Fresh Pasture

My goats and llamas have been on the front pasture for the entire summer. It just hasn’t worked to let them out because of needing to fix fence and make hay.  Well, since we got the hay made, I went out and fixed fence.

Ranger tracks where I had to drive to get to the fence I fixed.

When my nephew came out to bale the back side of the pasture, we left the gate open so the animals could go back there for fresh pasture.

It only took the goats a very short time to discover the gates were open.

The llamas weren’t so quick to figure it out.

They were in heaven!

Onyx climbing the tree

Popcorn

Penelope

Daisy and Astra

It has a much better quality of browse out there because it has been fallow all summer.

The Neglected Ones

It’s true.  This time of year, if a goat didn’t just have kids or aren’t about to have kids, then they are being neglected.

Onyx and Victoria (I decided a while ago that Onyx didn’t settle, but don’t think I mentioned it.)

Most of my time is spent with the moms and tracking kids and cleaning butts and all that fun stuff.  Everyone else is pretty much feeding themselves on the Back Forty and being self-sufficient.

Casey

Of course, my old girls are still getting their meds.

Haley

I do count all the older kids.

Shellie

I make sure everyone makes it safely up from pasture and aren’t over-heating.

Aurora (they are supposed to be sheared before I go on vacation.)

They are getting plenty of fresh water, and I made sure to put a new salt/mineral block over there for them.

Maybeline getting a drink

Okay.  They really are not neglected.

Pretzel

They just think they are.

Getting Things Done

I’m kind of getting life out of order on here because I keep interrupting things to give you baby updates. Wednesday morning my dad went and brought home my Ranger!  Yay!

I immediately loaded it up with my fencing supplies.

It actually took just a short time to get the fence over the ditch repaired.

Then I went back up to the barnyard and opened the panel.  It took all of about five seconds for Cinnamon to head out into the lane.

Cinnamon

Then it was a flood of goats and llamas.

 

The llamas took off

The goats browsed their way out.

I really had to get them back out there because my boys didn’t have a lot of food left.  I’ve been supplementing with sweet feed and hay.

Frodo and Benji on the short grass

So I immediately moved on to the next step.  I put panels around the cattle tank and across the barn door.  Then I opened the north paddock and bribed Flower and Cutie to go into the birds’ pen.

Cutie with Bumble and Flower

While they were in there eating sweet feed, I had the bucks come through the garage and drive and barnyard into the north paddock.

Freddie and Xerxes

This is the usual: Xerxes on his own and the other three sharing a pan.

They were quite happy with their new accommodations.  Then I let Flower and Cutie out of the pen I had them shut in.

Cutie seemed to wonder why she had been kicked out of her plush accommodations with room service.

Cutie looking at the bucks

But I still had more moving and work to do…