Huck and Tom gone to Trail

A farewell hug for Huckleberry

It has been my intention for years to take our two Oberhasli wethers, Huckleberry and Yora-Cute-Tomato, a.k.a Huck and Tom, goat-packing out on some serious trail.  Big enough to carry a reasonable load now, at almost 4 years and an estimated 180 pounds each, the two brothers have left our small herd to live at Trail, Oregon.  We all miss Captain Buckethead and the Tomster less than a day after their departure, and wish them happy trails in Trail!

Huckleberry's Helmet

It's kiddin' time around the farm, and all hands are so focused on the kids we have and the ones to come, that sometimes the grown goats must feel a bit left out. Older kids lose laptime to younger. Milkers may get fewer pats and scritches. And the working wethers start to wonder if we'll ever get on the trail again!

To combat the boredom, and perhaps to get a bit of attention from the distracted staff, hi-jinx may ensue. Zixi finds more and better opportunities to say "I love you" by pressing against you as she passes by. ("Oh, why are you falling down in the straw?" her eyes innocently ask.) Tom, always the king of the spinning leap, capers higher and with more flourish and dances wildly around the spools on the field. Huckleberry, not to be outdone, makes creative use of ... an empty water bucket!?

Small steps to success...

We held our third official Pack Goat Project meeting the other day, and I found myself pleased. We learned from past meetings two important points: 1) start with the activity, and 2) don't try to cram too much into one meeting.

The half-dozen youth, ranging in age from 10 to 14, enthusiastically suited up (boots are required in this area!) and (with one exception) efficiently got their goats on a lead, and met in the exercise paddock. We discussed what commands we are teaching our budding pack goats. Loading and unloading: "Up", "Down". Stopping and starting: "Stop", "Halt" , "Whoa!" or "Wait", "Let's go!" or "Come on!". Though we are not consistent across the group, all agreed the importance of being consistent when training your particular friend, so you develop and understanding of communication. Then we practiced with our individual goats.

It made me smile to watch six youth leading and stopping six kids in six different directions around the paddock. Some had clearly been working with their goats since the last meeting. Some were having trouble. But all seemed to be having fun.

"Ok!" I called. "Let's try an experiment." They gathered around me. "You are all working individually to get your goat to go or stop on command, to follow your lead. You are doing it in a field where several others are stopping and going in different directions. This is not usual for goats. Goats usually travel in a herd. So let's simulate a herd."

We all gave the go command, and they followed me around the paddock and onto the unfinished trail that partially encircles the ranch. No goats balked. Everyone followed. We came near the end of the trail, I called to stop, heard all the different commands being given. "Halt", "Stop", "Ho!", "Wait!"... "OW!" ... "Ow?" "Nothing, it's fine, I'm fine, we're fine." Lo and behold: all goats stopped with their handlers.

So, what do we learn from this? That we can achieve more by working together? That observing your animal's natural tendency helps in training? Came the answer from the crowd in the darkening twilight: "That hiking together as a group is a lot more fun than stopping and starting around the paddock!"

From the mouths of babes. ;-)

You might say that I'm a great grandfather!

Foxglove's First Freshening!

On Friday, April 4, my daughter's youngest kid gave birth to two healthy kids! At 8pm, the first arrived, weighing in at 10.5 pounds. My wife assisted in the delivery. Two hours later, his brother was born at the same weight, breech, with assistance from my daughter. I "helped" at the head, giving encouragement and snapping the occasional photo.

The boys are as adorable as their mother! Saturday morning, their names were Gerry and Harry. By evening, their names had changed to You're-a-Cute-Tomato and Yrrebelkcuh. We'll shorten the first to "Tom", and since the latter arrived breech, we'll pronounce his name "Huckleberry".

Foxglove, their mother, had a bit of trouble delivering such hefty boys, but happily joined us for short walk the next day, snacking from the fresh greens growing around the community gardens. Both mom and the young bucks are healthy and happy in their temporary private quarters at the 4-H Ranch.

Now, what are we going to do with these bouncing Oberhasli boys? The 4-H Dairy Goat Project does not allow bucks, even wethered bucks, to stay with the does. But if we can start that project for pack goats we've been talking about, we have some justification to continue to house these beauties at the ranch. Still weighing our options...

In the meantime, we're looking forward to a day soon when the boys are weaned and Foxglove adds fresh goat milk to the family whole food supplies!

Originally published Monday, April 7, 2008 on SPARKPEOPLE.com