Quirky Goat Farm South - Dec 17, 2010

I had to put the cat in the feed barrel again. This is the second day that I've found a little mouse in the feed. Have you ever tried to catch a frightened mouse by hand? It's just NOT happening. So, I caught Miss Kitty and put her in with the feed and the mouse. Instant success. Cats aren't as inhibited and slow as humans when it comes to rodent capture.

I made the mistake of leaving the Tupperware corn chip box on the table where Orange could reach it. She managed to get the container open for three days in a row. I finally put it on a high shelf where she couldn't see it. She looked on the table, searched back and forth, and then she carefully and deliberately looked UNDER the table. Goats are deep thinkers, and they constantly impress me with their cognitive skills.

Making a change in the routine always gets the goats' attention. Putting hanging feeders for the horses on the fence that adjoins the goat pen caused some turmoil. The horse feed has molasses on it, and the goats could smell it, so they were trying to figure out how to get through the fence to get horse feed, too. Then, as the horses were eating, I put out the goat feed. The goats perceived that there was now competition for feed from the horses, so they behaved quite decorously and each stayed at a feeding station, chowing down instead of running from one feeder to the next to see what the next goat was getting.

Rambo, the borrowed Saanen buck, has accomplished his job, and all six does are now bred. We have kids due to be born starting in early February, a few in March, and the rest in May. Anybody need a barbecue goat? There are sure to be some!