Tag Archives: goats

Goats and the Vet!!

Dunkay the Donkey, Farm Life, Goats, Horses, Uncategorized, , , ,
Ahhhh, the goats. They are very smart and know Mike the Hoof Man’s truck and they recognize Dr Smith’s oversized, gleaming white 4 x 4. We can have fifty truck’s, cars and vans drive up our long driveway and they will glance up, snort, then keep on eating. BUT…as soon as Mike or Larry drive up, they do their little goat dance and jump, running towards anything that will hide them! When Doc L…arry pulled up, they high tailed it to the back of the barn, trying to squirm under a bush. Two full grown goats trying to squeeze themselves under a bush! They laid perfectly still, barely breathing, thinking they had accomplished the perfect get-a-way! Doc decided to tackle them first since the other animals were already galloping themselves into a frenzy at the very sight of him. So we causally walked towards them, pretending we couldn’t see them. Doc on one side, me on the other, getting ready for a grab and pull! Oh but my mountain goat is smarter than she looks! She BAAAAA’D long and loud and pushed herself out from under that low laying bush, practically rolling poor Dillon down the slope that the bush grows atop on! Come to think of it, I believe she did that on purpose! Pushing defenseless Dillon towards the Doctor as a sacrifice, giving her time to find a new spot to hide in! Unfortunately, both goats managed to get away and ran into the barn where we found them crouched behind the chicken coop with only a tail sticking out! So it begins…Doc on one side, me on the other, two shaking goats in the middle. He grabbed Dillon first by the collar and pulled him out giving him two shots as Sierra BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’d longer and louder than I have ever heard her do before! Doc then grabbed her and gave her the first shot which made her jump high into the air trying to twist her body out of his grasp! Doc held on with superman strength and gave her another shot which made her glare at ME standing there. They both ran out of the barn, back to the bush warning the rest of the frightened animals to hide.. The horses and Dunkay spilt up thinking we couldn’t catch them if they were in the four corners of the pasture. This is where Kyle came in to help us make sure that Sparky got her exercise in for the year!!. Sheesh!!

Oh…and later on today, I will tell about the girl Llamas and Stormy in the back pasture and how we chased them….Stormy was a bad boy! Poor Dr Smith…I think every time he pulls up into our driveway, he makes the sign of the Cross and says a desperate prayer…it’s the Addie farm again.

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The Vet Pays a Visit!

Dunkay the Donkey, Farm Life, Goats, Horses, llamas, Uncategorized, , , , ,
Great, now ALL the animals are mad at me! The vet came over today and gave everybody their shots. Dr Larry, Kyle and I chased, cornered, tricked, tackled and yelled at running horses, llamas and goats! It took over an hour to get the job done. Sparky ran like the wind and she ran and ran and ran and ran, oh, and did I mention that she ran? She was NOT going to let Doc stick her with anything! Fi…nally after a good 15 minute run and chase…she stopped and stood there in defeat! HA! We win…she got her meds!

Also…when we were trying to corner Sammy & Lincoln (out in the open field) they kept running towards the fence where Stormy was pacing, which made him very upset! Stormy pushed against the fence spitting in our direction yelling out his war cry toward the boys. He then jumped up and tried to get over the fence which made Lincoln nervous since he is usually the target for Stormy’s aggression. So….3 humans, 2 llamas and 1 scared Alpaca running in circles yelling, spitting and a few choice sailor words from the guys! We finally got them cornered and did a free-for-all grab…Lincoln got caught, Sammie slipped through 6 arms and galloped to the farthest part of the pasture that he could possibly get with Kyle running after him. My camera….I needed my camera!! Youth….Kyle chased that Llama in a wide circle (as Stormy spit) back towards The Doc and I who were still hanging onto a squirmy Lincoln. Sammie ran for the gate and got caught by a salty old Vet who has learned all the sneak, grab and hold tricks from the past 40 years! Job done! Ten upset animals and three humans doing high fives along with yells of YIPPEE!!!

