Thursday, 16 April 2015

A bit traumatic but necessary.


 If I was starting again with goats I'd start with horned animals.   In mixed herds of horned and hornless animals the horned individuals come out on top in every conflict and injuries can be serious. Your goats have to be all horned or hornless.

Goats are always in conflict, low level stuff most of the time but the pecking order needs to be continually reinforced.

Removing the horns is traumatic for the goats, their owner and the Vet. It involves burning off the horn buds with a red hot iron, This is done by the Vet during the kid's first week. Calves we can do ourselves but a Vet has to do the kids because their skulls are so thin.

Then there is the journey in the truck a 120 mile (200 km) round trip if the Vet's monthly surgery in the village is outside of the kid's first week. On the whole goats are good travellers, they have the sense to lie down and enjoy the trip unlike sheep.

I just realised that this is post number 300, without repeating myself..........I hope!





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