Goats, Hoo Hoo & Basic Addition
Just got back inside from bottle feeding several baby goats. There are quite a few baby goats out there…………….quite a few.
Definitely, one of the doelings will be named Irma.
We normally have better herd management.
We normally know who is pregnant and when they are due.
All that went out the window when Irma blew through.
And given the goatie-population explosion out there, we need to get our adult goats interested in some other hobbies…………….they’ve gotten this reproductive hobby down with a polished expertise!
I just checked the definition of the word “hobby”. It says: “An activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.”
Well then, I would have to say that this baby goat production-line that they have created out in the back pasture is more of a full time occupation.
It doesn’t qualify as a hobby anymore.
They’ve got this down pat.
We only had about a dozen goats before Irma. I just did a quick head count and came up with twenty-five, and I could have easily missed a few.
I think we need to herd up the auxiliary goats and make a trip to the meat market again. Some of the boys from last summer have become less than respectful of your own personal space and homeostasis.
And by “less than respectful” I mean that when you enter their pasture with anything that looks like a bucket, you had better be balancing that bucket on your head. Or else you will be tripped and trodden on and denuded of the bucket and anything whatsoever that it contained.
Even holding the bucket on your head is not a guaranteed safe bet. The bucks and wethers (castrated buck) will climb right up you like a ladder. Nasty, cloven hooves climbing in your cuffs, ripping your pockets, getting purchase in your belt loops. They become very focused when it comes to food or the potential of a meal.
Their philosophy is knock you over first and then see if there is anything edible about or on your person.
Then when you are feeding them, they shove their heads in the trough and there is no room left to pour in their feed. If you’re not deft and agile, all of their poured food will end up in the dirt……………………and goodness knows……………………….they will NOT touch dirty food or hay (even though they are the ones who stood on top of the bale and pee’d on it to begin with!!!)
There is actually a rhythm and a dance to feeding herd animals. There’s almost a choreographed dance-like charade routine you have to master. You make them think you are going in one direction with the bucket then quickly switch directions and hopefully you are able to take advantage of that nano-second of time so you can pour in their feed before they attack the trough and you.
I mean, we are all trying to work together, and get them all fed. But it happens every feed-time. There is no learning curve whatsoever with these butt-heads.
Every day it’s the same whoosh, swoosh, butt, and ram. And IF you are lucky, no trampling.
I’m going to digress.
I’m just warning you.
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Well, remember when our old doe, Skidmark, was killed?
Shortly after (very little time passed) we left her carcass behind the back fencing, we went back to check…………………farm people do those things.
It was actually quite amazing, just how fast her remains were consumed by……………………who knows what or who.
But, this time, I thought I would check to see if I could find a bezoar…………………
************Those of you who have read the Harry Potter books or watched the movies may remember the use of a bezoar.************
Here’s a re-cap.
Harry saved Ron Weasley’s life when Ron was poisoned accidentally by Professor Slughorn. Harry put a bezoar in Ron’s mouth which worked as an antidote to the poisoned mead…………………..
A bezoar is a mineralized stone found in a goat’s stomach (I learned that from J.K. Rowling).
And sure enough……………………….there was a bezoar left amongst Skidmark’s remains. A large one, nothing that would fit into anyone’s mouth……………..easily……………….but then Skidmark was a big, old goat.
I have a feeling that I will not find a photo of a bezoar for use in the public domain.
I’ll just have to take one of my own.
I’ve never looked for a bezoar before.
But now, I think I’ll start a collection.
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