What I am Learning

I will never consider myself a rancher because I care too much about my animals. Cocoa, one of my sweet little goats, recently came down with pneumonia. The health decline was quick and dramatic. I worried like a mother and kept watch on her frequently. I am happy to report that she is herself again finally.

Goat cud looks like a tumor and feels like one too. Cocoa started eating normally after her illness and her rumen came back in full force. I walked out one morning shortly after she began to recover and she had a huge jaw. I felt it. It was hard as a rock and I panicked thinking something else was wrong with her. I turned around and looked again...it was smaller. Then a moment later it was gone. It was cud.

Goats are smart. They know when they have a mineral deficiency and to eat baking soda if their stomach is upset. They tend to refuse lush food if they are not feeling well.

Fleece wear and hay do not go well together. Hay and alfalfa stick to any clothing with a rough surface. Also, if you don't shake out the alfalfa before washing, your clothes come out with green highlights.

Don't turn your back to a donkey if you are dishing out grain to another animal and not him. Jasper nipped me on the shoulder recently when trying to get Cocoa to eat. He got a thump on the nose. I still like him though.

Donkeys are also smart...scary smart sometimes. Evidently they can also be petulant children as well. I bet if Jasper could hold his breath to mimic a temper tantrum, he would.

Fat donkeys can run. If only I had a camera when we opened up the new back pasture, I could prove it. He trotted and brayed at the same time. It was a sight to see.