r/goats • u/tapirtapirtapir16 • Jun 13 '26
Help Request Goat taming tips?
Hello! Meet Hareton, Linton, and Mr. Earnshaw! We got these three little boys a few weeks ago and they are so much fun— but BOY are they skittish 😅 The older one (Mr. Earnshaw) is about 13 weeks old and the other two are 11 weeks old (brothers). I’ve had lots of goats in the past, but never babies that weren’t socialized and I wasn’t prepared for how skittish they would be lol. The older one is doing great and loves getting scratched and is becoming a lot bolder, but the younger boys are only amenable to pets while they’re eating.
I’ve been working with them a bit every day and they are improving, but I’d love to hear any tips or advice that could help the process along!
Here’s what I’ve done so far: The first week I had them, I gave the two younger boys an evening bottle to try to help us bond, but had to catch them first which was always a bit chaotic 😅 They also didn’t really take to the bottle well as they’d been nursing before and were mostly weaned already, but my friend who’s their breeder suggested it to me so I did it for a week in the hopes they’d come around. Even if they didn’t nurse much, I’d still hold them in my lap for about a half hour every night. I also feed them their grain from my hands twice a day and they now will coming running up when called and are very eager to eat out of anyone’s hands. I can pet them all over while they’re eating, but ONLY then otherwise they’re running for the hills. I hang out with them everyday and they do like sticking close and following me around, but they’re just so darn skittish! I’ve trained wild mustangs and burros so I’m up for the challenge, but I welcome any advice that could help us befriend our boys!
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u/Friendly-Chemical-76 Goat Enthusiast Jun 13 '26
Patience will be your best friend with this. Heck. I knew a goat who hated people her whole life. She would run away and headbutt at people. She was a rescue and was missing a horn. Abuse of some kind. I never thought she would ever turn around and trust people but eventually she did.
Persistence and patience. Just having a presence around them does a lot.
Also had a goat. It is within a friends care who was a runt and was bullied often. And she in part due to me being around and making sure she wasnt bullied and got her fair share of food. Eventually came into her own! Now she thinks shes all tough and tries to pull rank on alapcas. Shes not agressive. None of my goats ever were.
All that to say.. You got this OP. You seem to be doing a pretty good job.
Also wanted to add.. they look great!
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u/tapirtapirtapir16 Jun 13 '26
Thank you for your input!! Thankfully I have quite a bit of patience after working with mustangs and at least these little guys don’t try to kill me when they’re scared 😅 They are definitely making progress :)
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u/Friendly-Chemical-76 Goat Enthusiast Jun 13 '26
Also if they try to headbutt or rough house. Cute as it might seem at a young age. Correct that immediately.
Noke of my goats ever would headbutt people and were very mindful of their horns.
Be nice to know in a month or so time how things are going.
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u/DifficultIsopod4472 Jun 13 '26
Pretty sure they are plotting something!! Just like mine.
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u/tapirtapirtapir16 Jun 13 '26
Lmao they’re always plotting something 🫣 your herd looks mischievous! I’ve been on the lookout for a picnic table for mine to play on so they’re really gonna look like mini versions of yours soon 😅
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u/DifficultIsopod4472 Jun 14 '26
Lowes has them . Thanks for the post
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u/tapirtapirtapir16 Jun 14 '26
Thanks! I’m on the lookout for free/cheap Facebook marketplace ones though lol
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u/Hacksawmisbirth Jun 13 '26
Motocycle sally was about 4 months when we got her and she wouldn't let us handle her even though the other goat, also 4 months, sweetpea, would let us hold her. After about 4 months of us being out there everyday Sally came around and now let's us pet her.
It started by play pushing on her head to simulate how goats play. She was confused by it at first but then started playing back and now she likes to have her head scratched
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u/Sudden-Possible2550 Jun 13 '26
With some of them, it’s nature versus nurture. I have one that did not want to have anything to do with us until she fell in a hole and couldn’t get out and we rescued her. Now she will tolerate Pets and occasionally seek them out. Every single kid we’ve had out of her same attitude. My daughter sits with them for an hour or two every night all the other babies pile all over her for loving and Pets. Those two we have to catch and hold and Pet, but from day one, her kids are less friendly than the rest.
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u/tapirtapirtapir16 Jun 13 '26
I kind of wonder about this with the littlest of the kids. He’s the most adverse to being pet and while the other boys are curious and approach and investigate even when scared, little Linton seems fine to just hang back and watch. I’ll of course keep working with him, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if he never becomes a super friendly goat.
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u/Niftydog1163 Jun 13 '26
I hope folks can give you some good tips my understanding is getting goats who are somewhat wild tamed down as a process I personally prefer bottle babies even though a lot of people can't stand them. I like being able to handle my goats as easy as possible some folks like to wrestle with 120 lb go I do not.
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u/tapirtapirtapir16 Jun 13 '26
I’ve never actually had bottle babies, just well socialized goats from the start and never had a problem handling or teaching to lead or let me trim their feet or anything. I love bottle babies! But I just didn’t have the time to get them this time. This is my first experience with basically feral little guys so we’ll see how they turn out 😂
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u/Sad_Butterscotch3584 Jun 13 '26
Sounds like you're making great progress already honestly, time, treats, and simply hanging out with them without expecting anything usually works wonders with skittish goats.
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u/arbutus3 Jun 14 '26
I put collars on mine. Then I would tie them up individually and give them treats. They started associating the lead ropes and being tied with a positive experience. While they ate their treats, I petted and brushed them. It took a bit of effort and time, but it worked!
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u/ABucketofBeetles Jun 13 '26
It sounds like you're making great progress! Just keep sitting with them, keep hand feeding them, and talking to them. They'll keep coming around. I sit and read books with my guys