# A herd with horns? Mixed herds?



## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

Hi, this is my second post.. I am trying to sort a few things out before I get goats. So... I have decided I want horned goats. But it is harder to find them for sale. Disbudding seems to be more popular with larger farms and dairies, where horns are more likely to slow things down at milking time. But, for a smaller herd of under six goats, I really don't see the point of it. I like the idea of starting with an adult doe, who can then help the kids learn to not get their horns stuck, etc. But, if I can't find one, would it be disastrous to start with a disbudded doe and then raise kids with horns from her? I am disinclined to have zero adults around and just start with all bottle babies or weened kids.. but I guess that is another option. Thoughts? onder:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Hi there... :greengrin: 

If a goat has horns... they can get stuck in the fence.. unless you put up a hotline... or fencing without holes or slits...LOL... :laugh: grass is greener on the other side... :wink: 

It isn't really good to have a dehorned goat with a horned goat...as if they spar...the dehorned goat will lose and may get hurt.... but some do get along and never hurt one another,,,it is up to you on what you want to do......


whether you start out with Adults or babies either way is good.... but horns or not can be tricky...when mixing them... :wink:


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## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

if i start with all babies... won't they be overly dependent on me and have trouble socializing with other goats later? this is what i fear. also, i think a mama goat could help show them how to not get their horns stuck. but also i want a milker now and not 1-2 years from now.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I have 9 goats, 6 does, 1 is polled...2 bucks, 1 wether..1 buck is polled.

Don't have problems with the horned/bald together.

As far as wanting to own horned goats, when it comes to fencing I personally use galvanized goat panels, they are similar to cattle panels except the squares are smaller and theres no chance of heads getting stuck...I also have electric fencing for pastures, never had an issue with the horns and the fencing.

I personally dislike having to disbud, but because I do have a few registered dairy goats, disbudding is a neccesity. I recently only disbudded my cross pygmy kids when requested, but now it's easier just to do it instead of waiting.
Having horned goats should never "scare" anyone, horns deserve respect, with fencing, housing etc.
You may be able to get a disbudded doe with her kids/pregnant but don't rely on those kids paying attention to not sticking their heads where they shouldn't..mainly because, mom will be hornless and won't get stuck if she did.

If you have any questions at all as far as fencing etc, I'd glad to answer..I've had horned goats now for almost 11 years.

If you look at different ads that may be on Craigslist in your area, you may be able to find horned dairy goats, even crosses of dairy.
I do have a horned nigerian/pygmy cross doe as well as her wether available, ALOT of people don't want a horned goat though.


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

sinthome said:


> if i start with all babies... won't they be overly dependent on me and have trouble socializing with other goats later? this is what i fear. also, i think a mama goat could help show them how to not get their horns stuck. but also i want a milker now and not 1-2 years from now.


Goats are not that smart...if anything...the momma goat with horns will teach them how TO get stuck. :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :slapfloor: If you are going to have horned goats you need to have either no climb fencing (2" X 2" rectangles) or hotwire across the fence so they don't go near it. You also will need to watch the type of hay feeders that you use...make sure they are built for horned goats. (mine aren't and my one horned goat gets stuck on a regular basis) There are milking stanchions for horned goats so that shouldn't be a problem.... just teach them to jump up on the table when they are young...because picking up a dairy goat with horns can result in an undesired experience between your face and a horn.


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## redwingfarmer (Feb 9, 2011)

We have the same question. We have a herd of 7 Nubians and 2 Saanens, all with horns except one doe and our only buck. They all do fine except horns do seem to affect the pecking order. 

We are getting a new buck this week who has horns, and our question is do we need to worry about putting him in with our hornless buck? Our buck, Buckley, is a year older than the new little guy, who is 4 months old. Buckley is very sweet-tempered, not at all aggressive, playful, and easy-going. The new buck was bottlefed and also seems very sweet, also a Nubian. We are wondering if we need to worry about the new guy beating up on Buckley once he's full grown, and it not being a fair fight since he has horns. We don't want anyone getting hurt, and we have seen bucks bloody each other!

From reading the thread, it looks like the best way to find out is just to give it a try and see how they do. Do you all agree? :whatgoat:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I have a polled buck in with a horned buck and a horned wether...regardless of the horns, bucks will compete during rut and my polled boy ends up with a hairless callous over his head from the top to the base of his skull in back because he doesn't understand that he doesn't have horns and uses his head as if he did.
I would suggest separate feeding areas for each boy though...The wether I have is food aggressive and will use his horns to throw the other 2 out of the hay or feed.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

At first they are going to establish whose more dominant and the horned buck will likely be the "boss" in the end. You'll want them to stay in an area with enough room so they can get away from each other when needed. Feed will probably need to be spread out or seperated as Liz was saying. Eventually the boys should be able to get along...but you'll want to make sure the horned buck isn't hurting or over stressing the other buck...so just keep watch on them.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

All of mine are disbudded except 1 doe raised here and very friendly and she does just fine and is not the boss. I would say that a mom couldn't teach the kids about getting stuck. Some will just find more trouble than others. I have 2"x4" wire and they couldn't get stuck.


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## Froggy (Feb 27, 2011)

I'm sure that horned/unhorned goats can get along, but I had a horned pygmy buck running with my does, and he was a piggy creature, so whenever they got feed, he would swing his head and hook a doe's leg with it. Other times, he would slam them really hard. Also, he once lifted up my 70lb ram lamb by the head....using his horns. But he was kinda wild...soo..

anyways, now I have 2 horned bucklings (didn't disbud cuz they'll be meat goats) and they fight with the disbudded kids, and constantly knock scabs off the other bucklings' horn buds and get blood everywhere :roll: . Not a major problem, just unsightly.


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## QotL (May 27, 2008)

I hate horns.

My does have caught me sooooo many times. Not on purpose, mind you- just me standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. This morning I was repairing fence, and had to be EXTRA careful because my horned nubian thinks she is a dog, and that was a great time for some pettings. She loves kisses... but it all is a bit scary LOL. Last year I was sitting with them, and she came up behind me to rub on me.. and hooked a horn under my ponytail. I have twice cut my lip (and once nearly got a horn up the nose) because I was in a hurry, and not being as careful as I should.

I've also seen the horned girls try to hook each other's legs. Overall, just a more dangerous situation.


I love the look of natural, but here it just doesn't work all that well. I've mixed horned and disbudded with no major issues between THEM. Again, though, it doesn't work for ME (who has been known to show up at the barn in shorts and sandals... :shocked: ).

Adding: if you are concerned about disbudding babies later, I will tell you the job stinks. BUT it is over VERY quickly, baby recovers faster than lightining strikes, and it isn't nearly as difficult as it seems at first. If you can, have an experienced person show you first so you know exactly what you are looking for, and you'll see how the baby goat acts (which can be a bit traumatic for you at first). The baby goat in my avatar was disbudded about an hour before that pic was taken.


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

Personally, I don't really like horns either, but we do have 6 goats with them. Two of our bucks (the more dominant ones) have horns and then 4 does have them. It usually affect the pecking order, but ours get along most of the time. Also, a mother goat will not teach her kids not to stick their heads through the fence. They just aren't that smart.


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