Predator Control for Boer Goats and Meat Goats

Predator control is essential if one wants to raise goats in this area. The most common predators in this area are coyotes and. domestic dogs. Coy-dogs, wild dogs, bob cats, cougars, and black bears can also be a problem, but only rarely. Black necked buzzards and bald eagles will kill new born kids, but we have never had a problem with them. Bald Eagles winter in our area but they usually leave before our goats start kidding in spring.

It is best to use two approaches to predator control, fencing and guardian animals. It is good to have a small area with predator proof fences for the goats to stay in at night. We also confine our does to this area during kidding. We allow our does to take their kids out with the herd when the kids are about a week old. All of the kids will usually stay together in one place while the does are out eating. One or two does and a guardian dog will usually stay back with the kids while the others go out. For details on predator proof fences see our article on fences.

The most commonly used guardian animals are donkeys, lamas, and dogs. Donkeys and lamas eat pastures and are less expensive to feed than dogs. With both donkeys and lamas it is best to have only one of each so they bond with the goats and stay with the herd. Other wise they will bond with each other and form separate herds. Donkeys are natural grazers like cattle and will tend to stay in grassy areas when the goats go after sprouts. Lamas, on the other hand, are browsers like goats. Their eating habits are the same as goats.

Male lamas should be castrated at ten months of age or older. If one castrates them at a younger age they will get arthritis and die from it. Intact male lamas will try to breed does and kill them in the process by suffocating them. They will not wait till they come in heat to try to breed them because lamas don’t come in heat until after they have been bred.

Unlike donkeys and lamas guardian dog work best in teems. The alpha female will supervise the others and assign tasks. They will position themselves on opposite sides of the herd. One will stay with the babies when the mothers go out to pasture. One will always stay with a doe that is ready to kid. They will take turns sleeping. Now if you think you guardian dogs are lazy and always sleeping that is because they have to sleep sometime and they do their work at night when the goats are most venerable to predators. Goats can usually protect themselves by day.

Guardian dogs get very little sleep during kidding season. One dog will stay with the next doe that is going to freshen. I don’t know how they can tell, but they can. Often when a doe has triplets the mother will neglect the last kid to be born. When that happens the dog will step in and clean up the kid and make sure it gets up to nurse.

There are many breeds of guardian dogs. The Great Pyrenees is the most common. The Anatolian Shepherd is the next most common and then comes the Commodore. There are no overall differences in guarding ability between the Pyrenees and Anatolian breeds but there are great differences between individual dogs within these breeds. We prefer the Anatolian Shepherds because we like the short hair and the color. Both the Pyrenees and the Anatolian Shepherds are very people friendly and we like this trait. If you need a dog that will protect your goats from people we recommend the Commodore. Many Commodores need to be locked up out of sight and hearing while their owners are vaccinating, worming, or trimming hoofs on their goats. We know very little about the other breeds of guardian dogs because they are so rare and we have not had contact with goat producers who have used them.

Come Visit Us and See Our Herd

We are two miles west of Ralph on County Road 5040.

Ralph is four miles south of Yellville, Arkansas, on Highway 14.

kencandy@critterridge.net        (870) 449-6789