It’s Really Windy….What Happened to my Goats?

What happened to my goats?  They are really rambunctious.  Sunshine, the young little one with the horns, is causing me and Rocky, the big one, to be a bit nervous.  He is swinging his head around while jumping and we have to be careful.  We all want to run now. Their energy is erratic.  They are full of Piss and Vinegar and I didn’t give them either of those, THE WIND DID.  

The wind affects the goats’ moods.  Be careful.  Can you run with them?  They need to disperse some of their wildness. When it is windy, the goats have more energy. It is like they catch the energy in the air and play with it.  In fact, it happens to me, too.  Sometimes my knees don’t want me to run at all, but when it is windy, all heaven breaks loose and the three of us throw our cares to the wind and start running.  Running with the goats always happens on a really windy day.  I can predict their behavior from the weather report.  If the wind is extra energetic, the goats will be, too.  But, the fact that it also affects me, shows that the more you spend time with your goats, the more goatish you become.  (more on becoming Goatish on an upcoming blog….)

Piss and Vinegar happens.  Sunshine does not like for me to say “no” to anything that is related to food.  There is a tree on the ranch that is mysterious for me.  I don’t know what it is and so I don’t want the goats to eat it.  I usually am able to pull Sunshine away and tell him “no” until he listens.  But, when it is a windy day and we are on a food related issue, he realizes all too quickly that he can use his horns.  Be careful.   You have to be firm at these times.   You can choose to be wise as well.   Wise means that you get the tree checked out by bringing some leaves and blossoms to an arborist at a good nursery to find out its name and then checking the internet for lists on what goats should not eat.  If the mystery tree is on the safe list, then you don’t have the difficult task of pulling a goat on the loose away from his munchies.   Food is a serious matter to foodies.  The word “foodie” was created with goats in mind.  

Sunshine and Rocky are a lot more mellow on a calm day without any wind.  But on this windy day, they competed for dominance every chance they could get, their tales wagging with the fun of competition.   Since Rocky’s horns were removed, unfortunately, I didn’t want the Piss and Vinegar that the extra wind added to Sunshine to overwhelm Rocky.  I took off running and, of course, they follow enthusiastically, interrupting any game of dominance.  Off we go, wind pushing us from behind, all three of us running free but in the same direction…until…another food opportunity arises. Quickly, get to that tree bark before the wind blows it away.   Frantically, the wind comes and we are off running again.

This happens every time it is windy.  Piss and Vinegar in the goats’ mood can show up like a new salad dressing eager to enhance my day.  Just keep running until some of the energy is released.  Rocky stops to rest with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I stop to sit next to him while he stands on a bench.  Of course, since he is taller than my sitting stance, what a great opportunity to try to eat my hat.  Never a dull moment.  Being with goats is a great way to learn to just be in the present moment, especially if it is windy.  You must be aware of every detail all around you all at once.   Too much energy?  Then run again and keep running, letting the wind’s energy dictate the direction.   After that, we are too revved up to sit on the ground and cuddle once we are back in their enclosure again.   I brush them and play tete a tete with Rocky until it is time for me to resume the rest of my day that is actually not with the goats.  Although blogging about goats brings them into my space again and before I know it my life has been invaded by the hooved kind.   I close my eyes to sleep once again, my pupils, I swear, turn horizontal once I close my lids.  Don’t tell anyone…. 

Rocky, the Most Picky Goat on Earth

Many people falsely believe that goats eat anything.  This could not be further from the truth.  I have even heard one person say they saw a goat try to eat a tin can.   They were not trying to eat the metal, most likely it had paper on it and the goat was attempting to pry off the fibrous content.

However, if it were my goat, Rocky, he might have been trying to read the label.  Picky!   In fact, I think I might be sharing the planet with the pickiest goat of them all.   I have brought numerous cut up vegetables and fruits only to see the younger goat, Sunshine, have to eat all of them.  Rocky had smelled them all, chewed up some and spit them out.  He looked at me almost frantically, "Where is my food?"  Of course, he did get his hay, so he was not starved, but I really wanted him to eat the treats I brought that were organic and packed with vitamins and minerals.  Don't worry, I give them loose minerals which they get to lick out of my hand: one goat per hand, I have two hands and two goats, so can do!   But, still everyday, the verdict of whether or whether not this wether will eat my cut up treats is up to the wind.   Although, I am getting smarter in my approach to serving this picky goat.

They don't like cut up vegetable or fruit treats that are wet. They must be dry. If they fall on the ground, they are out of bounds, literally.  I have to pick them up, wash the sand off and then I must dry them with my shirt.  Then they get a second chance to become an eaten treat.  Sunshine is not as picky. Although, recently I have watched him learn from Rocky to reject pieces of my treats.  Mind you, these are organic (don't want pesticides and chemical fertilizers in my goat's blood.  Remember these are my sons!) and fresh.  They will positively not eat anything going slightly bad.  Even if I might munch on a salad with a few "almost" pieces that have only hours left of their nutritious life left; they are much more pickier than I am.  But, I don't have a four chambered stomach with a rumen, precious bacteria that digest the raw vegan food.  (nor do I chew my cud, but I become more goat-like as I spend more years with goats.)

Goats seem to protect their rumen.  The goats smell and inspect food carefully.  I believe in this way they protect their rumen and their health.   But, they don't always know what is best for themselves. Make sure they do not overeat.  A wether (a male castrated goat) should never eat alfalfa nor grains. The pH in those foods throw their systems off and can cause sickness in various ways.  If you have other animals on your farm, make sure their food is kept well away from goats.

