The Steps of Goat Aggression

[Erikthviking]

Good for him staying out of your bubble! I hope you continue to see progress. I doubt he'll fight through the riding crop, especially if you're good at getting his nose with it. Those things can deliver a pretty good sting, and the noise really makes them think they've been hit a lot harder than they have. Seeing your buck take a more relaxed posture is great! Keep him far away from you until you're sure he's not interested in hassling you. Also, if you see him abusing your does or your other wether when you're there, feel free to go after him. In a herd, the dominant buck (or wether) enforces good manners among his subordinates. He doesn't allow another male herd member to abuse females or babies. When you step into that position of herd leader, you want to enforce good manners when you are in there, not only for your own safety (getting caught in the middle of a goat fight is dangerous!), but also to show the goats that you are the ringleader. No one bullies anyone in your presence. If a goat is acting rudely toward me or other goats, I'll sometimes chase them away from the feeder and make them stay away for five minutes or so while the others eat. I've watched my herd leader, Finn, do that at the feeder. If one goat is causing trouble and chasing others away from the hay, Finn drives away the troublemaker and won't let him come near the feeder for a few minutes. If one little goat is getting picked on by everybody, I'll sometimes stand next to that one while they eat and I'll prevent all the others from picking on him for a few minutes. This shows all the goats that you are the herd boss and that herd bosses take care of the little guys. It's not just a personal spat between you and the buck. When you are in the pen, you are the leader of everybody. Even the little guys are important to you, and no lower-tier peon is going to stoke is own ego by keeping the runt below him from eating.

Unfortunately at feeding time last night he did decide to fight through the crop. We fought for about 5 minutes until my wife could get the cattle prod to me. He started running after a pop or two with the prod. Then he started going after the does. Not necessarily in an aggressive way, but intensely pushing them away from me. I separated him from the herd, and closed the rest of the herd in the barn for about an hour. When I went back out to open the barn so he could rejoin the herd, he skirted around me practically on his tippy toes. Haven't had much interaction with him yet today. Sadly we are going to stay on cattle prod level until he shows that he will not move towards me.