Foot-Petting a Goat

I'm not kicking this goat, I promise. My husband and I were sitting on the bench by the pond, admiring the afternoon. I had my legs crossed, and Arlene the goat came up and gently but insistently pushed her head up under my foot. She wanted to be petted, and she didn't care how.

I foot-petted her for a moment, then she ran off to play again.

After having these goats, I understand now that petting zoos aren't for the children...they're for the goats!

Playful Goats

It was really pretty here yesterday, and the goats are starting to feel like spring. They were romping and playing all over the pasture, with Irving the cat sitting watching them. They almost ran him down a couple of times, and he never flinched.

In the scene below, Emma charged Arlene as she reared up and stomped...



...and then Arlene chased Emma out of the frame...




....leaving only a cloud of dust behind.



Today is rainy and back in the 50's. We're all so ready for spring to arrive and stay!

Goats Like Treats

Our two goats, Arlene and Emma, get a carrot and apple as a treat every afternoon. I'm sorry to say that they're not dainty eaters.



They definitely gobble. We have to dole out the treats so that they don't try to get too much into their mouths at one time and choke.



We also have to worry about them getting their heads stuck in the fence trying to get to the food. It has happened before. My husband had to cut the fence once to get Arlene's head out.



Their pasture is greening up now, so they've got grass to eat again, and pretty soon they'll have weeds (yum). We've had a good bit of rain this year so far, though, and the ground is pretty saturated, so they have to step carefully in some places. The picture below was from a couple of days after the last rain, when the water has normally drained off.



This weekend is supposed to be our first really nice weekend of the year. I can't wait!

Where Goats Sleep

Our goats have a three-sided shelter where they can take refuge during the rain or sleep on cold nights. It has a little attached corral where we can pen them if necessary. It works really well...for them. Unfortunately, it has to be cleaned. It's not nearly as bad now that we don't have a horse, but cleaning it isn't the most pleasant chore in the world.

The goats like to help, though. The other day I filled several bags with....stuff....and put it in the wheelbarrow to take up the hill. After I went back into the shelter, I heard a crash, and came out to find they had knocked the wheelbarrow over. It works much better this way, don't you think?



To clean the shelter, we use a special upturned rake with narrow tines -- goat poop is very similar to deer poop -- and then spread bags of Equine Pine over the entire area. It's a pelletized product that puffs up and spreads out after a thorough wetting. It's really a wonderful thing. (My standards for what's wonderful have really changed since we moved here!)

Here's a 'before' picture...



...and an 'after' picture. Doesn't it look fluffy and (relatively) clean? You'd think they'd be delighted at the change.


Evidently not....

Emma Jumps the Fence

Emma jumped the fence in the front yesterday! It's the first time one of the goats has gotten out since we had the fence redone last spring.



I went out in the evening to give them their carrot and apple treats, and Emma stood up on the fence the way Arlene is doing in the picture below. It sagged beneath her weight...



....and then with one push of her powerful hind legs, she was up and over the fence, and standing in front of me in the yard. I don't know which of us looked more surprised. I grabbed her by the horn, but quickly realized that would just spook her and I couldn't possibly hold on to her.

Fortunately, if you're carrying carrots and apples, you don't have to manhandle a goat to get it to do what you want. All you have to do is look like a complete idiot walking across your front yard dangling a carrot in front of a goat, until you get to the gate on the far side of the yard. You do a complicated juggling act to try to hold on to the carrots and apples while fending off two goats, one on each side of the gate, and you carefully open the gate while a large goat is standing up on it pushing against it. Then you coax one goat through while keeping the other from escaping. Wave at the passing cars as you go. Piece of cake! One goat returned to its pasture....relief all around...passers-by amused. What could be better?

She hasn't done it again yet. Fingers are crossed...

Goats Like Nice Weather Too

It was a beautiful sunny day in South Carolina, and our goats loved it. We sat down by the pond for a while and watched them romp in the pasture. They ran, chasing each other along the pond bank. Check out Emma's right ear flying here.



Then they wheeled, and came racing back toward us, as we cowered. They're sweet as can be, but it's easy to forget that they are really quite powerful, until you see them in action.



They veered off in time, of course.



Arlene came up afterward and, visibly panting, stood by my husband to get petted. Then she went to her hay basket, which was -- gasp -- empty.



Don't worry -- it's full now! Playing goats need calories...

Goat Fur & Calisthenics

See what looks like cotton in the picture above? It's goat fur. Poor Arlene is losing her winter coat, and it's itchy. I had no idea that goats would beg to be petted just like dogs. We sat down at the bench, and Arlene came up and nudged my hand with her head. I started pulling her fur out, and she stood quietly and blissfully for me. I toss the fur to the winds, figuring that the birds can use it for nice, soft nests.

Here's Arlene with fur stuck to one of her horns. She's holding her head like that so I can scratch between her horns and behind her ears. Never thought I'd be able to read goat body language! (Of course, most goat body language revolves around some version of 'do you have food for me' but then my husband tells me my body language does too.)



Then she settled off to the side to do some complicated cleansing rituals. I'm very relieved to report that a goat can bite its own toenails, just like a cat can.



