Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[farmerjan]

@Senile_Texas_Aggie ; I do get what you are saying about the name calling per se.... but let me tell you that from the bottom of my heart if I were confronted face to face with the NY gov't IDIOTS, I would call them names you would not be able to print anywhere. Sometimes "name calling" is the only way to relieve the frustrations. And Ca gov't officials are just as bad as the NY dumb @#$#@. They ought to be taken out and shot for some of what they did.... returning patients to nursing homes when the ship and the other place sat empty and could have contained the elderly and offered better care.... releasing inmates to run the streets, no where to go, all that instead of giving them masks and making them stay put..... but we have to "shelter inside??????
Don't get me started.

I would have been alot less diplomatic than @Ridgetop in my answer and alot tougher on some of this DISRESPECT of this country as a whole. Don't preach to me about how these inmates don't deserve to be in there with others that tested positive.... but that they need to be out free and the ones that have paid their taxes and worked their life away to have a decent life, are subjected to being treated worse than those incarcerated. None of this well, this might cause heart problems so we can't allow it to be used..... BS. Pull a rabbit out of every hat and try it..... for the love of God, what did so many of them have to lose????? Oh yeah, their life..... which they lost anyway by not being allowed to have anyone with them to champion their case.....

 

[Bruce]

But if you are feeling well, and functioning well, and are not in a critical age group or compromised situation, then get back to life.

And stay away from vulnerable people.

 

[thistlebloom]

And if you know your health is compromised and you are vulnerable then you should be responsible for taking precautions and staying away from others.

 

[Ridgetop]

Well, governor and mayor have closed everything down AGAIN! Never know from moment to moment whether or not anything is going to be open! I think I will start stocking up on toilet paper just in case. LOL

 

[farmerjan]

Walmart announced they will be REQUIRING masks starting monday. Guess I will get a few things I was putting off as I will not be going in there after monday. Got some things already stocked as normal for me but was hoping to not have to move a ton of stuff extra.....oh well....

 

[Baymule]

Our Walmart has an employee standing outside to give you a mask if you don't have one. Next time we go, I think we'll get a free mask, save the ones we have for when they run out and no one has masks. If nothing else, they make Jim dandy dust masks for cleaning out the barn.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Our Walmart has an employee standing outside to give you a mask if you don't have one. Next time we go, I think we'll get a free mask, save the ones we have for when they run out and no one has masks. If nothing else, they make Jim dandy dust masks for cleaning out the barn.

Lol, I took my neighbor yesterday for a covid test and they gave us each two packages of really nice face masks,(five per package) ten free masks and a free test....

 

[chickens really]

I hope you don't mind me asking you a goat question here instead of starting a new thread? You seem very informative about goats.
Anyways to my question. Is there a reason for my wether Ozzy to always be hyper? Is it just his temperament or possibly an underlying problem? He is on high speed all the time. He is one years old and a ND/Fainting goat cross. I have tried searching for an answer but can't find anything.

 

[Ridgetop]

If he is a one year old wether, he is probably just playful. We have only had standard dairy goats (about 100 at a time LOL) and about 15 breeding Boers, but never Nigerian Dwarfs, Pygmies or Fainting Goats. Do you have other goats in with him as playmates? Stumps for him to jump on and off? Some people use a long board set up like a teeter totter for their goats to play on. Is he in a large field where he can move around to forage or in a dry lot pen?

Our goats were either in milk, stud bucks, pregnant, or playful kids. Our yearling does would play with each other but settled down once they were in milk. Hard to be very playful with a giant milk bag between your rear legs. LOL Our stud bucks would often play with each other, butting and play fighting.

Unless Ozzy is running into objects, hurting himself, or doing repetitive actions in a hyper manner, I would think he is just being playful. Unlike milkers, bucks only have one object in life. Since Ozzy does not have that purpose, he is probably just energetic and playful. As he ages he will calm down more. If he has a lot of room in which to wander and graze or forage, he will use up some of his energy moving around all day. If he has buddies they will play together.

If he is excited when you enter his pen, that is another situation. He is happy that you are coming to play with him, feed him, pet him, or otherwise entertain him. If you notice, he will probably try to follow you out of the pen when you leave. This is because you have taken on the role of the herd queen.

By understanding the dynamics of goat herds, you can understand the behavior of your own goats.

