What would Mr Goat find in your garden?

[Fat Pang]

It's a beautiful day here, and I find myself looking out of my study window at a large, black, male goat on the hillside behind my house. If I squint he almost looks like a Ram of dubious reputation. He's not mine, he's my neighbours, but we've been staring at each other on and off for 2 years now and have developed an understanding. Non-coital of course. (I could see Dez' finger hovering over the button there)

Anyway, watching him munch his way through the tall grass (he has a fascinating method which I'll describe someday) I got to thinking that his life is deceptively hazardous. You see, he has to avoid 4 different kinds of poisonous snake, of which the Barrel crate is the most agressive,rock pythons (rare), poisonous giant centipedes (have found them in the bathroom and they really hurt when they sting. More feared than snakes round here ), and a Japanese hornet the size of a grown man's thumb that has been known to kill the elderly and particularly young with a single sting.

We have spiders too, big ones, the size of my hand, that jump about 6-8 feet when threatened. (they get threatened a lot in my house as Mrs FP hates 'em) Not poisonous however. (I think)

What would Mr Goat encounter in your garden?

[UtterBlitz]

Your garden scares me Fat Pang and it should scare Mr. Goat too.

Mr. Goat would be quite happy in my yard with plenty of grass and bushes to eat. There are a couple of squirrels, rabbits and lots of birds, but they would leave him alone. I think the only thing that might get him are some fleas and ticks. We have these evil little deer ticks around that can carry Lyme disease. He would not be a happy camper if he had some of those little visitors.

:clanram:

[AvengerRam]

Here in Weston, Mr. Goat might find some of the brown anoles, gekkos and ring-necked snakes that are common. If he ventured out towards the Everglades, he might encounter a raccoon, opossum, white-tailed deer, grey fox or, everyone's favorite Floridian, an alligator. Soaring above him, he'd find ospreys, black vultures, red tailed hawks, turkey vultures, red-shouldered hawks, great blue herons, wood storks and the occasional bald eagle (just to name a few).

[general counsel]

This is a question that cries out for a response by rammie girl, given that to our knowledge, she is the only member of the clan that actually owns a goat.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RammieGirl]

Originally Posted by general counsel

This is a question that cries out for a response by rammie girl, given that to our knowledge, she is the only member of the clan that actually owns a goat.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

Wow, my claim to fame, a goat owning Ram fan, this thread was screaming out my name LOL....

Well, Mr. Goat actually only needs to fear coyotes since we live in the country now. But other than that, Mr. Goat (Ralph as we call him) eats everything. We feed him goat food (yes that does exist, it's just like kibble for dogs) and he prunes all of my bushes when hubby let's him wonder around. I tend to have a problem with that since one day I walked into my living room and there was Ralph standing there after he pushed open the screen door. Needless to say, I was not the happy girl. But Ralph loves his grass and any food scraps we throw his way. He also loves bananas and I swear, he will peel it first with his mouth, eat the peel and then eat the actual banana.

It kinda scares me that I know this stuff about a goat and I'm still trying to figure out why we own one.

[Fat Pang]

Originally Posted by RammieGirl

Wow, my claim to fame, a goat owning Ram fan, this thread was screaming out my name LOL....

Well, Mr. Goat actually only needs to fear coyotes since we live in the country now. But other than that, Mr. Goat (Ralph as we call him) eats everything. We feed him goat food (yes that does exist, it's just like kibble for dogs) and he prunes all of my bushes when hubby let's him wonder around. I tend to have a problem with that since one day I walked into my living room and there was Ralph standing there after he pushed open the screen door. Needless to say, I was not the happy girl. But Ralph loves his grass and any food scraps we throw his way. He also loves bananas and I swear, he will peel it first with his mouth, eat the peel and then eat the actual banana.

It kinda scares me that I know this stuff about a goat and I'm still trying to figure out why we own one.

Coyotes and alligators! It's a goats life to be sure.

