on him so I would know where he was and what his posture was like. If I saw hackles going up, I had to be proactive and manage him before he tried anything. 

I often found it was easiest to tether my boy when feeding or working in his pen. I never took my goat out anywhere without a halter to control his head (and horns). My goat carried a pack and pulled a cart, so I worked with him a lot, but I never got to the point where I could actually trust him. My goat knew that if he was wearing a halter I held all the cards, so he would instantly submit and behave himself. Some goats are like that--they're jerks until they know who is in control. Maybe Bully will be like that. You've got some hard decisions to make and I wish you all the best of luck whatever you decide.


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

VERY well said, Damfino!


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Couldn't of said it better Damfino.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I ditto whats been said. Im very sorry you are being put through this but safety of humans and other animals much come first. Damfino hit the nail...

best wishes


----------



## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Have a vet remove his horns or band them. The discomfort should help keep him from butting anything for a long time.

Pepper spray sprayed at his face (eyes and nostrils) when he attacks might help.

If he were mine, he would be in the freezer. He is going to seriously hurt someone, someday. You have no idea how much damage a horn can cause. I have a very large scar on my outer thigh from an accidental horning. My friendly, sweet doe (a rescue that came with horns) jumped off the milk stand, twisted around and got my leg between her horn and her back. Her horn impaled my leg, right down to the bone and then tore the muscle and skin as she panicked. That was way back in 1985 and the scar is still very much visible. Imagine the damage if a goat was serious in wanting to inflict damage. Image how much more damage would happen to a small child.

I do disagree with minis being mean. I have had them off and on for 30 years and have NEVER had a mean one.


----------



## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I've never had a mean pygmy, but I have had many pygmies with an attitude. I don't mind it.


----------



## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

I once had a young Toggenburg Buck have a go at me and got whacked in the mouth chipping my front teeth and giving me 2 black eyes.I was lucky to have seen it coming and moved back or the damage could have been worse.So I chucked a wobbly (Aussie slang for losing my temper lol) grabbed his beard and yanked down putting a lead on him and tied him up away from the other boys while I fed out hay and grain leaving him there to sulk and miss out on treats. After a few days he got the message and never challenged me again. He was also one of my bottle babies,teejae


----------



## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I think maybe Rochelle did not like the answer she got...


----------



## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Band his horns. Might take his self-esteem down a notch.


Yes, if you keep him. He can still knock people down but at least not make holes in them. Please let us know what you decide to do, & how things are going. You know him & your situation best & I wish you good luck.


----------



## GoatGirlInTraining (Mar 26, 2017)

poor goats


----------



## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

mariarose said:


> I think maybe Rochelle did not like the answer she got...


Well, it's not easy to hear that your pet may be dangerous enough to consider having him put down, nor that it may be your own fault your goat is mean. It was hard for me to admit that my goat's attitude problems were probably due in large part to the way I managed him in his early years. I gave him reasons to be mean that I had no clue about at the time. Yet because I loved that ornery, cussed beast, I kept him until he died of old age at fifteen! So I'm the last person to criticize anyone for keeping a mean goat out of pure sentiment, but they should definitely know what they're in for. As long as Rochelle can ensure that Bully has a happy life where he can't hurt anyone then more power to her.

Bully may even turn a new leaf if Rochelle can figure out how to manage him differently. One thing I forgot to mention before is that Bully may have a complete turnaround in his attitude if he's given a companion that he can't beat up. Sometimes a mean goat will sober right down if you put him in with a "gentle giant" who is nice to people but doesn't put up with a bunch of nonsense from aggressive herd mates. If Bully is trying to climb ladders, it could be that Rochelle is simply the next rung up. If there's another goat between Rochelle and the top of the pecking order, Bully may stop looking at Rochelle as a target.


----------



## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

But you said yourself that you did not have children being terrorized...


----------

