Saturday, September 22, 2012

Autumn is in the Air.....

....can you smell it?  You know, the cool, crisp morning air.  The smell of burning leaves.

A sudden overwhelming whiff of buck goat piss.

Pan is back.  

And he's just as smelly as I remember.  He's also gotten bigger.  Not sure if the guy we gave him to fed him better or if he finally reached his full size while away. But he is definitely meatier.

It's about time to have the goats bred, and we needed Pan back for breeding Annette.  I'm still up in the air about who I'm going to have breed Nettie.  So we went to pick up Pan yesterday and put him back in his old pen.  The girls weren't too keen on seeing him, so I'm assuming that I already missed their first heat cycle.  Both Nettie and Annette were unusually vocal about a week and a half ago, so maybe that was it.

Pan, of course, is ready for action.  Pissing on himself and making the back 40 stink to high heaven.  I haven't had any interactions with him yet other than feeding & watering him so there hasn't been any goat wrestling on my part.  And honestly, after Annette is bred, the only wrestling happening will be me cramming his sorry butt into a crate to take to the sale barn.  I am not going to put up with any of his shenanigans this year.  I almost broke a wrist trying to wrestle him to the ground last year.

Yes, it's convenient having a buck on site.  If we have our own buck, I don't have to worry about contracting any nasties from another herd.  It's much easier to tell if the does are in heat.  And I don't have to haul the girls to another farm in order to be bred.  But then I have to take care of the buck for an entire year.  Feeding, watering, medicating, hoof trimming, etc.  I used to scoff at a $75 stud fee, but now I know better.  It's well worth the money if I don't have to screw with a piss-reeking goat with a serious Napoleon complex.

So, if you want to come visit our place, just go South, take the first right past the county line and follow your nose.  Either that, or just listen for the screaming baby goat.

14 comments:

  1. Is Pan back for good or is he going back once he has accomplished his missions? Did he recognize you?

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  2. Aw, just look at that face. Pan wants to be friends with you. I think he's really happy to be back at your place. He may demand more in the way of vittles now though since he's growed into a real big boy!

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  3. I love all your stories about the funky Pan.

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  4. OMG.....Pan is back!!! I hope he doesn't give you troubles this go round. Hopefully, he will do his wham, bam, thank you ma'am and then you can get him to the sale barn.

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  5. Yup it's that time of year again, I have been very fortunate in all the years I have had bucks on site I have never really had one that can burn your eyes from 5 acres away. I have had Nubians, Boer, Pygmy and Angoras but none have smell as bad as some I have seen. I have noticed the bigger the beard a billy has the smellier he is. Right now I can tell it's time by all the ARGGG, ARGGG, tongue smaking noises going around. Shetland rams have been doing a lot of lip curling too.

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  6. LOL wow! Broke your wrist, that stinks too...

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  7. Chai Chai, I think it all depends on his attitude. If he gives me crap like he did last year, I'll ship him off to the sale (or put a bullet in his head!).

    Mama Pea, if you think he looks so cute & nice, I'd be happy to send him up your way after he's finished here! I'll even include clothespins for your nose :)

    Dawn, glad I could amuse you! Luckily, I edit all the swearing out when talking about him otherwise my blog would be shut down by some anti-cussing administration.

    Sandy, that's the plan. Unless he suddenly becomes an angel, which is very unlikely.

    Tombstone, I've heard that Nigerian bucks smell the worst. I couldn't imagine anything worse than this. We haven't gotten to the lip smacking / curling part yet.

    Nancy, No, I didn't actually break my wrist, although it felt like it. I spent way too much time trying to break Pan's attitude....and almost some of my bones.

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  8. Why yes, I can smell it - almost knocks us over every time we venture near the barn. Our buck is so friendly and wonders why he isn't getting any pets. I feel bad about not giving him a scratch but, goodness, you almost need paint thinner to get that bucky smell off your hands and clothes.

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  9. We have a goat in rut too. P.U.! Oh man it takes a lot to raise a billy.

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  10. You're very funny. I've heard this about bucks, so when I ever get goats, I will seriously consider whether to just pay for breeding.

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  11. Which is why a buck will never grace the Little Lucky Farm. After reading your harrowing tales - and knowing, first hand, how stinky they are, no way, Jose. I can send Sage off to 'visit' for $50 with a bona fide, papered Nigerian buck who is stinking up someone else's farm. No fuss - no musk...

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  12. I tell my girls they are going to "Goat Camp." You know... ;-)

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  13. Lucky for us, a ram sheep is nowhere near as bad as a goat... Mojo has a definite aroma but sheep are much more "gentlemanly" about it.

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