Earlier this week, Lilly’s friend the Boer goat spent a lot of time in the pasture behind our house. We’ll go a whole week without seeing her, then she’ll be back, grazing with the horses. Tom and I each left the dogs inside and went to smooch on her at the fence. (We think its a her.) And, she loved the attention. Do you think a raised paw means the same thing in Goat-Speak as it does with dogs?
I got overzealous with the zoom. She is actually hoping to scale the fence to get closer to me. As you can see, she’s wearing both a collar with some kind of county tag on it and an ear tag, so she MUST belong to the ranch behind us and not just be a “stray” goat as neighbors suspected.
She seems really sweet, but I’m still cautious about letting Lilly get close. I honestly think Lilly believes the goat to be a big dog, and I’m pretty sure Canine Language and Goat Language are different, considering the earlier foot stomping episode.
I’m actually kind of scared of bigger livestock, but I like to talk to them and rub their cheeks when I can. They seem much bigger up close. Like the mules … the other day. Holy crap! When you get up too them, they are HUGE.
Lilly spent a chunk of Thursday sitting attentively at the fence, while the mules next door grazed. I would have taken a photo, but Tom uses the camera for work stuff, and he had it with him off site.
The horses actually take really good care of the goat. I’ve seen her sleeping behind our house, and the horses form a circle around her and protect her while they graze. I watched one day, while there was a TON of coyote activity on the hills behind us, and they were definitely working together to protect the herd. It’s really amazing to watch them as a “family.” I think it’s one reason they are so tolerant of Lilly’s antics at times. I think they understand that she too has protective instincts and is always watchful.
There have been times when the cattle on the ranch sleep behind our house, and Lilly has just laid out there for hours, keeping an eye on them. It’s pretty cute.
Sometimes I wish she could have her own sheep.
The goat seems to be well cared for because his/her hoofs are nicely trimmed and even and at the right length. It looks very sweet. Since it doesn’t have horns and is alone, I worry about it being attacked by predators while it’s wandering around.