# Do your goats wear collars?



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

This topic came from another thread. I have 11 goats. They all have collars. I just recently bought them all and 8 of them came with collars on. The other three were kids. I know the risks involved with collars getting hung. It sure makes it easier to put them in different pens when it comes time to put them up and at milking time. I think most of the people around me use collars on their milk goats. Do you? I made it multiple choice.


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Comments. I am one that is currently using collars on all my goats.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I told the story on the other thread, but I'll go on record here, too. No solid collars on my goats. No collars AT ALL on the bucks. Does get plastic breakaway collars.


----------



## coso (Feb 24, 2004)

Same as Alice here. Bucks and kids don't have collars. Milkers have break away. http://www.caprinesupply.com/produc...llars-chains-leads/plastic-chain-collars.html


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Alice,
Will you show your plastic breakaway collars and why not collars on any bucks?


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I told the story on the other thread, but I'll go on record here, too. No solid collars on my goats. No collars AT ALL on the bucks. Does get plastic breakaway collars.





coso said:


> Same as Alice here. Bucks and kids don't have collars. Milkers have break away. http://www.caprinesupply.com/produc...llars-chains-leads/plastic-chain-collars.html


How strong are those. Are they strong enough to turn a goat from the feed?


----------



## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Yes, mine have collars or in the case of the kids dog harnesses. I live in a neighborhood and if my goats get out they would be automatically sent to the stockyard and quartered with auction animals if they don't have a dog tag with my address. The animal shelter will only take cats and dogs.

I suppose I could get big enough dog harnesses for the adults since they're Nigerians. Thoughts on whether that might be safer?


----------



## coso (Feb 24, 2004)

I don't put collars on the bucks, because I don't handle them on a daily basis so if I need to trim hooves, vaccinate, whatever, I just take a collar with me to go catch them. Also full grown bucks will end up breaking the break away collars and losing them.:goodjob: I have never had one break while I was leading a goat, and I am a pretty big boy !!:grin:


----------



## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

I have one collar that I use on whichever goat I need to move at the time. It goes on the first girl I milk, I remove it when I put her back in the pasture, and then I put it on the next girl and take her to the stand to be milked. No one has a collar on if I am not there with them. I also put the collar on the herd queen when we go out for walks. I hold on to the collar until we get out into the woods. Once we are out there, everyone follows me.


----------



## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

mammabooh said:


> I have one collar that I use on whichever goat I need to move at the time. It goes on the first girl I milk, I remove it when I put her back in the pasture, and then I put it on the next girl and take her to the stand to be milked. No one has a collar on if I am not there with them. I also put the collar on the herd queen when we go out for walks. I hold on to the collar until we get out into the woods. Once we are out there, everyone follows me.


Ditto here. For daily handling I just use a strap, no buckle/latch. Lead them where I need them to go and let go. My only current milker goes straight to the stand. She's a slow eater so I don't even have to clip her in. She knows the drill. If you have them trained to come to you when they see you there's not much need to keep a collar on! And fortunately most goats are anything but aloof!

I only use a collar to medicate, trim, etc. And I NEVER tie them. I'm sure it can be done. But its a risk so easily avoided.


----------



## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Not here, I have horned and disbudded and pastures with way too many things to get stuck on. My dairies run into the milkroom at milking time and my dairy kids are bottle babies. I have zero issues catching the goats I need to catch every day. Many of the boers are friendly, too - but they only need handled 3-4x per year as a group, so no point to having collars on them. I use collars after I catch them, but not to wear all the time.


----------



## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Clovers_Clan said:


> Ditto here. For daily handling I just use a strap, no buckle/latch. Lead them where I need them to go and let go. My only current milker goes straight to the stand. She's a slow eater so I don't even have to clip her in. She knows the drill. If you have them trained to come to you when they see you there's not much need to keep a collar on! And fortunately most goats are anything but aloof!
> 
> I only use a collar to medicate, trim, etc. And I NEVER tie them. I'm sure it can be done. But its a risk so easily avoided.


