Mere Livestock, Or Cherished Pet?

Margaret's legions of fans have been clamoring for an update on our adorable goat, and truth be told, I have been delinquent in posting about her.  That's mostly because Margaret and her two sisters, Daisy and Scarlet, have spent most of the winter in a stall in Lena's Barn, and the weather hasn't permitted much material in the way of "goat follies." 

But with the snow finally gone, last week we moved the girls out to their new "caprine condo," otherwise known as a portable pasture pen.  (More on their new accommodations in a minute.)  Today was hoof-trimming day, a great opportunity for some new photos of Margaret. 

How do you trim a goat's hooves?  With very sharp garden shears.  Yep.  Nothing more complicated than that.  Holding the goat still for the trimming can be far more complicated, though.  I was able to hold Margaret by myself to trim her front hooves, but when it came to her back feet, Alayne had to hold her so I could get those done.

In this first set of photos, I haven't started to trim her hooves but Margaret knows what's coming, so she's going to practice having a fainting spell.  (There actually is a breed of goats called the Tennessee Fainting Goat, which may be what she's pretending to be here.)  First, she goes up:

Then down:

Next, she throws her head back, as if it's all too much to bear:

Finally, she considers that maybe a display of affection might convince him to skip the hoof trimming:

When that doesn't work, Margaret decides to pose for another formal portrait while I inspect her hoof:

Then it's down to business ... please notice the headlock:

Here she's trying to push my face away with her forehead:

Margaret was a little put-out that we didn't take her to the PetsMart groomers, like we did for Molly and Priscilla.  I told her, "Margaret, I know Poodles, and you're no Poodle.  Besides, you're livestock, and they don't do livestock at the groomers."

Which brought up the lingering question in her mind -- is she mere livestock or cherished pet? 

I told her that depends entirely on how well she and her sisters do with weed control this spring and summer.  "If you get good at it," I said, "you can become, well, cherished livestock."

Which brings us to the portable pasture pen.  You see, goats like to browse on just about everything -- except what you want them to eat.  Thus last summer Alayne spent a lot of time chasing them away from the young trees she had just planted.  And goats don't like to get wet, so leaving them out on pasture confined by electric netting left us running out to bring them in every time a summer thunderstorm rolled in. 

The answer, we realized, was this -- a 10' x 12' (3 m x 3.6 m) movable confinement system with built-in shelter:

The wheels are attached to levers, and when we're ready to move the pen, we raise the levers which lowers the wheels to the ground ... and then we roll it forward another 12 feet to new grass or off to a new weed patch.  The goats just stay in it during the move, since it will be rolling slowly.  On very smooth ground, we can push it by hand; on rougher ground, we can simply pull it with our Kubota utility vehicle or a tractor using a chain hooked to the frame.  It has skid plates on the bottom of the frame, so if we use equipment to pull it, we don't even have to drop the wheels.

If we need to move the pen to another pasture, or a longer distance than we want to roll or pull it, we can pick it up with the tractor using a pallet fork slipped into those two cable loops welded to the top of the frame.  (Yes, we'll take the girls out before we move it that way!)

After we've moved it to the new location, we drop the levers and the wheels rise up, lowering the steel frame to the ground.  This way the girls are completely safe and secure inside it.  There are 25 gallons of water on board in that big plastic pipe under the peak of the roof that we can use to fill their water bucket.  When we need to refill the tank, we'll pick up the pen with the tractor and carry it over to the nearest hose.

Our contractors, Kevin and Guy, built the pen for us this winter after we sketched out what we were looking for.  We had the rough plan, but they came up with all the great ideas that made this very practical.  Because of the sturdy construction and welded frame, this thing will last for decades.

All of which convinced Margaret and her sisters that we were, in fact, quite serious about the weed control thing.  Cherished livestock indeed!

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Don't forget, you can vote every day for us in The Animal Rescue Site/PetFinder's Shelter Challenge.  Enter "Rolling Dog Ranch" and our state postal code, MT for Montana, and it will bring up our listing so you can cast your vote.  We won $1,000 in this online contest last year because of your help and would like to win it again this year.  Thank you!

Comments

[Picking up Women]

That's mostly because Margaret and her two sisters, Daisy and Scarlet, have spent most of the winter in a stall in Lena's Barn, and the weather hasn't permitted much material in the way of "goat follies."

[Donna]

That Margaret -- such a drama queen! Loved the photos of her "fainting spell". Patent and market your new portable pen; I'm sure if you've found a need for it others will too. Necessity IS the mother of invention. Thanks for the Margaret update. We've been missing her.

