HELP!! I have been invaded by a Devil Goat!

[Sun_Sparkz]

Ok so for a while i have wanted a pet goat. i thought i would always end up with a kid, to start of with but it turned out that a sale i went to on Sunday were selling this goat. She is a bit old but she was rubbing on my leg and being so damn cute! I was told by the vendor that she was his pet and very tame. So i saved her from going to the meat market and brought her home.

She was such fun! i put her in the goat pen (as i said i wanted a goat previously and has a stable and yard ready) she followed me like a little puppy just eating and looking up at me.

Darkness fell and i locked the pen and went inside my home. Not 5 mins later and there was this bleeting and bucking at my back door. She had escaped! So i put her back into the pen and she once again escaped (climbing over an 8 foot chicken mesh fence mind you).

So i tied her up to a tree in my backyard. 3 mins later she has snapped the leather collar and "buck, buck, bleet bleet" at the back door. this time putting a massive goat head through the back door to my enclosed veranda!

tied her up again and she gnawed through the rope.

Put her in the cattle press and she pushed her way out.

Locked her in the shed and she smashed through the wooden door.

Put her out in the back paddock and she found / jumped/ climed her way back to me. Its so sad cause all she wants to do is stand beside me and get pats and hugs.

by this time it was bedtime and i was upset and very pissed off. i tried again in the shed and blocked her way with large concrete blocks. this stopped her. however its a small 2m x 2m shed which she cannot stay in longer than 1 night.

she cried all night.

this morning i tried again and put her in our calving paddock.. but she jumped the fence.. ran afetr me and head butted my car door as i tried to drive away. so it took me 3 tries to get off my property this morning.

lord only knows what my home will be like when i get home. and what i'll have to fix. and its pouring rain at the moment.

does anyone have ANY help or suggestions? has anyone ever had a naughty goat before? what should i do? i am going out of my mind and i just dont know how to make her stop! AND dont anyone DARE suggest getting another goat to keep her company!! i think she is just obsessed with being with humans.

The guy i got her from wont take her back either, as he was "having problems with her!" OH GREAT MATE thanks for mentioning that AFTER i paid you $20 for her!!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Goat burgers or a new home. Remember the IoTD with the goat and the goose? They bond with dissimilar critters so you won't have to get another goat....kitten or puppy might do it.
Damifino.

[footfootfoot]

Wrong thread sun_sparkz, this really should be in the what's for dinner thread.

I'd start by googling east indian recipes, they do a lot of goat curries.

Another tack is to be frank with the goat and explain the options: Goat curry or behave. Animals are pretty perceptive, but you have to really be sincere.

I am convinced that the reason our son is so easygoing is that as an infant I would subliminally suggest theings like:
"convenient babies have a higher survival rate than inconvenient babies" or "convenient babies are less likely to be left in snowbanks than inconvenient babies"

Not a threat, per se, but just a sort of bee in his bonnet. So far, at 18 months he's been an unalloyed joy.

Failing any of the above cheeky advice, I'd contact a large animal vet and see what they have to offer. I know a good one over here in the u.s.

[Sun_Sparkz]

HAHA - eek!!

no i cant eat her. and we have 4 cats, 8 ducks, myriad of chook, calves etc to keep her company.. she just wants me!!

[BigV]

A traveling salesman was driving past a farm when he saw a goat with three wooden legs executing a magnificent series of backflips and cartwheels. Intrigued, he drove up to the farmhouse, where he found an old farmer sitting in the yard watching the goat.

"That's quite a goat you have there, sir" said the salesman.

"Sure is, son," the farmer replied. "Why, two years ago, my daughter was swimming in the lake and bumped her head and damned near drowned, but that goat swam out and dragged her back to shore."

"Amazing!" the salesman exlaimed.

"And that's not the only thing. Last fall I was cuttin' wood up on the north forty when a tree fell on me. Pinned me to the ground, it did. That goat run up and wiggled underneath that tree and lifted it off of me. Saved my life."

"Fantastic! the salesman said. But tell me, how come the goat has three wooden legs?"

The farmer stared at the newcomer in amazement. "Mister, when you got an amazin' goat like that, you don't eat him all at once."

If you make the legs really short or heavy or different lengths, you'll be able to get away really easily. Just a thought.

[cowhead]

hee hee.. I don't know what to do about a naughty goat.. I'll ask around though.. I do know some farmer types.. they might know.. get back to you soonish.. good luck though

[Sun_Sparkz]

thanks cowhead i would REALLY appreciate that.

I went to the CRT and brought $50 8-O worth of chainlink and a heavy duty collar to hopefully secure her tonight. see how it goes...

[staceyv]

A few relevant quotes:
"Goats are herd animals, so should not be kept as solitary animals."


Goats

are social animals and enjoy the company of other goats or farm animals.

are notorious for undoing simple gate closures.

tend to respect electric fencing.

investigate everything in their environment with their mouths(!) including paperwork, clothing, jewelry, etc.

can be trained to lead, come when called, stand for shearing & milking.

are avid climbers!

may chew off the bark around trees.


It sounds like your problem is separation anxiety. With dogs, the way to prevent this is to NOT make a big deal of coming or going home. Ignore the goat for 15 minutes after you get home, ignore him for 15 minutes before you leave. Never make a big deal of leaving him alone.

He does need companionship, so don't lock him away alone, he needs to be with other animals.
Was he the only goat at his former home? He might only recognise people as members of his pack.

It looks to me like he is just behaving like a normal goat. Did you research this stuff before you decided to get a goat?

[wolf]

Well, sparkz, all I can suggest is ... You do have Dingoes in Australia, don't you?

Interesting that she took a liking to you so quickly ... last I checked goats don't really understand transfer of ownership. I don't suppose you could have a quiet chat with her and suggest she take off on an outback adventure, perhaps with a plucky Australian Heeler and a koala as companions as they make their way across the wilderness, trying to help her find her way home? You know, kind of like The Incredible Journey?

[dar512]

Other than having the goat contribute to the "What's in the freezer" thread, I'd suggest waiting for a few more stories to accumulate - then write a Reader's Digest article.

[cjjulie]

I've heard curried goat is delicious!

[Sun_Sparkz]

ok guys.. thanks for all the input. Stacey i will definately try that whole "not making a big deal of leaving her alone" thing as that sounds like it would work... eventually.

I did do a little research into goats before hand, but i WAS planning to get 2 baby goats (miniature ones) and the enclosure i had would have been fine. alas.. Fran walked into my life needing saving!

This story MAY just have a happy ending after all...........

The chainlink i brought worked great.. she slept in the house paddock last night and didnt even protest her chain too much. she bleeted only for a while after being tied up and then happily ate her food. I think the main thing she was missing is a bit of disipline and a strong chain to enforce that.

I got up out of bed 1/2 and hour early this morning and went outside and let her off and we went for the most amazing walk.. it was just on sunrise and the paddocks were all dewy and beautiful, the cats came along with Fran and I and we walked (Fran always one step behind) about 3kilometres. it was such an invigorating morning. and that goat is amazing!! she is like a 4WD pet!! she can climb sheer dam walls and everything.. i was impressed!

Before Fran came along i would never have have got up and gone for a walk on my property before work... and i enjoyed it so much! It may just become our morning routine!

What a wonderful little Goat

[xoxoxoBruce]

Goat tree.

[BigV]

*sniff* *hwaak*

Id dis a great goat tree or what? I lub dis goat tree!

Where did I put dat degongestant, dagit!

[Trilby]

Oh, BigV, you make me laugh.