Author Topic: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?  (Read 11641 times)

lambofgoth

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Re: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2009, 02:37:27 PM »
Okay, the longer explanation definitely helps.

A few more thoughts... you still have a serious problem goat on your hands and I still think culling is really your only solid option.  This kind of behavior can be dangerous and I can't even begin to imagine how not fun it would be on a horned goat, should those kids develop some of her behavioral traits. 

As for purchasing goats, yahoo groups has several groups tailored towards specific breeds: LaManchaTalk, OberhasliTalk, NubianTalk, yougetthepicturetalk.  A lot of breeders are on those forums with good (or excellent) quality stock and you (general you, not anyone in particular) can probably find what you are looking for relatively close to you and at a reasonable price if you are looking for home milkers.  I realize now this was an associate of yours but honestly, I would question anyone who sold you an animal that unstable.  We raise Welsh ponies for children's hunter ponies and while I would never do it, if I ever sold an animal like that, I guarantee I would lose my house.  I realize a horse is not a goat but the principle is the same.

I do hope you are sure of your goat's CAE status if you are selling offspring... but that's a different issue.

Good luck with her.

pamaples

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Re: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2009, 02:24:10 AM »
At the risk of divulging my true identity as a tree-hugging, granola head, woods hippy from long ago; If it is not a vision problem, try giving your goat the Bach Flower Remedy for unfounded terror. The remedy is Aspen. You can get the small dropper bottle at your local health food store or, better still, co-op. Just sprinkle 4 or 5 drops onto a handfull of grain she will eat once a day for a week. If it is the right remedy she will be a new goat the next day and be better and better as the week progresses. You can also try Bach Rescue Remedy (which no first aid kit should be without) symptomatically, in case of shock of any kind.

It worked well on our 7 month old tricolor filly who was already shell-shocked when we got her. She was more than just afraid of everything. She was in mortal terror of everything even trees. Once she pulled a chunk of alfalfa out of her feeder, when it hit the ground she jumped 3 feet! She would not stand to be touched or petted or brushed AT ALL. She shivered all over; she just knew we were going to eat her. She was much more calm the next morning and is a totally different animal now 4 months later. Also worked well on the farm's genuine scaredy cat. Now he is a 5 foot away cat not a 25 foot away cat.

Just a thought.

Ariel301

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Re: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2009, 12:56:58 AM »
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I never considered a vision problem, so I did check her, and she sees just fine. She can see us sitting on the front porch from her pen, which is probably about 75 feet away.

We rebuilt our pens so that we have three big side-by-side pens, with the kids in pen 1 on the end, the milking goats in the center, and our horse  in pen 3 on the other end. Ebony spends part of the day with the other goats and the rest of the time with the horse. We also set up some trough feeders for hay for the goats so they can free-feed all day instead of getting two meals. (Before, they were just ruining most of the hay, so we had to limit what we gave them). If they're full, they're more happy. It seems to work well so far. Ebony's still a bit noisy, but we got the kids weaned and she's calmed down a good deal. She's still a pain to work with or milk; I've tried a variety of collars and halters to see if she has a preference for how she is restrained and led. She definitely doesn't like a halter, but changing between chain, leather, or nylon collars made no difference. She milks fine if she wears a special homemade hobble that keeps her hind feet tied back to a post behind her; it seems to calm her for some reason. When I put her on the stand, she is nervous, but once the hobble goes on, she relaxes and starts to chew her cud. But if I don't use it to handle her on the milkstand, or just hobble her without tying her feet to the post, she still goes nuts. I guess she just has a thing for being tied up lol...

We're looking around for a home for her where she won't have to work but can roam around on a large acreage with a buddy goat or keep a lonely horse company. If we find someone willing to take her on, we'll probably give her away. If not, we'll keep working with her. We love her to death, but she's just not very bright. Her kids are doing much better even though we had to wean them really early. They're much more friendly and not nervous when their mother is out of the picture. The doe, at six weeks old, already climbs into the milking stand for me and lets me do whatever I want to her. When I 'pretend milk' her for training, she even moves her legs out of my way so I can get at her teats. What a good girl!

As for CAE--We rarely sell, but any goats we sell are sold without any guarantee as to being CAE free (or other diseases.) We make it clear that they were raised by their own mothers, and not vaccinated or treated with anything unnecessary to sustain their life and happiness. (I guess you could call them organically raised) We encourage any buyer to have their animal checked by a vet and they can return it at any time for a refund if they aren't happy. Mostly, our excess goats are butchered for our own consumption or that of friends, or distributed to friends who want a pet/family milk producer. We pretty much raise them the old-fashioned way according to our religious beliefs and don't let the government or big livestock production factories tell us how to raise our animals; and we only sell to people who do the same. We feel a kid raised by its mom is a happier, healthier, more well-adjusted kid than a bottle-fed one eating sterilized milk. We don't even sterilize the milk we drink ourselves; if raw milk is healthier for us, then of course it is better for our animals too.

I'll look into the bach flower remedy. I've heard plenty of good results with it in horses and dogs before, but have never used it. Sounds worth a try.

Thanks for all the advice.

FRANCOIS

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Re: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?
« Reply #18 on: June 25, 2009, 10:09:20 PM »
What is her feed and mineral mix?  Where are you located?  You may be in selenium deficient area.

I disbudded many, many kids.  I have never had any issues with brain damage or death.  I suppose while it is possible, you'd have to really, really, really brun them, way beyond what's needed for disbudding.

Ariel301

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Re: Goat - Anxiety Disorder?
« Reply #19 on: June 27, 2009, 09:18:10 PM »
Francois--We are located in northwest Arizona. The goats are eating a mix of alfalfa and grass hay, with a custom grain mix that they were getting at the dairy we bought them from. The hay is trucked in from California, Nevada, or Colorado. They also have free access to a salt and mineral block that contains both copper and selenium. They get a couple of hours a week of supervised grazing, as our desert ecosystem is very fragile and they will destroy our land quickly if left on it. No other goats are exhibiting problems on the same diet, so I don't think it's a diet issue. As for the disbudding, yes, you have to mess up pretty badly to hurt them, but I've seen it done. A friend of ours lost all her lambs/kids last year when a 'professional' disbudded them. They were brain damaged and just wasted away over several weeks. We choose not to do it ourselves because we see no need in our flock, and we feel it is cruel. If others choose differently, that's fine, it is their choice to make.

She had calmed down quite a bit with the new pen arrangement, but due to a shoulder injury I had, and my husband not being good at milking, he had to let the kids back in with the does for a few days so they would get milked, and now we're starting the weaning process from scratch. So the kids are crying, and Ebony is crying back. Hopefully it will settle back down again, and once the kids are completely gone, she'll get over this.

Or if anyone wants a really friendly goat as a housepet and is willing to spend 24 hours a day petting her...she's yours!  ::)