Chat
03-08-2017, 11:57 AM
I keep a mixed herd of horns/no horns and haven't had problems, but so much depends on the individual goats. The only goat-caused injuries we've had were perpetrated by a polled doe. She injured two of my does and and tried bullying the wethers as well, but between their horns and the sheer size of them she really couldn't harm or intimidate the boys so that's who I penned her with at night. She couldn't be with the pregnant girls at all during feeding time and I seriously doubt that even a horned doe would have been able to stand up to her. So much comes down to who has the biggest attitude. This doe (Lilly was her name) came to the NAPgA Rendy in 2013 as a yearling and she picked a fight with every goat there. The crazy thing is that she won most of them! She dominated the coveted ash pit and chased several 250-lb. horned wethers out of "her" spot. Some of those boys were like "whatever" and laid down anyway because they knew Lilly could not hurt them, but others hung back and decided not to engage with the little spitfire. What made it very comical was that she had recently kidded and had an enormous udder, but it didn't stop her from rearing on her hind legs, and pawing and charging like an angry bull at goats twice her size. She was the Tasmanian Devil goat.
Your little guys' horns would probably not make much difference during the first year--the big guys are still going to rule the roost and show them who's boss. Once your youngsters start feeling their maturity at around 9-12 months, they will begin challenging. Over the next year or two the tables would probably turn and your disbudded goats would most likely be deposed. This doesn't necessarily mean the horned goats will bully them once dominance is established. I've noticed that my horned boys are very good at pulling their punches unless someone is directly challenging them, or if they are fighting over a doe. If you really want the new babies to have horns, I say it's ok to try things. Sometimes conventional wisdom is spot-on, and other times it's based on the fear of what might happen rather than real world experience. Many of the problems people blame on horns are actually problems with fencing, feeder, and housing designs. Or maybe there's not enough pen space for the goats to get adequate exercise, or perhaps they are bored with their surroundings and become destructive as a result. Don't be afraid to try things, but always do it with your eyes wide open to the possibility that conventional wisdom may be right.
Your little guys' horns would probably not make much difference during the first year--the big guys are still going to rule the roost and show them who's boss. Once your youngsters start feeling their maturity at around 9-12 months, they will begin challenging. Over the next year or two the tables would probably turn and your disbudded goats would most likely be deposed. This doesn't necessarily mean the horned goats will bully them once dominance is established. I've noticed that my horned boys are very good at pulling their punches unless someone is directly challenging them, or if they are fighting over a doe. If you really want the new babies to have horns, I say it's ok to try things. Sometimes conventional wisdom is spot-on, and other times it's based on the fear of what might happen rather than real world experience. Many of the problems people blame on horns are actually problems with fencing, feeder, and housing designs. Or maybe there's not enough pen space for the goats to get adequate exercise, or perhaps they are bored with their surroundings and become destructive as a result. Don't be afraid to try things, but always do it with your eyes wide open to the possibility that conventional wisdom may be right.