Thats because I trained her so well:rock: . I already told the story about the doe I sold, heard enough horror stories and dont really have much of a need for them since I only have bottle bratts. Down side is icky sticky stinky bucks have no idea why you dont want their stank or other random fluids all over you.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Ditto on what Coso said about the bucks. You just don't need a collar on them. Mine also have forest access, so I don't want to risk them getting hung up on something.

The link posed for the collars is correct. 

You can see Jubilee's green plastic breakaway collar in this pic. The visiting trolls wanted their picture taken with the goats.


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Lol. I ordered 12 today.


----------



## dozedotz (Dec 12, 2012)

You made a really good decision, Doug!! We use them and love them...


----------



## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

I went with collars as with out it I would have to staple or sew on each goat their bells. I need the bells on them as I can find them and we have bears.

We make our own with carabiners and parashot cord. I just braid them --one color is the mother code color and one is the daddy's code color and one color is for the year born. I take 15 lenghts of the cords and five of each color.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I put bells on the breakaway plastic collars with a small zip tie.


----------



## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

I do like MammaBooh does: One collar, use it when I have to move a stubborn goat, take it off immediately afterward.


----------



## BlueRose (Mar 7, 2013)

Jubilee looks like she wants to give the trolls a good push. 

When you order the collars can you order 1 each a each color or do they all have to be the same color?


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

5 colors. Red. White. Yellow. Blue. Black.


----------



## parrotman (Jan 27, 2008)

In your poll you need one more category...do you wear collars on _some_ of your goats and they are _regular_ collars.
I used to wear collars on all of my goats. They are all horned goats and I've never had a problem until recently.
They've always sparred among themselves, but the herd queen has figured out that her horns are great for securing another goat by their collar. Fortunately, I was home at the time and was able to separate her latest conquest or I'm sure there would have been a fatality.
That ended collars on all of my goats, except for the queen.
Now, I only use collars when I need to do something specific to one of them such as hoof trimming, etc.


----------



## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

We have a variety of collars on our goats, have had them for over 20 years now. We've never had a goat get hung up by the collar, but we've lost them about every other way you can think of. I like to keep them fairly snug up high, SWMBO likes them down lower. I don't think any of the dog collars we use are break away and the rope collars surely aren't. It's something to consider though. 

When we put them out on pasture the collars generally come off.


----------



## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

Nope, never, and never any need.

My goats will all lead with my gently holding an ear as a suggestion. If I need to actually move them, the tiny bit of hay twine in my pocket gets looped over and I hold both ends in my hand. 
If I feel that they are going to be stubborn, which they are generally outgrown by a year, the little piece of hay twine makes a simple halter with one knot, and again, slips right on, off, and back in my pocket.

Why take a risk, when that is so cheap, simple and effective?


----------



## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Meat goats - no collars. Milking does - yes collars, and yes they're handy. Kids and bucks - no need. 

This is dependent upon the animal too. Our milking does are mellow enough that we don't have problems. If their personalities warranted a hazard, we'd do without. We had breakaways, but one of the does chewed them off the others. (Took a while to figure out who ... weren't able to identify our culprit until it came down to the last goat wearing a collar).


----------



## MeatPigeons (Aug 10, 2013)

Yep. They free range too. One is pretty wild, other is mellow, but collars are just useful for leading.


----------



## karenp (Jun 7, 2013)

I had collars on the last batch, these chew them off each other.


----------



## Joy Bell Farm (Jul 30, 2013)

I have a few thats not tame and there the ones that find my holes. We live on a somewhat busy road. And when they get out it takes everyone in the family to catch. So a colar is needed. 1 doe im about to turn into goat kabobs if she keeps her antics up. I know my fences need work but goodness. She can get threw chain link and dog kennel panel like a ghost . None of my other does can figure out chain link or dog kennels.


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Looks like the majority use collars all the time.