I didn’t mention how we corned the goats…..that story is for later!

The Hoof Man Pays a Visit

Dunkay the Donkey, Farm Life, Goats, Horses, llamas, Uncategorized, , , , ,

My horses and Dunkay are not happy with me at the moment. They saw the ‘hoof doctor’ today. Poor Mike, he had to chase Sparky all around the field until he cornered her inside the barn. Even then she wiggled and squirmed until he got her tied up as close to the fence as possible to keep her from moving. Took him an hour to do 3 animals. Now the musketeers are glaring at me….hey, I didn’t give you sore feet…Mike did

Mystery at Addie Acres!

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Our horses are not only sneaky, but mysterious! Some how Sparky and the Tank got into the middle pen where all the hay is stacked up with out opening a gate! Two already plump horses gorging themselves sick and both gates are closed and locked. The fence is up so they didn’t push it down and it is too high for stubby mini horses to jump over ( I think I would faint if I saw the Tank jump!). So …how did they get in there??!! Dunkay was on the outside looking in, his mouth watering and feeling left out! All he could do was stand there while his tummy growled as the two over weight horses feasted on the forbidden food!  Also, the goats can get into any place at anytime and they too were watching ding and dong eat. Another head scratching mystery at Addie Acres!

Staring Goat, confused human! (wrote on jan 27th)

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My mountain goat was standing outside in the middle of the pasture staring towards a group of trees, usually she stares at the house and only the house! I get nervous when she is looking at something different. Makes me think something is going on that shouldn’t be! So I struggled into the pink nightmare snow suit and dragged myself into the freezing cold to figure out why is my goat standing on an ice patch in below 0 weather! And what was she staring at?? NOTHING! There wasn’t a thing out of order. She was zoning out again pretending to be high up in the snow capped mountains, free and wild! So there we stood, the two of us. A little black and white goat with a dreamy look on her frosted face and farmer Nancy, standing next to her in the pink Carhart snowsuit with a ‘why me’ look, staring at the swaying trees in the -10 wind chill!

Snow, snow, snow!

Dunkay the Donkey, Farm Life, Goats, Horses, llamas, Uncategorized, , , , ,

I had to go into town for a spell and on the way home, I noticed that not one snow flake was falling in Laporte. BUT….the closer I got to my house off of Waverly Rd, the snow started to lightly fall. By the time I got home, there was an angry snow storm in full swing.  I swear there  is an evil plan to dump snow over our farm just to make me miserable along with cranky animals!! And just for your info (as if you all didn’t know this already) guess who is standing at the gate in all this snow staring at the house??!! Yep, the mountain goat who was fed before I went into town 3 hours ago! Sheesh, you would think her feet would be frozen!

Flying into the barn!

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Such fun!  Yesterday I had the adventure of going to the barn by boat!  Today with 40 mile an hour sustained winds that are gusting up 50+, I will be strapping an old yellow bed sheet (with delicate blue pansies) to my body, do my baseball catchers crouch (in pink) and let the wind push me over the ice, sail off the melting snow mountain and glide into the barn!  Hopefully I won’t land on Dunkay or the goats! The return trip to the house will be tricky since I will be going into the wind. I wonder if the carrot hanging in front of a donkey really works! I could hang one over Dunkays head, grab his tail, point him towards the house and let him pull me! So how do you get him back to barn you ask? Not sure, still working on that one. Where is SUPER FARMER!!!????

Miss Piggy

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My farrier, Mike is brave guy! He comes out in the bitter cold to spend time with my horses and Dunkay who run as soon as they see his truck pull up. Mike means trimmed hooves, something all farm animals dread, especially the goats. They know Mike, his truck and his tools. Sierra and Dillon hide behind the barn until all is clear of any signs of ‘The Hoof Man‘..

While Mike was pulling and tugging on Sparky’s back leg he told me a funny story about Miss Piggy, a 300 pound pot belly pig that was raised inside an English woman’s home from the time she was 5 lb piglet to an oversized and spoiled Sow.

