One of our critters is a Boer goat named Jolene. Boers are a meat breed. Jolene is mostly white with a long brown head that sports floppy ears (shockingly adorable). Jolene is reasonably naughty.
I bought her at an auction last spring along with two sheep. When I got them home I unloaded these three critters into what I thought was a goat-proof pen in our barn. After hanging out with her sheep companions for about an hour, Jolene jumped out a rather small window (maybe two feet by two feet) which was located in the pen about four feet off the floor. I was shocked to look out my kitchen window and see her sashaying around the yard in nervous little goat jumps.
After her escape, my husband, Cass and some of our family members spent three days chasing and tracking her through the woods by our house. She never went very far (actually she never left the property except for that one time when she was spotted hanging out under the neighbors' kid's swing set). She was a very frustrating goat to chase (not that any goat is unfrustrating to chase) in that she would hide in the brush, then when you spotted her she would sense you (I think perhaps goats have an extra people-sensing sense just for when they escape) and then run away again and hide.
So after the whole chasing and tracking thing didn't pan out for us, I decided to take a different approach and dumped large quantities of grain all over our yard in little piles. My husband was at first skeptical, but it did lure her in and she started sneaking into our yard for treats. This seemed like progress to me; however our first attempts to apprehend her failed miserably. During one of these attempts I actually had her cornered in the barn, certain I could catch her I flung myself through the air in an effort to land on top of her. She let out an ear-splitting blaaaa! , sailed over a five foot tall gate and sprinted off into the woods for another night of camping.
We finally caught her one night and it was a joyous occasion indeed. When we got home that night at about 9:30 it was dark and raining pretty hard. Cass decided to take a look around and see if she was hiding out any where on the farm. When he spotted her in the milk house he lunged for her. Used to being lunged at by now, this did not phase Jolene in the slightest. She easily side-stepped him and made a break for the doorway with Cass close on her heels.
She got to the driveway and was headed for the woods. All the frustration caused from chasing this goat for the past three days had built up in my husband and gave him super-human fastness. He actually managed to run fast enough to cut her off, forcing her to change directions. Obviously panicked, the goat ran into our garage.
Cass stormed in after her, closing doors and barricading her in as best he could. In a fit of desperateness, Cass armed himself with a fishing net that happened to be hanging on the wall and charged her. Cornered against two solid walls and being approached by a somewhat crazed man wielding a net Jolene let out a bellow that must have come from the depths of her little cloven goat hooves. Cass remained steadfast and unperturbed. He tackled and hogtied amongst bleats of complaint and flailing legs.
Meanwhile, I’m totally oblivious to all these momentous events (and Cass’ earnest calls for help) and am engrossed in putting our small child to bed. When I come out of the house to investigate, I find Cass holding a netted Jolene in a wheel barrow.
Needless to say, we covered the window in the pen with wire. A few days later we came across two pigmy goats, which we sent into the pen to live with Jolene and the two sheep. A few weeks after that their pasture was ready, so with quite a few reservations about whether the fence would hold her, we released her into two acres of lush grass ensconced in a four foot high fence (really the equivalent of not really a fence at all for Jolene).
It’s now coming into winter and Jolene has never escaped nor tried to escape. We think it’s the pigmy goats that saved us that headache. Jolene bonded with the pigmies and would never want to leave them, and since the pigmies are way too little (at least I think they are) to jump the fence, Jolene doesn’t jump it either.
I’ve got to say that while I’m happy that we found a way to keep her in, I am a tad disappointed that I never got to see Cass coral and net that goat.
I bought her at an auction last spring along with two sheep. When I got them home I unloaded these three critters into what I thought was a goat-proof pen in our barn. After hanging out with her sheep companions for about an hour, Jolene jumped out a rather small window (maybe two feet by two feet) which was located in the pen about four feet off the floor. I was shocked to look out my kitchen window and see her sashaying around the yard in nervous little goat jumps.
After her escape, my husband, Cass and some of our family members spent three days chasing and tracking her through the woods by our house. She never went very far (actually she never left the property except for that one time when she was spotted hanging out under the neighbors' kid's swing set). She was a very frustrating goat to chase (not that any goat is unfrustrating to chase) in that she would hide in the brush, then when you spotted her she would sense you (I think perhaps goats have an extra people-sensing sense just for when they escape) and then run away again and hide.
So after the whole chasing and tracking thing didn't pan out for us, I decided to take a different approach and dumped large quantities of grain all over our yard in little piles. My husband was at first skeptical, but it did lure her in and she started sneaking into our yard for treats. This seemed like progress to me; however our first attempts to apprehend her failed miserably. During one of these attempts I actually had her cornered in the barn, certain I could catch her I flung myself through the air in an effort to land on top of her. She let out an ear-splitting blaaaa! , sailed over a five foot tall gate and sprinted off into the woods for another night of camping.
We finally caught her one night and it was a joyous occasion indeed. When we got home that night at about 9:30 it was dark and raining pretty hard. Cass decided to take a look around and see if she was hiding out any where on the farm. When he spotted her in the milk house he lunged for her. Used to being lunged at by now, this did not phase Jolene in the slightest. She easily side-stepped him and made a break for the doorway with Cass close on her heels.
She got to the driveway and was headed for the woods. All the frustration caused from chasing this goat for the past three days had built up in my husband and gave him super-human fastness. He actually managed to run fast enough to cut her off, forcing her to change directions. Obviously panicked, the goat ran into our garage.
Cass stormed in after her, closing doors and barricading her in as best he could. In a fit of desperateness, Cass armed himself with a fishing net that happened to be hanging on the wall and charged her. Cornered against two solid walls and being approached by a somewhat crazed man wielding a net Jolene let out a bellow that must have come from the depths of her little cloven goat hooves. Cass remained steadfast and unperturbed. He tackled and hogtied amongst bleats of complaint and flailing legs.
Meanwhile, I’m totally oblivious to all these momentous events (and Cass’ earnest calls for help) and am engrossed in putting our small child to bed. When I come out of the house to investigate, I find Cass holding a netted Jolene in a wheel barrow.
Needless to say, we covered the window in the pen with wire. A few days later we came across two pigmy goats, which we sent into the pen to live with Jolene and the two sheep. A few weeks after that their pasture was ready, so with quite a few reservations about whether the fence would hold her, we released her into two acres of lush grass ensconced in a four foot high fence (really the equivalent of not really a fence at all for Jolene).
It’s now coming into winter and Jolene has never escaped nor tried to escape. We think it’s the pigmy goats that saved us that headache. Jolene bonded with the pigmies and would never want to leave them, and since the pigmies are way too little (at least I think they are) to jump the fence, Jolene doesn’t jump it either.
I’ve got to say that while I’m happy that we found a way to keep her in, I am a tad disappointed that I never got to see Cass coral and net that goat.
No comments:
Post a Comment