In a goat herd the herd queen is the boss and leader. The younger goats follow her lead in all things. In a domestic herd, the dynamics change significantly. If you have dairy goats and bottle feed, you become the mother of all the kids since you are the one feeding them. Also, since you are milking the mature does, you assume the role of kid, relieving their engorged udder and taking their milk. You also assume the role of herd queen, dominant over all the goats since you determine where they will go, what they will eat, who gets bred, etc. As herd queen you are the top dog.

To your young wether you are his herd queen, you feed him therefore you have the role as his mother, you play with him and pet him, therefore you are his buddy. You are all things to your wether, and when you leave him behind in his pen his instinct tells him he has been abandoned. His instinct tells him that he needs to follow his herd queen and stay near her for safety and to find food. This is why he will try to follow you out of the pen. If he gets out of his pen he might follow you to the house calling pathetically. We have had milkers that got out follow us into the house through o pen doors! LOL

In wild goat herds (and domestic herds too) the dynamics of family structure are strong. The main leader is not the buck, but rather the herd queen. She is usually the oldest and most mature female. The other females are subordinate to her and are often her daughters, granddaughters or other female relatives. The herd queen leads the herd as they roam and forage. She eats certain bushes and the herd follows her lead. This is how they learn which bushes are ok and which are poisonous This knowledge is passed down through mother to daughter to granddaughter, etc. keeping the herd safe from eating anything poisonous. If you watch as a goat eats in nature, they do not eat from one bush completely, but browse a little here, a little there, as they wander. Thus, if any of them accidentally do ingest something poisonous it is not usually enough to kill them. This is in the wild, in captivity, if they are hungry, they will denude the shrubbery. This is why sometimes domestic goats are poisoned by certain shrubbery. In domestic herds the herd queen takes precedence to the milking stand, the feeder, and any position of authority she chooses. She sometimes will discipline herd members.

In a wild herd, bucks both old and young are followers of the herd on the outskirts. They breed once a year and at that time the older, stronger, more mature bucks drive off the young ones. The older and stronger bucks do the breeding resulting in more pregnancies and healthier larger kids. As old bucks age they give way to the younger bucks as those bucks become stronger and able to beat them for control of the females in the herd during rut. During the rest of the year, the young weaned bucks will form their own small herds on the outskirts of the main group. These youngsters play with each other and usually remain with the herd, but not quite a part of it, until they are mature enough to separate on their own during rutting season. In domestic herds the bucks determine a structure of their own with one buck often the leader. Domestic herds of breeding bucks kept together will often engage in sexual play with each other outside of the rutting season.

In a domestic situation we separate our bucks and does. However, if you ever see a herd with both sexes running together being threatened by coyotes or dogs, notice that the goats will not run except as a last resort. Unlike sheep, the goat herd stands its ground. The smallest kids are in the center of the circle with the outer kids and yearlings surrounding them. The older does then surround those younger animals. All of them face outward towards the threat. Any bucks with the herd then surround them, often charging at the dogs or coyotes to drive them off. This is why it is hard to teach goats to herd like sheep using herding dogs.

This does not mean that predators cannot decimate the goat herd. Most predators are able to kill goats, particularly in a domestic penned situation. Since most wild goat herds are quite small predators easily break down their defenses and scatter them at which point the fleeing goats are easy targets.

This may be TMI, so back to your hyper young wether. He is probably just playful. He needs an outlet for his energy and playing with you is that outlet. In the wild, he would have multiple companions, be on the move foraging all the time, and evading predators. With you he is safe, his food is brought to him, and he just wants to play. WITH YOU! lol

My DS3 kept a wether that we called Goatzilla. He was a standard Nubian and my son made a cart out of a skate board, a beach chair and electrical tape. He would walk Goatzilla to the bottom of our 1/2 mile private road, harness him to the "skatechair" and get pulled up the steep hill. Goatzilla would not actually drive in harness, but he would run home pulling DS3 on his homemade cart. DS3 would do this over and over until Goatzilla got tired and stopped mid hill. At that point DS3 would bring him home and put him away. Goatzilla lived with our herd bucks and played with them - play fights, etc. But he was always thrilled to be with DS3 who bottle raised him from a preemie.

I don't know if this s actually what you were asking, but maybe it will help understand the nature of goats. They are wonderful animals.

 

[chickens really]

That was wonderful information!
Thanks so much for your time.