----------



## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I use narrow dog collars w/ plastic clasps on my milking does. There isn't anything they can get caught on...no access to any wooded areas and there is a hot wire keeping them off the fence. The kids don't get collars...they are too stupid still. :hysterical: Plus I only need collars on the milkers because I have to walk them all the way to the barn to milk. Most of the time they do fine and know where to go, but you know goats...sometimes they think they would rather go where they want to go.


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

Mine run to the front of the line and I would have 4 of them on the milk stand at once if I didn't lead them to it one at a time. Trust me. Its happened.


----------



## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

There kind of need to be another category, I use collars all the time and they are break away collars. 

It's a really interesting subject. I have never encountered collar eating goats... and yet, I don't have to see a crazy goat related thing to believe it utterly!


----------



## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Crater, there is a election available for breakaway collars.
Im not a sheeple and wont follow the vast majority


----------



## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

I'm not a sheeple I'm a.. uhh goatple. I have collars of different colors on my girls but I don't actually _use_ them like grab and lead with them, they come when called and they are all the plastic chain break aways. I don't fret if one breaks and they don't have one for awhile, it's more for ID at a distance so I know which name to call. But I surely would not put collars on my goats that they could not get loose from if they were caught up... they wander the brush and play and jump on things, too dangerous for my tastes.

I am very much of a mind that if it doesn't come, if it's not friendly and looking to be in people company then I would probably be better off eating it and not troubling myself with a herd member that makes my job difficult. With three going on four children and a husband and whatever, whatever on top of that I just don't have the time or patience not to have thoroughly social and pleasant herd members.


----------



## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Was referring to a previous statement by another poster crater sorry about the lack of distinction


----------



## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

I took the leashes off my goats but still have the collars. I don't have any brush though. My goats have to scrounge for weeds.


----------



## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

Mine will follow me, but it is also important to me that they learn early to be led by a collar. All mine have breakaway collars, except the buck. He had one but I haven't replaced it since he lost it last. He's in a separate field and I haven't brought him in for awhile. When I do, he'll get another collar.


----------



## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

My goats are sweet and loving and gentle and... they're GOATS. That means that there are times when they will come along willingly, and there are times when they would prefer to keep me waiting until some more browse grows. 

Then, I use the collar. 

This certainly does not mean that my goats are ill-mannered or not interested in human company. We had plenty of loving goat company whilst building the new turkey pen this evening. (They think they know how to do EVERYthing better than humans!) But if I'm in a hurry, or I need a goat to hold still while I am checking her out, then the collar it will be.


----------



## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

We run around 200 head of goats on about 80 acres (pasture, woods, brush, etc). That 80 acres was brought down in size to 30 acres when we cannot be with them less than a month ago. Obviously, not all of them wear collars.
I buy the nylon dog collars from Family Dollar (and not just any dollar store collar, it has to be family dollar). They have the plastic clasps that break when strained. We have yet to find a goat hanging dead by her collar (knock on wood). We have a number of collars go missing in the field. They are not tight to their necks though. I have them fairly loose so they can slide off if need be. Having said that, we have had at least one doe almost choke herself in their pen when she got it caught and twisted and twisted. But we can hear them in their pen and we check on them.
Some does need a collar to help us catch them. I can guarantee you we do not have 200 goats you can just walk up to when you want to work them.
We have been using collars for quite a few years (8?) with no issues.
As with everything, your mileage can, and will, vary.

I should probably point out that at this moment I would guess about 25 (?) of the current goat population actually has collars on it... so not a large percentage. More during kidding season. They have been out on pasture, so a lot of collars have gone missing since kidding season.
I leave collars on my bucks whenever possible. I need those to lead the boys the many places they are expected to go. Only one has his collar at the moment though. At least I think Charm lost his.


----------



## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

I keep a leather collar on my most stubborn doe. Its snug enough nothing should be hanging up in there. She's had it on for 3 years without problem, but then again she's not a trouble maker like my other does (who like to stick their heads under fences and push into tiny spots of sticks and debris)

Sometimes I think about hanging a bell from her


----------