I'm relieved about that because otherwise I'd have to clip them for her. You may have noticed the horns? She's a very sweet goat, but any of you who have clipped a cat's claws before can imagine what the procedure would be like with a goat.



I learned from a friend to wrap the cats in a towel to clip their claws. I just had a mental image of my wrapping the goats in a huge beach towel to do their nails.

Once again, I really am so very glad we have a private back yard. Not that I'd actually do it, of course, but hmmm...I wonder if it would work?

Grooming a Goat

I think I mentioned before that Arlene, one of our two female Boer goats, grew a thick fluffy coat for the winter. I have no idea why she would start to shed it now, but she's been shedding for about the past two weeks, and it's obviously itching her, because there's now white goat fur all over our fences.

So of course I had to brush her.



Irving the cat had to watch, of course. He needs to know about everything. Arlene's fur is shedding so much that I can pull it out with my fingers. She was fascinated by being brushed, and held perfectly still for it.

Can you tell she's enjoying it?



Emma, the other Boer goat, who was smart enough not to grow a winter coat for a South Carolina winter, took the opportunity to grab a bite, while Halley the cat checked for the ever-present possibility of something to play with. (And yes, that's an antique baby crib. Doesn't everyone use one to feed their goats?)

Of course, Arlene's winter coat did come in handy during our recent snow, but check out her fur all over the fence behind Emma. I think I'd rather be a little cold during a two-day snow than have to shed all that fur.

Snow Goats

Well, we think we got about four inches of snow last night...here in not-so-sunny South Carolina. The goats are reacting pretty well for their first snow experience.



They spent the night in their 3-sided shelter with plenty of hay and water, and ventured out this morning to find that the snow has bowed some of the smaller trees down so they can eat the leaves and branches.

That's better than hay.




We put out more cracked corn for the ducks, and refilled the feeders. Now we'll settle in to wait until enough pickup trucks have gone by to clear the road.

Because pickup trucks WILL be going by. The ratio of trucks to passenger cars out here is about 2 to 1, if not higher.



This snow is nothing for most of the rest of the country, so it's just fun for us...

Carolina Red Clay + Rain & Goats: A Bad Idea

It's been raining off and on, and the ground is soaked....the red clay ground. We have two beautiful, sweet Boer goats...who like to lie on the ground. Sigh.


I think the red looks kind of cute, but I've noticed the last couple of days that they're starting to also smell....kind of goaty. They've never smelled at all before. We realized that we haven't cleaned their run-in shelter as often because of the rain and cold. Oops. I sense an unpleasant chore coming on for tomorrow.

This morning we were discussing the idea of getting a miniature donkey. We did some research online about them, and they're apparently very easy to care for, and make great pets. We almost had ourselves talked into it, until we read this line: "Remember though, that they are LOUD! So I would at least warn my neighbors."

Somehow I just don't see us going to the neighbors and saying, "Oh, by the way, we're getting a really loud donkey. You don't mind, do you?"

The Winter Hungries

I'm embarrassed to even complain about the cold here in South Carolina. It's in the 40's, and I'm miserable. The horse is miserable, the goats are miserable, and the cats....well, actually, they're just asleep on the couch. I know it's so much colder in most of the rest of the country, but try telling that to Gus the horse.



He's cold, wet, and muddy. All I can think about as I look at him is how much work it's going to be to get that mud off of him later on, especially with his nice thick winter coat.



Everyone's hungry all the time now. It feels like a full-time job keeping them all in hay. We tried 'free-choice' hay for a while, by putting a bale of hay in a baby crib and setting it out, but they wasted so much of it that they were going through a rectangular bale a day, with much of it just getting trampled into the earth. The county extension agent told us that's actually good for the soil, but it's not so good for our pocketbook.



Even the cats are hungry all the time. Irving, the brown tabby in the picture below, brought his wand toy to the door in front of the food room, and settled down to play quietly with it while waiting to be fed. Halley joined him.

After all, it was only two hours until feeding time.



You can see that Halley (the white cat) hasn't missed any meals lately. In fact, I suspect she's suckering us into double-feeding her. She was spayed recently, and she went almost overnight from a bone-thin kitty to what you see here. We actually went and researched whether a cat can still be pregnant once it's spayed. They can't, but tell me that cat doesn't look pregnant...

Goofy Goats

It's been cold here for South Carolina. Today was mostly in the 40's, and we had to break the ice on the animals' water this morning before they could drink. Both the horse and the goats are growing thick coats, but the weather still isn't fun for them, especially since it's supposed to rain tonight and all tomorrow.



The goats have been such fun to have around. Arlene, in the picture above, has changed completely since we got her. She didn't like to be touched at first, but now she loves to be petted, and she has such a sweet, gentle way about her.

Halley the cat is still fascinated by the animals, and she still 'helps' my husband with all the chores. She especially enjoys checking the hay over.



This is the normal look we get from the goats. It means: 'Didn't you bring food? You didn't? Okay, pet me. Then go get food.'



Halley also tries to supervise Gus the horse while he's eating. I honestly don't understand why he puts up with it, but he does. It terrifies me when she gets in among his feet, because he can't see very well there, but somehow he always steps around her.