Goat Personalities

I'm considering adding a wether or two to our lil herd  & training them to pull a cart .I was wondering if  there is a difference in breed type as far as personality goes. I was thinking of adding a Boer  or cross because of the weight it could pull, but don't know about personalities of the different breeds. Please give me  your opinions on breed types, trainablity ,etc.

Thanks so much!

MsC

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Replies

  • Margaret,

    I was going through old dicussions and realized I never saw this reply. :) That's so kind of you to say.  I must admit, I haven't been doing much with the working goats this during my semesters in college, but it certainlly something I'm passionaite about and would love to see grow more. I run a local county fair goat show and we've added working goats as a category, but sadly have not seen the interest we'd like. It was added when I was eligible to show, but that's been many years ago and we've yet to see someone try it. Such a shame --- wonderful "sport" for goat and owner. :)

    Enjoy your journey!

    -WG4

  • WG4, Just wanted to say that it inspiring just knowing that someone like you is out there and that we know where to find you. I feel there is not enough of this kind of thing going on and it is really sad that people don't comprehend just what all these precious animals can contribute to our lives. I hope to one day be able to make a real impression on some folks that will make them remember the day they saw the goats.....Whatever the case may be.........And maybe just one of those people will grow up to be a serious goat lover because of me and my herd! Thanks for the offer... I am sure we will be calling upon your expertise many times before it is over!

  • Let me know if I can offer any assistance as you two ladies begin your new journeys into working goats! :)

     

    - WG4

  • Ms C, I am interested in training my wethers so they will be less likely to be sold cheap and hit the dinner table or be shuffled around as an unwanted pet. I figure if I can train them and they have skills to offer a new owner they will not only have a better life but will bring me a better asking price, just like the does and bucks do. Will see!

  • You're welcome. :) Happy training! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

     

    - WG4

  • Thanks so much for the reply. Yes, the info does help. I always prefer to raise my dogs from a puppy so I can apply that to my goats. I really admire some of the working goats I've seen on her and have the time and interest to try my hand at training a few goats. I have to remind myself to talk to my goats when I'm with them, somehow I just thought they wouldn't understand...one of my girls,Dixie, is soooo tuned in to me I really need to work at training her. She does not like the collar though and we're on our 2nd collor. She alwasy gets them off.
    Thank you again for your input.
    MsC

  • Sorry to for the delay in replying --- didn't see this post.

     

    Personalities can differ from breed to breed, but it mainly has to do with how much they were handled as kids and how that personality was developed. I've seen some Boers that make excellent working goats. But, you need to get them at a good age where that personality can be developed. Basically, any breed can be a working goat --- that is sort of the nice thing about the activity.....any goat can do it. You just have to be willing to invest the time and engery into making your goat a working goat. Any breed should be trainable.

     

    I say time and engery because the first few weeks of training are going to seem like no progress is being made. Horses are natural work animals so training can seem eaiser at times. However, learning to respond to commands and take direction is not something that is bred into goats, so it just takes some time for that to develop. But, they are creatures of habit, so the more you work with them, the more they will come around.

     

    Hopefully that answers your question --- please let me know if I can be of further service. :)

     

    - WG4

  • Hopefully WG4 will chime in as she has four Nigerians -- three does and a wether -- that she trained to pull a cart. If you click on the "Groups" link at the top of the page, you will find the working goats group that she started, and she has basic instructions on there about how to train them.

  • Hiya Margaret, Thanks for the reply.  I'm doing ok just been busy with a family  illness. My girls are doing well and I'm enjoying them very much. My Pyr mix dog is in training & doing very well  protecting the girls. He is maturing nicely.

    I'm just in the researching stages now as far as adding a few more goats to our farm. Still looking for a stud for the girls for next year. Glad to see the update on your goat that was hurt.

    I really love reading all the post here & looking at the pics,too but I don't have much to contribute yet...

    Thanks again for the reply!


    Margaret Langley said:

    Hi Ms C, hope you all are doing well.

    I am not really qualified to answer your question but I would like to suggest that you also check out the viability of the breeds you consider. Don't get me wrong I adore boars, they are in fact one of my VERY favorite breeds. I would love to have and hope to one day have a fine boar doe but am scared to death that if I buy one I will lose her because I have heard SO MUCH about them having extreme parasite problems. I personally suspect that to be do, in the most part to resistance. I would already have one if I were not so paranoid about this but I have read a lot about people complaining about this so I would suggest that if you go that route you try to find out a lot about the breeder and herd you plan to purchase from. As far as using them goes, yes they could pull a nice payload, so to speak. They are so very gorgeous! Oh, just thinking about them makes me want to run out and buy one. I love those goats!

    Another breed that a lot of people use are Nubians, and I don't know much about people using them but Kikos are a fine large meat goat like boars and should be powerful animals. I don't imagine a boar or kiko would come to cheap since they are both meat breeds, therefor wethers would be considered very desirable for eating. I do know quite a few people cross the boars and nubians and that could also be a good possibility. 

    Sorry, I don't know more specifics about the personalities for you, but I don't think you will have a significant difference in them/ problem with them. Especially as wethers are usually so good anyway.

  • Hi Ms C, hope you all are doing well.

    I am not really qualified to answer your question but I would like to suggest that you also check out the viability of the breeds you consider. Don't get me wrong I adore boars, they are in fact one of my VERY favorite breeds. I would love to have and hope to one day have a fine boar doe but am scared to death that if I buy one I will lose her because I have heard SO MUCH about them having extreme parasite problems. I personally suspect that to be do, in the most part to resistance. I would already have one if I were not so paranoid about this but I have read a lot about people complaining about this so I would suggest that if you go that route you try to find out a lot about the breeder and herd you plan to purchase from. As far as using them goes, yes they could pull a nice payload, so to speak. They are so very gorgeous! Oh, just thinking about them makes me want to run out and buy one. I love those goats!

    Another breed that a lot of people use are Nubians, and I don't know much about people using them but Kikos are a fine large meat goat like boars and should be powerful animals. I don't imagine a boar or kiko would come to cheap since they are both meat breeds, therefor wethers would be considered very desirable for eating. I do know quite a few people cross the boars and nubians and that could also be a good possibility. 

    Sorry, I don't know more specifics about the personalities for you, but I don't think you will have a significant difference in them/ problem with them. Especially as wethers are usually so good anyway.

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