When the goats lived at a horse ranch, there was an open barn that had food in it that was bad for goats.  I could not leave the goats unattended for long, but they learned.  They used to go into the barn and eat what they wanted when my back was turned for a half-second.  (the ranch they stayed at during that time didn't allow a door to be put on the barn so I had to be really careful)  Even if I pulled them by their collars, they found a way back in.  I soon gained control of the situation by creating loud sounds by banging the metal tops of trash cans that contained pellets with grains and alfalfa for older horses. The lids made wonderful crashing sounds that scared the goats away. After a few times, the goats learned to stay away from the open barn.  But, I still made sure I knew where they were while I was cleaning, like a mom who must watch her brood while she tends house. But, when we foraged, we foraged together, so they usually were not too far away from me as the herd usually stays with its herd members.   Be careful!!  They must be watched carefully.  When they were living at that ranch, trash could be found laying anywhere blown in from the wind.   Many times you could find me screaming, yelling and running as fast as I could to pull a plastic bag from one of my goat's mouth.  This was a serious situation.  If you live near an area where wind can blow trash onto the land, you must be on your toes at all times and ready to take action as fast as possible.  A goat can choke on human trash.

Rocky is not picky when it comes to eating plastic bags, so I hold on tightly when I let him lick the sticky mango pulp left on it.  But, when it comes to vegetables and fruits I have learned a lot.   If the vegetables and fruit have been in the fridge and are too cold, a picky goat may not like the temperature.  If they are too hot, they may not like that either.  They may not like them wet or if fallen on ground.  They may not like them here, but might like them there. Yes, that is right!  I discovered that often times when we walk a bit after he has rejected my cut up organic carrots, he might eat them later at a different location when he gets a treat for playing a jumping game.  (I have to make up games because they can get bored too easily)  Yes, you read correctly.  The same rejected fruit or vegetable may be redeemed later at a different location.  Perhaps the temperature of the food changed.  He often became less picky when the treats were given because of a physical action that he enjoyed.  It was if his attention was diverted from the taste a bit.   Maybe he suspended his picky behavior for the moment because he knew that he had already eaten all of the banana peels and had to settle for mere carrots. Who knows.   Just know that if you have a picky goat, do not give up on giving treats, just change them, keep them organic, make sure they are not too hot, not too cold, and given at the absolute right time.  There is a definite method to this madness.   One thing is for sure, if you bite off one end of something and expect a picky goat to eat it, don't take it personal, but your saliva just ruined it for them.  The rumen apparently does not do well with food tainted with human saliva.   I am a vegan, so I have been able to bite off pieces of apple and he would eat it, but, again, not always.   Don't take it personal if a goat is offended by your saliva.

One other thing, if you cut your treats on a cutting board, don't share that board with onions or garlic, etc.  Your goat may not like his banana tasting like an onion.  

If you think my life has gone bananas from all of this goatish paranoia, it has.   I have become an overprotective, overly-attached mama goat whose pupils are moving toward the horizontal line.  

Affection, Hooves, Memories and Good Vibes

It is important to keep goats social.  It is also a basic need for them to be pet and cuddled.  If you plan on having goats as loving companions, make sure you have plenty of time to massage them, brush them, pet them, play with them.  The require this. 

Each goat has a unique personality and will let you know what they like and what they dislike.  Be careful.  A swing of the head means a loud “NO.”   Immediately stop what you are doing.  They are communicating that they don’t want you to touch them in that place or in that way.  You don’t need more than one warning.  Once is enough.  Don’t push your limits.  Don’t take it personally either.   This is just a goats way to communicate.  Some goats are more picky on how they like be touched more than others.  Often, if you get a goat that has a history, you don’t know what type of experience they had before you met them.   Remember, their memories are way better than yours.  Perhaps a goat had its hooves trimmed in a rough manner or by someone they didn’t like.  They may not let you touch their hooves if they have that type of memory.  Don’t keep trying to do something if they show you that the area has a bad memory associated with it. 

I can pet my little goat’s hooves because he has not had them trimmed yet.   He may not need them trimmed if the rocks that he walks on files them down for him.  The bigger one disliked the person who trimmed his hooves in the past.   He only lets me touch them if he is trying to scratch in between them and is okay with me helping him.  He is sometimes fine with me touching the front ones, but not the back ones.  I get a swing of his head letting me know I am in territory that I should not be in.   He has memory there.  He doesn’t want anything to be repeated that he didn’t like.   I am watching his hooves and taking him to places to walk on rocks so that they can get filed down naturally.   If they get too long and the rocks are not filing them down enough, they will have to be trimmed.  But, his past memory of having his hooves trimmed was not good so that is not something I want to do myself.   Hopefully the rocks will file them down enough.  

My goats don’t like to be around rough people and so they are picky about who touches them.   Be mindful to this.   If they need hoof trimming and the rocks are not doing it, then learn to trim them or hire someone who is gentle and kind.   There are people out there who treat goats that are not pet goats.  They may be rough and unkind.  You don’t want your pet goats around that type of person, it can cause them bad memories.

There is someone that my older goat does not like who used to trim his hooves.  Whenever he showed up on the ranch, my goat saw him and stopped walking and went the other way.   I always support my goat’s feelings.  I give him respect and that is one of the reasons why we have such a great relationship.  If he has a strong feeling about someone or something, I listen to him.  Clearly that was not the right person to trim his hooves.   There is no reason to be rough with a goat.  Don’t hire someone unless they are kind and gentle.  Don’t give your goat bad memories by subjecting them to harsh people.   They need affection and love, just like anyone else.   I make sure that only affectionate and loving people go near my goats.  They also have to be peaceful people.   I am very choosy and you should be, too.