Goats in the Garden-Sept 2010

A fox has decided to make his home on top of the hay shed in my goat run. Branches from the trees hang down and even though I have a landing window overlooking the goat run I can never see him. The only way I know he is there is he jumps down at my feet when I try to enter the shed, even though I know he is there it always gives me a fright. He runs off to his other home and probably comes back when it is dark. I don`t know what the attraction is, maybe he likes watching the goats. I tried cutting back the branches and scattering lots of holly over the roof, and for a couple of days it seemed to have worked, but today he was back again. I am not worried about him hurting the goats as we have always had foxes here and they have never touched them. I would like to get him to move on though, as I am intending to go back to chicken keeping and I really don`t want him hanging around here all day, and telling his friends where a likely free lunch may be available. I have looked a various options to keep him away, numerous ultra sound products are on the market but the goats would not be happy with that. A water hose that sprays when it senses movement seems the best option, and the fox should run off. I`ll let you know if it is successful.

 I am sure most of you are aware of the shortage of hay yet again. It seems every year the price goes up, last year it was too wet and the hay couldn`t be cut, this year it is too dry and the hay hasn`t grown. I am paying £6.50 a bale and I am sure some of you may be paying more. I only have six goats to feed but I feel sorry for those of you who have many more. Have you noticed how the price goes up when there is a shortage but it never seems to come back down again once there is more available.

When you read this the show season will be almost over. If you managed to get to a show I hope you enjoyed it, if it was your first attempt at showing then why not share your experience and write a short article for the magazine. It may encourage other members to dip their toe in the water.

Here in the South East we are still struggling to get people to enter shows, I was at Cranleigh Show yesterday and there were only four exhibitors, and between us we only had about 15 goats. It was a lovely day with lots of interest from the public but shows like this will die out if we don`t get more support. I was judging a show down in Cornwall a couple of weeks ago and it was a whole different situation. There were lots of exhibitors with many goats in each of the classes, it was a really lovely day. 

A quick mention about my gardening success/failure. The beetroot which I grew from seed have been great, very easy to grow and taste great. The runner beans have flowered but only at the top so I don`t think I will get too many . The potatoes were awful. The best bit was my little granddaughter`s excitement when she scrabbled in the mud to find them. They boiled away and had to be mashed.

.The goats are eating their way through the Jerusalem artichoke leaves and the blackcurrant bush cuttings. I am going to try some curly kale as a winter crop as I am told the goats love it and it is supposed to be very easy to grow, I will let you know how I get on.

I have a very old greengage tree overhanging my goat run, most years it has very little fruit so I don`t worry about the goats eating those that drop. One year, however , the tree had a good year and lots of fruit dropped which the goats gobbled up. One goat in particular must have had more than her share, I noticed she was looking very bloated on one side and was not looking very well. She refused her goat mix and it dawned on me she probably had bloat. My only experience with bloat at that time was watching `All Creatures Great and Small` where James Herriott relieves a cow by sticking a knife in her side. Not being too handy in this department I decided to look it up in my vet book. The solution was 50ml of milk of magnesia dispensed with a syringe, and raise her front legs higher than her back legs. I stood her with her front legs on a step and gently massaged her side, she was obviously more comfortable like this as she just stood quietly. Eventually she started to burp, which was good, it released the trapped air, it smelled foul and went on for about half an hour but it worked. I was amazed at how easy it was to help her, I thought it would be a job for the vet and I must admit I felt quite proud of myself. The lesson I learned was don`t allow the goats access to too much dropped fruit as it ferments in their rumen.

It is that time of year again when we ask you to renew your membership. I hope you are enjoying being a member and find it helpful. A renewal form has been included in this magazine for your convenience and I look forward to receiving your completed form.

Regards

Viv  McNeil

Membership Secretary