 Mikes story (with my help)….

Years ago, Mike was called to a small farm just south of Addie Acres to trim the feet of a pot belly pig named Miss Piggy. Mrs. Brackston came from England and spoke in a heavy English accent. Her husband of 40+ years was a drunk so she adopted a tiny pink piglet for companionship, naming her Miss Piggy . Mrs. Brackston raised her little girl inside the house giving her the princess treatment and full run of their humble home nestled in the middle of dense woods . Miss Piggy was potty trained like a dog and would oink at the back door to be let out. Well the farmer who trimmed Miss Piggy’s hooves retired and gave her Mikes phone number. Later that week, Mike and his father ventured out to do what they believed would be an easy foot job! Not to be! Mrs Brackston answered the door in an outdated flowered night jacket, hair in curlers, a cigarette dangling from her bright red lipstick mouth. She greeted them in her heavy accent, forcing both men to turn their heads in her direction trying to understand her words. She escorted them into a dimly lit living room where they found Miss Piggy laying on a brand new tan with blue stripes couch watching TV. As Mike and his dad approached Miss Piggy, she jumped off the couch and ran to the back of the smoke filled house, squealing all the way. All three chased the scared animal into the master bedroom, doing circles around the un-kept bed until they cornered her in the closet. Miss Piggy does not like to have her feet touched and wasn’t about to let two strange men anywhere near her! She barreled through the middle of the human blockage, pushing her frantic mother down onto the wood floor. She ran into the kitchen knocking over a table or two along the way sending magazines and ashtrays flying through the air, pooping and screaming as she went. Mrs Brackston was very upset and tried to coax the now shivering pig that was still relieving herself on the floor to come snuggle into her outstretched arms. Miss Piggy wanted nothing to do with her or anyone else and waddled back to the couch, slipping out of Mikes attempted grasp as she quickly shoved past him. The pig now has her 300lb body on the very top of the couch, still relieving herself in fear! Both men lunged at her and was able to grab onto Miss Piggy as her mother yelled out encouraging words through tears trying to calm the pig. Mike held her down as his dad hurriedly trimmed each foot without making them bleed. The frightened pig yelled so loud that they wrapped a fuzzy wool blanket around her head to help muffle the unbearable squealing! After what seemed like an hour, her feet were finally manicured. The exhausted men collapsed on the couch, staying away from the fresh brown and yellow stains. Miss Piggy ran into the spare bedroom where her bed was kept and buried herself under her teddy bear blanket. Mrs Brackston was pleased at the outcome, praising them for a job well done as she causally mopped up after her baby. She promised that next time, she will give Miss Piggy a full bottle of beer to help her sleep through the next trimming. Mike said it didn’t work. When they came back 6 months later, the drunk pig jumped off the couch weaving it’s way into the master bedroom closet relieving herself along the way. His dad refused to go back with him after that and Mike was forced to struggle with Miss Piggy alone as Mrs Brackston cried out her anguished words of encouragement to a panicking pig for the next 3 or 4 years

