Goat Wrangling

The first morning of the goats' arrival I was worried how they survived the night. The kids were hidden beneath the eastern shelter belt while Xena Warrior Doe had wandered back and was watching them through the fence at the front of my place before disappearing when she saw me. My landlord called in just after 8am to say he'd found her near the woolshed and corralled her in a small field until they could bring her back to me as she was a "bit frisky" (ie. stubborn and pig headed). I had to head out to a workshop in Hastings so didn't see the performance when they mustered her into a holding paddock next to me. I went in hopefully near dusk armed with a horse halter and long rope but ended up watching a white goat boinging into the distance followed by one mad sheep who was with her. At one point I actually cornered the goat up on a pile of fence posts and tentatively moved towards her during the next 30 minutes while she looked from me to the sheep trying to decide who would be the better company. The sheep won.

When I got home late Tuesday there was a message from my landlord saying that if I needed help catching the goat to give him a call. I was too shattered to do anything that day so waited until Wednesday when I managed to get in touch with the landlord's son who promised to help one frazzled damsel in distress. Late afternoon I went out to see two shepherds laughing with one straddling an irate nanny. While they held her I put on a stronger leather collar which my friend's rottweiller had outgrown and tied a rope securely to this. When they released her the doe bounded away with two shepherds in hot pursuit before one held her and walked her towards the woodshed, tying her firmly to a warratah so that she couldn't escape.

Next morning I found the kids out feeding on the long grass in the orchard while the nanny made a determined effort to strangle herself when she saw me. I went out a couple more times that day and sat quietly nearby while the nanny stood atop the pile of wood in the shed giving me the evil eye. The kids couldn't make up their minds what to do so stood stock still with long grass hanging out of their mouths. I took apples and bread for them but these were left untouched for the chickens to finish as apparently my reputation as a goat poisoner had preceded me. Now I just have to convince them I am actually a goat whisperer.