Once upon a time I had a very nice herding dog called - eh - Pretty. She had to undergo a big surgery, and I was told to protect the wound with an airy sweater. So I put one sweater on her from the right side, and one from the backside with her tail in the head-hole. Both sweaters happened to be red. Pretty was such a dog who did not protest against small items. She started to slowly walk around, trying out her legs and balance after the anesthesia. But the sheep got alarmed! "Help!! A RED DOG!!" So not the goats, they just said "Hi, Pretty!"
Thanks Everyone! I miss Maggie so very much. She gave us a lot of laughs, and was such a sweetheart. Damfino - Cuzco sounds like a character and he is adorable! What wonderful memories! The babies this year are a silly bunch. But there is 2 from a set of triplets (we sold one as a bottle baby), and they are notorious lol. It must be something with the dam, because her kids were crazy last year too and these kids have a different sire. They are a riot... always doing something silly. Always making us laugh. Ironically, their mom is Maggie's little sister - so yeah...hereditary lol. My daughter named the doe Lizzie/Lizzy (one day she'll tell me how she wants to spell it lol). She thinks she has to be in your lap, and has springs in her legs. She will randomly butt you (but all babies do go through that phase and we never have issues...). One day she was butting my broom lol. Today? The dog's basketball that was laying in the front yard lol I managed to get a couple of videos Chloe's cute guy was trying to figure out the basketball, then Lizzie came over and tried to bully him away from it lol I wish I could have gotten over there sooner with my phone to get her when she was being super notorious.
I was reading a thread here that talked about Irish beer for sterilizing worms in livestock. I did a little reading a decided to try it. I bought the beer and after a bit of thinking I decided to use a black rubber lamb nipple to drench right from the bottle. It turns out there was no drenching needed with my herd of beer guzzling goats! These two were the first but I had to eventually jump the gate into a stall when the other 20 figured out what I had and decided to try a group rush assault I ended up pairing them off and pouring them each a beer to share!
I was sitting in the middle of the baby goat pen and one of the goats (Star) came up behind me and jumped. I was not ready for it so I grabbed another goat (Baby) who was on my other side. Star was still on my back and I was holding Baby but then Baby head butted Star and Baby tripped into my lap and some how I ended up laying on the ground with Baby laying on my head.
I think we have all landed in the bottom of a big heap of healthy happy goats, but not all of us tip over.
Helped a friend last night with a critical baby goat and her brother who was also not doing well - my friend had taken in both from a relative. 3 hours of getting up temp, getting some meds in, enema (day old and no poop, possibly hadn't nursed for many hours), and finally being able to tube feed a couple of ounces. I'm definitely more comfortable than I was with tube feeding. Prior to Wed helping with another baby (who sadly didn't make it), I hadn't tube fed since like Dec of 2012, and at that time only did it 1x. I didn't expect baby to live, she was floppy, only response was blinking her eyes. So seeing a pic of her on her feet this morning still makes me so happy. Then going after lunch to check them and tube feed (still hasn't gotten the bottle down, but will drink from a syringe), her being up, and talking in her sweet little baby voice....oh it just melts my heart. Her brother probably was sub temp, and milk didn't digest, so he had yucky poop last night, so we treated for bacterial infection, and did an enema today, tube fed him. My friend said he took the bottle this evening. So thankful I was able to help save those sweet babies. Of course they aren't out of the woods, but getting there Here's another video of my daughters doe playing with the dogs basketball yesterday. She is so funny. I could watch this silly critter and her antics all day. Our silly yearling bucks were full of themselves yesterday morning. I love watching them when they are playing, especially now that they are not in rut. They are twin brothers and are good boys. Although the one who stays closest to me can be a real brat lol. He tries to keep his brother away from me when I come in the pen, he pushes him away and tries to stay between us. I'm so glad rut season is over as they have calmed back down and are so much more enjoyable to be around, a little less stinky too!
The one that always gets ripped off! My doe May always gets ripped off. Whenever I hang up branches, hers isn’t what she wanted, or the other goats take over. I hang up another one for her, and she is convinced the others have a better one. She has a complaining tone that clearly states, I got ripped off! She cracks me up. But she is very serious.
We all know sheep herding dogs, even heard of goat herding dogs, but I have a chicken herding goat. Stragglers run into their coop when big old May goes by on her way to evening milking.
A few weeks ago when going out for morning chores, the goats were in the farthest corner of their lot totally focused on something in the distance. Once I got a little closer, low and behold, a pair of foxes caught up in a tie. The foxes noticed me first, the goats were curious over what the foxes were alarmed by and looked my way finally. The goats started coming to the gate, the foxes started struggling to break the tie so they could flee, and I politely sat the water bucket and breakfast bowls down on the ground and came back to the house to give the foxes their privacy. The goats alternated between watching the goings on of the foxes from the far corner and coming to the gate in the near corner fussing about breakfast not being delivered to them. Watching from behind the storm door inside, the goats went back and forth for slightly over 30 minutes. (Until the foxes separated naturally) Like they couldn't decide which they wanted most, breakfast or a peep show.
Oh my gosh, that is hilarious! Nice of you to give the foxes privacy. And the goats watched National Geographic!
Where I live is rural, town has 3 stop lights. It is National Geographic around here more often than not. I have been blessed with eyewitness accounts of nature in purely raw form often. Snapping turtle nest building on the bank, hawks learning squirrel could be had by tearing into the winter nest, doe leaving their fawns close to the dry for the Monks to babysit, doe family groups so accustomed to my presence they don't show any alarm even though I am a few feet away, fledgling hawk learning to fly, possum mama with a gang of babes on her back, being serenaded most winter nights by the screech owl living in the tree close to the bedroom window, black snake with head held high carrying off a large bullfrog, crane hunting frogs on the brook, the newly discovered fox den, crowds of baby rabbits starting spring, hoards of song birds, sassy racoon turning rocks for craw daddy, and the bounties from hickory, black walnut and muscadine grape. For me, my home is like heaven on earth.
Loved your story about the morning goat peep show! Who can say living rural is boring? Lol I never know what Nature is going to share with me. Its wonderful. Thanks for sharing...