And it smells DEE-licious! We butchered each of them basically in two halves; top & bottom. It just fits in the oven. So we’ll have homegrown pulled goat slathered in homemade BBQ sauce on homemade rolls tonight for dinner.
The Bad; the goat butchering was not planned.
Harley attacked two of the doelings early this morning. Both of them had large puncture wounds in their back legs and one of them was unable to walk. It didn’t take me very long to determine that they were going to end up in the freezer.
The Ignorant; Me.
Long story short (or kind’a short)…..Harley & Moonshine have been on the loose again. A new neighbor down the road picked them up & called us. Paul brought them back home on his way home from work and I put Harley in the backyard goat pen as it was the only place he could not (easily) escape. I had put Nettie’s two doelings in the pen earlier and Harley didn’t seem to really care about them so I just kept an eye and ear open for any signs / sounds of foul play. Paul woke me up before he left for work this morning to tell me that the goats had blood on their legs. It must have happened fairly recently as the wounds were fresh. I thought I heard the goats yell a little earlier in the morning, but nothing that sounded bad. The goats in the front pen were making more noise than they ever did.
So I unknowingly sent my two nicest doelings to slaughter last night. And royally pissed Paul off. He was just on his way to work and now he had to help me kill and butcher two goats that weren’t meant for the freezer. Paul was two & a half hours late for work (although he did call in), and I finished cleaning up the small stuff and started preparing the carcass for din-din. Oh, and Grandma came over early to watch Rhiannon while this all went on (thanks Mom!).
Now what?
Well, I now have no doubt that Harley can NOT be trusted with goats or chickens. Oh, didn’t I mention the chickens yet? Our next door neighbors just told me yesterday that they had to lock up their chickens in the pen because Harley had been chasing them. They’ve also lost two hens, but can’t positively say Harley did it. I also caught Harley chasing our Rooster a few days ago. His time here may be coming to an end.
I have that problem with my dogs, but the oldest one that moved here with us I knew chased chickens. She did it to the chickens we kept free ranging in NY. Which is why my chickens and the two turkeys are penned up.
ReplyDeleteThough I have to say it is funny when Paris (the older dog) gets loose she does laps around out chicken yard. and doesn't stop, just keeps running around it.
Oh no, isn't this the German Shepperd you just adopted too? So sorry to hear about this. It's hard when you have dogs and other animals. The dogs are just being dogs but ya hate to have to keep dealing with this. Maybe you need little three pound mutts?
ReplyDeleteWell, whatever you decide, I am sure it will be the right thing for you. And if Harley needs to go to a good home, hopefully it's not on a working farm. :(
Bummer that it had to be the does. Harley, Harley, Harley....bad boy.
ReplyDeleteHarley...what are we gonna do with you! My mom asked me the other night if I thought our dogs would be ok with the chickens. I asked her what kind of crack she was smoking. :) I'm sorry to hear that Harley is chasing and nibbling on your creatures. :(
ReplyDeleteI look at all dogs as natural predators, no matter how much I love them. Unless you have a dog that has been trained to guard your livestock, they would just as soon kill your livestock. Sorry for your losses - sounds like Harley would be a better city dog than farm dog.
ReplyDeleteOh my! Yes, I don't think Harley will be a good farm dog. You will save yourself a lot of grief in the long run to move him now!!
ReplyDeleteThe neighbors just might take care of him for your....knowing country people.
We can't trust our dog around the chickens at all.