He’s Back!
December 3rd, 2013 · 2 Comments · Posted in farming
We’d given up for dead the buckling goat that ran away from us a month ago. Still wearing a collar and leash, we imagined all kinds of scenarios where he got caught on something in the woods and strangled. Or a coyote ate him. Or he died of thirst.
But, no. He was hanging out the whole time, practically under our noses.
The other day we bumped into a neighbor in town who excitedly told us a hunter on his property had spotted a goat.
“Was it wearing a blue collar?” I inquired?
“Yes! Yes! A collar!” the neighbor exclaimed.
The property where the goat reportedly was seen is almost adjacent to ours. The owner died some time ago and the house has been sitting empty for months.
We got in the car and drove up the long driveway, looking this way and that. And there he was: Standing on the front stoop. Apparently, he considers that his new pad. The stoop was covered in goat poop. He’s got plenty of lawn to graze.
Since then, we’ve been imaging ways we might catch him. Tranquilizer gun? Lasso? Sleeping pills? Twice a day I drive over with a bit of grain in a bucket. He’s still more feral than domesticated. He’ll only allow me to get within a few feet before he bounds off. The hope is that he might get used to having me around with the grain and that I might just get close enough to snare him. But with what?
We’ve heard various other suggestions. “Take a female goat over there,” said a farmer friend. “Put the bucket of grain on a trailer,” opined another.
With his head buried in the bucket of grain, I wonder if he’d stand still long enough for us to erect a fence around him.
We’re open to more ideas. If you have a method for catching a semi-feral goat buckling, please pass it along.
I’m so pleased you’ve found where he is.
Could you perhaps make a fence around the porch he hangs out in, leaving a small opening so he can go in at night and to eat the grain. Then sneak up and close the gap, trapping him inside?
But then again, he’s probably a lot smarter than you or any human!
C x
Celia, I’m thinking we might do something like that with our portable fencing. All options are on the table at this point.