My four females are butting each other for long times at a stretch, say half an hour, their heads show the effect by having bald spots appearing and my eldest, 7 years old is, i hope, due in mid June. I just saw her being hit in the stomach by her own doe.
Is this normal behavior? What should i do to keep her, and possible kids safe? My barn is tiny and we still have freezing nights.
Replies
Are they pregnant? Is the local hay alfalfa or grass?
I'm afraid there's not much you can do about them fighting. Trying to get between fighting goats can wind up getting you injured. And you can't be with them 24/7, so that's a losing battle for you anyway.
They have Sweet Licks minerals and good local hay, plus fresh water anyways available, and get 1/4 a cup of alfalfa pellets, brome pellets, and a teaspoon of grain twice a day.
Local vets don't work with goats, the one who did has stopped her practice. Any things to try?
Thank you so much,
Barb Rondine
It can be normal behavior. I have been amazed by how resilient kids can be in utero. I've been worried a few times about pregnant does being bullied, but it only caused a problem once. I had a doe go into labor at about day 136 or 137. The kids were both way under 2# and couldn't stand for a day or two. Mama had no milk, but we were able to save both of them and bottlefeed them. Other goats have gone full term and given birth to healthy kids, so it probably depends on how persistent the butting is and exactly what happens.
It sounds like you may have only one stall in the barn for them, but if you can figure out who is the least aggressive of the bunch and separate out the pregnant one with her, that may be helpful.
If they fight at feeding time, adding hay feeders may help.
Is there any particular time or situation where the head butting happens?