Dominance

[Taffy]

I've been studying the dynamics of my little herd since selling Dude to Jon & Nancy Clough in June.  Dude was the herd boss.  No question about it.  I assumed Bourbon, being the next largest goat - a 34" tall 2 year old LaMancha, would become the new herd leader.  He is - to a point.  Joules, my 4 year old 23" mini Alpine doe seems to be the true herd leader!  If she bolts and runs (which she loves to do just for the fun of it) the rest of the herd immediately follows her.  Two nights ago I watched Joules and Bourbon get into a tussle over hay.  There was rearing and head butting by both of them and Bourbon used brute force to push her around.  Joules just kept at it and pushing back as best she could.  Bourbon was the one who backed off and came running over to me while Joules enjoyed the hay and her victory!  It was almost like Bourbon came running to me to tattle on Joules!  Very comical!

[IdahoNancy]

Dominance is a peculiar thing. My herd lead Hobbs died. Cruiser the life long subordinate never knew life with a herd leader. Cruiser seemed like he he did not want to walk out of the pen when Hobbs was gone. All he had was Blazer baby. We adopted the Dude, now known as Dodger, and I was relieved to hear he was an alpha. I figured once every one got settled in Cruiser would fall back into his old social place. Not so much. Cruiser out weighed Hobbs by 40lbs and the same goes for Dodger. Now at the age of 8 with unstable back hips he has decided he wants to be alpha. And so he is. Oddly enough his hips are better. He never wanted to fight with a brutal dictator but he loves to spar with Dodge who could knock him over anytime but doesn't.

[Nanno]

I love watching herd dynamics. They are fascinating. It's so cool how Dude won't knock Cruiser down. They are sparring like gentlemen, which is always cool to see. The only truly nasty, blood-drawing fights I've seen were between does vying for dominance. I'm sure watching a buck fight would be even more spectacular. I'm guessing the wethers are generally less fierce because they lack hormones.

My herd is sort of in flux right now with Cuzco the established King, but Finn and Sputnik coming up as undeniable leaders under him. Finn used to challenge Cuzco, but it has been months since the last real altercation between those two. It's like Cuzco has delegated leadership responsibility to Finn and Sputnik and they've taken it without challenging him for ultimate headship. But there is an undeniable sense of waiting in my herd, as if the boys know that there will be a change of leadership soon and all they have to do is wait for it. At this point I don't think they're going to try to topple Cuzco because they know they can afford to wait him out. Perhaps it's a bit of mercy on their part too--I don't know.

Petunia is my herd queen under the boys, but she's kept Sputnik in a close relationship as her muscle. No one messes with the two of them as a pair. Sputnik tends to be mean to the goats under him if Finn or Cuzco aren't there to keep him in line, so I was afraid he would be jealous of his mother's attention when Pedro and Pepi were born. But that never happened. He's sometimes mean to the other babies, but not to Petunia's. In fact, when we were on the way to Beulah yesterday, I tied up Finn and Sputnik in the trailer so they couldn't harass the underlings. When I opened the door, Pepi was lying in the corner behind Sputnik while Pedro was pressed against his shoulder. They were using him as a shield from Tigerlily.

Meanwhile, Tigerlily acts as Jezebel's muscle. Jezebel is so pathetically low on the goatem pole she's more like the dirt underneath it, but Tigerlily (and Napoleon too actually) have quite a bit of standing in the herd and they are her ticket to acceptance. Tigerlily is still quite thick with her mother and will probably be the one who makes sure Jezebel has access to the hay rack this winter. Goats can be so mean to each other, but it's amazing how they also look out for one another--especially family groups.

[hihobaron]

Hello All
Dominance
With my guys here. All Wethers and with a good age and of very different colors.
Pete and Sam being the dark goats and established here. 2 and five years old.
Blizzard and Fuzzy being the young brats and pure white (Saanen X Alpine) Kidded in March 1/2 brothers.
Pete will really push the kids around and Sam will to if there is food involved.
I am inclined that they are just bashing on each other because the old boys are making sure they remain top goats.
Goats I am new to but 38+ years of working with Equine Herd Structure has given me a little insight.
I have seen many time in herd structure light or dark colored horses will be either at the top or the bottom end of the ladder. I do believe animals are color predigest.
Happy Trails
hihobaron Blizzard,Fuzzy,Pete,Sam and the Troops in SC