Tuesday 2 July 2013

"She will give us her life...."

We have a goat, she is young, not born here, but purchased when we first bought our other goats. 

She has never fitted in here. She has attitude with a big 'A'. She jumps the five foot high goat enclosure fencing with ease so is always escaping. She looks at us with dislike, as if we were nuisances to her rather than being her carers. I look at her the same as she looks at me. We do not bond.

At goat milking time, that is when she irritates me the most. We are milking two goats. A bucket of maize is put down for each goat, as an incentive for them to stand still while they allow their milk to be taken, and also as a reward for being good girls. 

I am of the opinion that only the milking goats should be receiving of this treat, and that no other goats should be allowed to partake of it. This is not a problem with the youngsters because they are not living with their mums at the moment, but it is a problem with the other goat because she keeps on barging her head into the bucket, pushing the goat being milked to one side. So I stand at the head of the milking goat to protect the bucket from being raided, and push aside this unfriendly goat, who is to be the next to go into the freezer, because we have found that her breed of goat is not a milking goat, therefore we cannot keep her.

When Lester milks the goats on his own, he often lets this goat have her way. I say that she does not deserve any treats, because she is not being milked. I say that he should stand firm, and not let her barge in like she does. 

I say that she does not give us anything.

"But she deserves a treat because she will give us her life." is what Lester said this morning.

....which put me into a silence of thought. It is likely that I shall now make sure that she gets spoilt for however long she is with us. In my impatience towards her attitude and ways, I was forgetting to be respectful of her life, which can happen when one is dealing with animals on a day to day basis, the work of looking after them pushing to one side the respect one should always keep for that animal. 

8 comments:

The Broad said...

Nothing like the occasional 'pause for thought'! Really good post, Vera!

Ohiofarmgirl said...

i love that you had this thought. good for you. but i still wouldnt let her eat the corn.
;-)

Vera said...

The Broad, I really did do a 'pause' on this one!

Ohiofarmgirl, shucks, you are probably reading my thoughts!

DUTA said...

Lester was right, and you did well to reconsider your attitude towards the unfriendly goat.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey Vera! one of my buddies posted some info about better fencing for your goaties:
http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2013/07/solving-problems.html

also one of my sheep friends said to train the sheep on electric on a rainy day or by soaking them first with water so that they get the shock. it sounds mean but they usually only have to learn once. but if i were you i'd get those hounds out there. the pups are probably old enough to be near the sheep. i teach my crew "where's the nanny?" and they run up on the goats (still behind the fence) and the dogs startle the goats. dont allow the dogs to be too aggressive but the goat/sheeps should move off when they see the dogs coming. this is a natural response for herd animals (run from wolf) so it works well. the dogs should make a running pass then come back to you when commanded. this is also a good exercise to teach them "stop" or "enough" or "that's it." if the pups are too rambunctious you could have them on a long lead to pull them back. those rotties are smart enough to get this quickly.
:-D (sorry for the long and bossy advice!)

Rhodesia said...

Sounds to me like the quicker she is in the freezer the better :-) Have a good day. Diane

Jean said...

Hmmmm. Excellent post.
It reminds me of a saying I spotted on another blog a while ago:
"Always be kind, for everyone is fighting their own hard battle." I have tried to follow this, especially at work, where I dealt regularly with people who had a bad attitude or a hidden agenda. I didn't always succeed and frequently became grumpy about it.

I don't know what battle your goat is fighting, she seems like a nuisance to me, but sometimes it does us good to stop and think, especially when we are in a position of power.

Vera said...

Ohiofarmgirl, thanks for the info, once again you have been more than helpful. We were using our two spaniels to help herd the animals, but when we got the rottweiller girls we stopped because of Blue's habit of attacking and killing the chickens. But I have taken on board everything you have said about the dogs, some of which I have been able to put into practice. And you are not bossy! Just extremely keen to help, bless you.

Diane, same thoughts as me!

Jean, you think the same as me, that it 'does us good to stop and think....'. Patience can evaporate, though, when one is tired and under pressure!