I just rearranged my mini herd, kept one doe (that I've had since the Spring) and added 2 new does (recently acquired). My longtime doe is unmercifully picking on one of the new ones. Do I get involved or just give up and find the sweet natured new doe, a new home? I would of course like to keep the new one, but am new to goats and don't know how long I should give these girls to adjust. It's been 5 days now. Any advice? Thanks.

-- Linda (herring@page.az.net), December 13, 2000

Answers

In my experience, this is always going to happen, no matter how many times you switch goats. Mine are terrible about pushing each other at feeding time. This alfalfa just drives them crazy, they love it. But out in the pasture they get along fairly well, minding their own business. I have one doe who seems to rule the roost, even though she is the shortest.

If I have does that are just plain mean, like ramming a baby for no reason at all, and not stopping, I sell them. Problems come when you buy does allready grown, and then find out the reason they were sold in the first place. Feed the girls separate if you can, this really helps, and maybe give them more room. Mine really are only mean to each other at feeding time.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), December 13, 2000.

The new one will learn to stay out of the "boss's" way, just give it a little more time, and make sure she gets enough to eat in the meantime.

-- Teresa in TN (otgonz@bellsouth.net), December 13, 2000.

Maybe you can put some obstacles in the pen to give the new goat a place to get away from the dominate goat? Those spools that store large wire for electric would work great as well as having someplace for them to climb on. This idea works with fish, rabbits and chicken from my experience.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), December 13, 2000.

Hi Linda, you are very lucky it isn't the two newcommers picking on your doe! I also would give it more time, and I actually prefer having my does in pens of odd numbers like your three. 5 days isn't long enough for them to hash out their differences and for the herd queen to put her in her place. In a larger group you sometimes will be forced into selling an animal that simply doesn't fit into the group, but I would think with just 3 as long as you aren't talking about some horned and some not, than they should eaisly learn to live peacefully. Most does don't settle in for 90 days here. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 13, 2000.

You probably won't need to sell any of them. Do any of the does have horns? If the established doe has horns, then you will either have to put up with her, sell her, or get her horns removed. Other than that, there are a few things you can do to ease the transition. It is best to put new goats in a seperate pen for at least a few days when introducing them, that way they can smell one another without the pounding. When you do introduce the new ones, do it at night. They are a lot less aggresive at night. You can try seoerating them even tough they've already been introduced, and do the seperate pen thing. Or, one year i had a very dominant doe, when I introduced the new one, I clipped the boss doe up inside the barn for a few hours so that the ne doe could smell her without getting beat up. I don't know if this was a good idea or not, for when I went down there an hour or two later, the new doe was firmly ensconced as the new queen and beat up on the boss doe after that! Also make sure that they are not crowded, less space almost always means more aggression, and that they have several places to eat hay from until they get used to one another.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 13, 2000.

I had one doe that I had to keep tied, as otherwise she would beat the tar out of the other doe she was penned with. The pen wasn't too small for two goats, though it wasn't huge either -- maybe they would have gotten along better in a field, but at the time, all we had was the pen in the shed. The two goats I'm getting next week have always lived together, so hopefully we won't have a dominance problem with them -- but I'm not sure what will happen when we get the next two in a few weeks, from another breeder! I may have to have two separate pens for the two pairs of does. You might try that, too, if you have room for another pen.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), December 14, 2000.

This is not an answer, but a Thank You to all who responded. My does do not have horns, their pen is small, but adequate, and I will give them more time. It sounds like a normal adjustment problem, and I think it might be slowly working itself out. Luckily, in one month one of them will be moving to a new home anyway. I wish I could keep more, but at this time am not set up for more than 2. Still trying to find that "40 acres" somewhere... I hope this was the right place to say Thanks to all of you, probably not!

-- Linda (herring@page.az.net), December 14, 2000.

Well, that short doe that I said ruled the roost broke out of a wooden stall yesterday morning at feeding time. She will not be penned up, she will go where she wants, when she wants. She ate her food then wanted everyone elses. She can put a perfect circle hole in chicken wire and walk thru. I'm gonna have to put her on Tradio this morning! Since I have 25 or so it's OK with me, but you know she is one of the ones who is never thin, never sick at all, hardy as can be. Her name is Iris, I should have named her after a weed instead of a flower!

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), December 15, 2000.