Goats Sierra & Dillon #3 & 4

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Goats #3 ands 4…Sierra and Dillon!
  My daughter LeAnna, my niece Linda and I took Isaac who was 18 months old at the time to the Michigan City petting zoo. It was a beautiful summer day and Isaac was naturally drawn to the goats as was I. Goat fever was still coursing through my veins. I stood there admiring how cute these ‘mini’ goats were, wishing I could have one! The goats at this family friendly zoo are very fat from all the extra treats they get from sticky little hands begging mama and daddy for more quarters to feed the funny, plump goats. We fed the animals until we had invested at least $10.00 to the Zoos grain fund. As I was admiring the goats an attendant walked into their pen and started to clean up after the cutie pies. Bright idea #1 popped over my head just like in the cartoons! I heard myself ask, “so what do you guys do with all the baby goats after their born? I can see you have a few on the way”!. She laughed at me and said, “their not pregnant, just fat”. I turned red and laughed with her as LeAnna and Linda made fun of me. The young woman then asked me, “do you want a goat? We were told this week that our budget was cut and we need to get rid of some animals’. Bright idea #2 is now flashing along with #1!! I thought to myself, ‘heck yeah, a free goat!’ Wait a minute, didn’t we just try this free goat stuff…twice now?? I didn’t care, all I heard was the word FREE.   She let me in the large goat area with around 20 ‘think-their-still-starving’ animals, circling us like ravenous wolves. The nice girl told me they come in pairs so I need to pick out TWO. Woo Hoo…two goats for the price of one! I attached myself to Dillon who leaned against me, giving me a hug (which he still does to this day) and Sierra kind of hung with him like they were a loving couple. She wasn’t as cuddly but she had a fun personality and if I wanted Dillon, she came along with him. I almost yelled out the words, ‘YES! I WANT THEM….I WANT THEM ALL‘! But two is all I was allowed to have! LeAnna and Linda shook their heads as Isaac excitedly clapped his hands. That’s my boy! We’ll make a farmer out of him yet! I quickly went home to tell Chad the good news, making sure I used the word ‘FREE‘ over and over! If I was in my right mind, I would have felt sorry for him.  He put his head in his hands and deeply sighed knowing that it was a losing battle once I get my ‘FREE ANIMAL’ mindset in full swing. Chad and I drove over to the zoo that weekend so he could meet our new family members. We found our goats, shook hands with the zoo keeper and loaded them both in the back of my Ford Windstar van….yes you read right, a mini van. We didn’t have a trailer. Chad and I drove home in silence, me with a huge smile and Chad with a worried look. Dillon and Sierra didn’t care much for the back end of a cramped vehicle. She baaaa’d over and over and Dillon made his way to the back seat sticking his head between us. So we drove home, fast, with a loud cry in the back end and a goat head almost up the windshield watching the road with us. I’m sure we turned a few heads in cars that day and boy am I glad a cop didn’t pass us! I wonder if they give out tickets for goats not being buckled in?? We introduced the new farm members to the horses that gave them the evil eye look along with a few grunts letting them know that they have been through this goat nonsense twice before, so no funny business! The Llamas took one look at them and ran to the back pasture afraid that butting would once again be the new barn game. Dillon and Sierra quickly took to their new home, exploring every nook and cranny, running around in the large fenced in area just for them. I stayed with my new sweeties petting and hugging as Chad drug himself to the main barn gathering all the used goat toys, buckets and sweet grain. Dillon and Sierra fit in with us and the other animals perfectly. They kept to themselves, never butted and was not interested in escaping as long as they had plenty of food. They did however, develop the habit of staring at the house for hours until we came out to feed them, especially the girl. It would be raining in sideway sheets and Sierra would be out at the gate watching for signs of humans. Thunder and lighting strikes a few feet away? She’s staring! Snow storm? She’s staring! Tornado sirens blasting ‘danger’ with wind gust up to 50 miles an hour? She’s staring! 100 degree weather? She’s staring! Ate 2 minutes ago? She’s staring! We still have them! Sierra stares and Dillon gives us a hug every time we go out to the barn. I believe that with free goats, the old saying, ‘3rd time’s a charm’ is true!

Goat Chasing Bunnies!!

Bunnies & rabbits, Chickens & Rooster, Farm Life, Goats, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Just when I thought I’ve seen it all, my animals surprise me with something else to shake my head at. I was in my office working when I looked out the window to see what the naughty’s were up to. Seemed normal, not much going on in below 0 weather.  I had left the barn door open just enough to let them go outside in case they needed a break from each other.  I saw two bunnies run out as fast as they could, following close behind was our goat Sierra. She chased those bunnies with her head bent low an inch or three behind a bunny butt all the way to the trees! She then walked back to the barn satisfied that her personal pile of hay was safe from un-wanted dinner guest!