[Randi]

Margaret called me the other day to say hi and talk about the fact that the Obama's decided in the end to get a dog and not a goat.

She mentioned the whole livestock vs. pet issue and that she thinks neither label really gets at what she is-that she is more of a, 'beloved daughter'. I told her I would pass on the message.

[Ev]

I love the movable goat pen idea. I have a friend who had a movable chicken coop. Same idea, but not as well thought out as your goat pen. Now that is impressive!! They are contained to keep them safe, dry and out of trouble. I think it is time for a patent!

[Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin]

And, the Oscar goes to...Margaret The Lovely Cherished Pet!!!

That pen is awesome, yes, it needs to be patent. How clever of Kevin & Guy!

So good to see how she is doing!

[Kate and Luke]

Margaret is the new Widget! haha

[Stephanie]

WOW!!!! That is pretty darn slick! :)

[Miranda]

I'm a member of the Margaret fan club so thanks for the update on Margaret the mobile goat! What an amazingly clever unit you designed and had built!! I'm totally impressed. Sure think you'd want to patent that sucker before some farm implement company sees it and starts making and selling them!

[Amy A]

Get a goat stand! Your back will love you for it. They are inexpensive light weight and portable - been there and done that with hoof trimming, its like trying hold down a Tazmanian Devil. If you want to get real technical on the 'fainting' goat, the professionals like to call them Myotic goats.

[Michelle R]

There's a family in my city trying to save their pet goat Gigi. We are in the suburbs though. But I find it interesting that they've been able to keep the goat in their house and take her for daily walks. I just hope they can find a good home for her outside the city. http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/40762982.html

[Kristi Gross]

Steve, your blog always makes my day. So happy to see more of Margaret.

[Darcie]

I'd been wondering how Margaret and pals were doing over the winter, thanks for the update! Tell your contractors that if they can put that portable goat pen into kit form that I will buy one! I just bought an old abandoned farm and I'd been thinking of using goats to clear the overgrowth, but wondering how to handle it logistically. That pen would solve my problems nicely!

[JC]

I love the expression on your face - you look so solemn throughout the photos... How could you keep a straight face?

[Bibi]

I agree about the patent......what a Great Idea !

And I think Margaret's name should be changed to Sarah............Sarah Bernhardt, that is !!

[gayle]

OMG, coming form Boston I have to agree with Janet that's wicked!
Great to see Margaret again what an actress. She acts more like one of the dogs! Watch out widget.

[Carla Polastro-Nigro]

If only she could sing opera, Margaret would make a perfect Violetta in "La Traviata"...;-)))

Your new portable pasture pen looks great! What a brilliant idea! My heartfelt congratulations to Kevin & Guy.

And a big hug to the goats, of course!:-)

[Debbie]

Livestock? You MUST be kidding!! These lovely ladies are far more than that....no matter how you try to convince us otherwise.
BTW, I think a patent is definitely in order...that portable contraption is awesome!

[Jessica, NL]

Thanks Janet, for posting that link! I read it and then watched the youtube video and that is one weird goat ;-)... Actually the third picture of Margaret reminds me of that Beagle playing dead in Letterman's show, haha. Great to hear from her again and she is looking smart!
(my, it IS a really nice new home they have)

[Kathy]

How clever! And here I was thinking somebody had invented this very cool enclosure & was selling them. You should get a patent on that & sell them yourself, very inventive & useful. Margaret looks as tho she wintered well, got a good little pudgy tummy on her. She is adorable!

[Lynne Parker]

That's so funny! The goat's a ham!

[Lynn]

Well Steve, this post was worth the wait. How wonderful to see Margaret. And my goodness, you sure have some talented contractors. They should patent that thing.

Caprine. My new word for the day. Thanks! (can't wait to use it in my next scrabble game. HA)

The photo of Margaret throwing her head back and your description "as if it's all too much to bear" made me laugh out loud.

I just love this blog. :-)

[Marianne Hubach]

Thanks for the update on Margaret. Loved her theatrics!! Can't imagine how that performance didn't convince you not to do the trimming?!?

[Jerry Stemnock]

That confinement system is really clever. You should, along with your contractors, patent it, and maybe generate some extra income from it.

[Janet in Cambridge]

OMG, that contraption is way wicked awesome. (That's how we talk in the Boston area.) So cool!!!

Livestock is only a definition we arbitrarily assign different creatures. Beloved pet/companion is only fair to a creature that gives such a fine performance for a pedicure.

The Tennessee fainting goats are a fascinating story about genetics. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat