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Author Topic: Introducing 2 herds  (Read 5840 times)

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Introducing 2 herds
« on: October 21, 2013, 06:14:35 pm »
Has anyone done it and how easy was it, added plenty of single or pairs of goats into the herd but never tried introducing 2 herds  :-\
our original herd consists of 18 goats of various ages, females and 3 wethers. they all get along great out in the field but we have disagreements if someone gets into the wrong building when they are shut in.
we have recently got another herd of 17 goats , some adult some goatlings and some 2013 kids.
we would like to get them all at the one house before winter sets in. at the moment they are 1 mile apart and never met
Graham

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2013, 06:47:19 pm »
Can you divide the area so each herd has its own side until they get used to each other?

bloomer

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • leslie, fife
  • i have chickens, sheep and opinions!!!
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2013, 06:53:52 pm »
wow thats a lot of goats!!!




sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2013, 06:58:40 pm »
Thanks we Could give that a try MGW if we ever get another dry day  ::)
Hmm it is a few more than we planned but rosscos herd somehow managed to find their way from Nottinghamshire to Northumberland  :o

If it does not work its not a problem as  I stay up at the other house all winter anyway
« Last Edit: October 21, 2013, 07:00:29 pm by sokel »
Graham

tizaala

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Dolau, Llandrindod Wells,Powys
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2013, 06:59:51 am »
If you have a large enough area , a ten acre field or bigger, I would turn them all out together and let them sort out the hierarchy themselves, apart from any entire males that is. there will be some general boisterous greetings and clashes of personalities but no real harm will come from it. We do find  however , that our BS nannies don't socialise with the Togs when browsing ,they form their own groups , even as kids, but they love to act as a herd when being moved from one place to another, even visiting nannies are welcome to the group then. you might find the herd leader from one lot will have to sort out the other leader from the new lot to decide who is boss,  :fc:

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2013, 08:30:13 am »
Thanks will try that.  We can turn them onto 22 acres  and Keep an eye on them.  Lead goats are an Anglo and a bt.   Funny our lot all seem to split into breed groups when they are out in the field
Graham

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2013, 01:21:06 pm »
If you have a large enough area , a ten acre field or bigger, I would turn them all out together and We do find  however , that our BS nannies don't socialise with the Togs when browsing ,they form their own groups , even as kids, 

I was told recently that white goats don't like coloured goats? colour prejudice in goats!?
 my white BSx baby must have an identity problem with her mum being Togg  ???
maybe white being reared by white other colours are 'wrong'?
anyway my mixed batch seem happy as a group (apart from the boers - nobody seem so like them :( , 'mum' wants to be part of the herd but is not accepted, + they try and bite her babies)

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2013, 01:40:59 pm »
My Boers and togs get on great together, infact 2 of them live with the toggs in the big shed
Graham

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2013, 10:09:17 pm »
My Sanaans don't like BAs judging by the way they treated the one who came to stay. They wouldn;t let her into the shed even when it was pouring.

ballingall

  • Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2013, 12:39:39 am »
I would try mixing certain groups of the goats to begin with. Ie, milkers from one herd with goatlings from the other, the other set of goatlings with a batch of kids, the other kids with the other set of milkers.  The older age group in each case will soon extort their dominience over the younger group, and they will integrate, then you can add in the bigger groups together gradually.

Colour prejudice definitely exists- but it tends to exist for example if you keep a herd of white goats for 5 years, then bring in a toggenburg type. Had it happen here- we had a mixed herd of AN's and BT's for probably about 10 years, and then my mum got in a BT/BS cross kid because it was out of her male, and she was convinced her goat was going to have twin males. I had a AN kid who was 6 weeks old who had never seen another kid before, and she loved her new white companion, just because it was someone the same age as her. Every other goat in the herd HATED the white kid, and went out of their way to beat her up. It actually got to the point where Skye, the AN would try and throw herself in between the adults and Libby (the white kid).

Oh and my mums goat kidded in april with twin females, so she got female kids out of her billy after all! Libby was also cleverer than my AN kid, and taught her to jump out of the field! To add insult to injury, she never had a female kid. But since then, we've kept a white goat in the herd (not necessarily through design).

Sounds like MGoM's goats are used to being a white goat herd and dont like black goats!

Beth



tizaala

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Dolau, Llandrindod Wells,Powys
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2013, 10:03:32 am »
A mix of S, BS, TOG, BTog, all odd-ball characters .


This was a mass invasion of the feed room...bless'em.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2013, 10:05:22 am by tizaala »

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Introducing 2 herds
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2013, 12:06:35 am »

Sounds like MGoM's goats are used to being a white goat herd and dont like black goats!

Beth



Absolutely right, Beth, although it could be to do with the fact that the only time Pom had met a black goat before, she ended up pregnant. :roflanim:

 

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