More Goat Business

The day was spent pounding in T-posts for the goats and hauling goat panels.  I had taken down all the goat panels from when I had goats before and put them in the back yard where the dogs are as an extra area for them.   The doelings are small enough not to challenge the hog panels yet but I thought I might as well get the fencing back in now before they need it.

While I was pounding in the T-Posts Malia was making a hay rake in the goat hut. She had remembered how I had made one from cattle panels last time and made another one just like it.   She also got a few cinder blocks, a big piece of thick plywood  and some hay and made them a raised bed.  It's so nice having her be old enough to be a real help this time.  She even pounded T-Posts for a while.  

When we picked the goats up one of them, Belle, was pretty skittish about being handled so we put up the hog panel area just out front of our house knowing we would give them more attention that way.  We put a picnic umbrella up in their pen that covered the dog crates we put in there and then put plywood on top of them with hay on it and a ramp up to the top and they've been pretty happy there.  With the umbrella covering it they have stayed dry even when it rained.  I don't think they've gone inside the dog crates since getting here.  The breeder had kept them in a dog crate at night so she could milk their mother in the mornings so they were used to them but they like being on top better.  

Yesterday putting collars on them was very traumatic for poor Belle.   She got herself squished between the railing and the nest boxes on the front porch trying to get away from.  Normally she does come up to us, she just doesn't like to be held.  And of course we had to hold her to put the collar on her.  Once she realized what we were trying to do she went into panic mode and got herself jammed in that corner.   I was afraid we had undone all the good we had accomplished in the time she has been here by cornering her to get the collar on but she seemed to be fine again 30 minutes later. 

Malia has been wanting to take them to the creek and I wanted to make sure they would follow us first and have collars on them too.   Maybe next week.   It was always fun to take our other goats on a hike through the woods to the creek.  We would pack a lunch and bring some books and spend a few hours there.   It's a short hike through the woods behind our house but it feels so remote and far away when we go.  And of course the goats have their own lunch along the way too which our older does always seemed to appreciate.   Something new to eat.

Hopefully I'll get the fence finished tomorrow and they can start sleeping in the goat hut tomorrow night.

Elizabeth