I had a meeting the other day at work and we were waiting for a few others to show up. I told him a few things I had been doing and he told me that him and his family are goat herders on the side from their actual jobs. Have been for generations.
The goats provide milk and meat, they can sell them to other goat herders, and they don't have to worry about buying a lawnmower. The goats are also very territorial so they sort of work as security as well. I thought that was all very interesting.
But my coworker was having some problems with a few of the goats. Some of them were acting more aggressive than usual. Starting fights, tearing up the yard, trying to break fences, and trying to escape. Some fighting is normal for mating purposes to show dominance, but this was getting excessive. So, he called a veternarian that specialized in farm animals.
The doctor came out and watched the goats and examined them. Then he asked if the goats have acting lethargic when they aren't causing problems. My coworker thought back over the past couple of weeks and said that he thinks they have been. They just kind of mill around really slowly. The doctor had deduced the problem. Goats can sometimes suffer from extreme boredom. Many animals can to be fair, but goats can even die from boredom. They will get so bored that they will eventually stop eating or drinking. My coworker was stunned as his family had been doing this for generations and he had no idea. He asked the doctor what he could do and the doc told him a few things.
My coworker set up a few hoops for the goats to jump through so they would stop trying to jump the fence, a scratching post that they could rub up against, and a few balls they could kick and knock around with their horns. The goats seemed a lot happier and stopped causing problems. Except one. The doctor came back out and said the same thing. The guy tried to figure out something else to do with the goat, but nothing seemed to work.
25-Oct-2022 13:12:51