I can see Mr Goat again this morning as I sip my entirely logical instant coffee. As usual he's doing his morning rounds, checking on the grass situation. It's not typhoon season yet and the corresponding lack of rain means that he has to be careful to conserve what he has left.

I'm thinking of throwing him a banana this afternoon just to see how it goes down with him. I don't reckon he'll peel it as he seems to be a bit of a frontiersman when it comes to table manners.

Other than avoiding the hazardous stuff, Mr Goat can see some of the most beautiful butterflies I've ever seen, black tailed kites, geckos (who think my kitchen is their toilet, but they eat the bugs so they can stay), a variety of birds, toads and the local feral, tailess cats (bit like a manx cat).

It's not too scary round here 'blitz, no alligators for instance. You rarely see a snake unless you go into the hills behind my house. You have to be careful in winter though because that's when they like to house share.

[UtterBlitz]

Originally Posted by Fat Pang

It's not too scary round here 'blitz, no alligators for instance. You rarely see a snake unless you go into the hills behind my house. You have to be careful in winter though because that's when they like to house share.

I would end up in the hills because I would need to explore. It sounds like you have some cool animals there.

My dog, Loki, managed to get bit by a poisonous snake on a hike a few years ago. They think it was either a water moccason or a copperhead. I never saw the snake. It was quite an adventure trying to get him out of the woods. I had to carry him and he is heavy.

[UtterBlitz]

You need to throw Mr Goat a banana .... we need to know if he will peel it and eat it like Rammie's goat.

[RammieGirl]

Originally Posted by UtterBlitz

You need to throw Mr Goat a banana .... we need to know if he will peel it and eat it like Rammie's goat.

Well the challenge has been made, if your goat can outdo my goat....well we'll just take it from there!!! LOL

[cowboyhater]

We just bought 4 acres and are building. My wife wants to get a Niderian Dwarf Goat. I'm fine with that as long as she (the goat) will mow the lawn. My wife wants the milk. How involved is goat ownership? (Think of me as being kinda like Oliver Wendall Douglas in Green Acres. I am NOT a farm boy.)

[RammieGirl]

Originally Posted by cowboyhater

We just bought 4 acres and are building. My wife wants to get a Niderian Dwarf Goat. I'm fine with that as long as she (the goat) will mow the lawn. My wife wants the milk. How involved is goat ownership? (Think of me as being kinda like Oliver Wendall Douglas in Green Acres. I am NOT a farm boy.)

I'm far from a farm girl too, I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. But actually, owning a goat does not take that much involvement. Fortunately, we live on an acre so Ralph is on a chain which gives him access to about 1/4 of the acre in the way back and he has a little wooden house for when it rains or to sleep. He knocked down his first one by butting it with his horns, I suppose it was a goat type temper tantrum, who knows. But overall maintenance for a goat isn't that much.

I honestly never thought that I would ever be giving goat advice, but if I can help in any way, I'm there!!! Sheesh, it really is the off season for us, isn't it!!! lol

[general counsel]

Ralph needs a female goat. Get him a ewe, he might enjoy it and that keeps it all in the family.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Fat Pang]

Originally Posted by RammieGirl

Well the challenge has been made, if your goat can outdo my goat....well we'll just take it from there!!! LOL

I'm on it, I'll let you know how it turns out.

(5 mins later after aborted attempt to throw him a banana)

He's proving difficult this morning. Like Rammie's goat, he's on a long chain and he's seen fit to hide his horned hairy carcass behind the trees to my left so I can't see him. Although he might also be in his hut.

I'll try again later...........................

[RammieGirl]

There's a very good possibility that I just might have the most talented goat on earth.......WOW, what a moment!!! I wonder how much money I could get for him now??? Maybe at least on TV for famous animal acts? Ralph's gotta be worth something here!!!!

[Fat Pang]

I think you should consider it as Mr Goat's gone for a burton. Ralph must be a natural for the spotlight.

Update tomorrow...

Although Mrs FP has just pointed out that, as we have banana trees here, Mr Goat might be an old hand at it.