I haven't posted anything in a while so I must apologize to my "numerous" followers. Last week was fair week which I juggled this year with my full time job. Fair week is the time of year which I spend lots of time getting the goats ready for and then realizing that I'd need to spend waaaay more time to make my goats look as nice as everybody else's. Here is the itinerary of fair week.
Sunday: Bring the dairy goats in to the fair. This is pretty easy as we only had to shove five goats into our redneck "trailer" of a stock panel strapped to a flatbed. Oreo the baby nigerian dwarf got to ride in the car since I was afraid he'd die if he got loose. Unloading at the fair is easy since we've done it for the past ten years and I have a pretty good system.
Monday: Junior dairy goat show. All the babies did great! Everyone placed very well and no temper tantrums. Went to work after the show.
Tuesday: Senior dairy goat show. Only two goats to show. Diamond decides to throw a tantrum: refuses to walk in a straight line and attempts to bite me and then the judge. So Diamond does not win grand champion, but placed reserve which is not too bad all things considered. Claidi the dwarf struts around like a queen this year which is an improvement on last year where she fought like mad to escape the show ring. She wins grand which turns out to be a curse in disguise as I have to sit around for several hours till the end of the show where no judge is going to pick a nigerian dwarf over those larger beauties.
Wednesday: No show. But the day where we drag the boer goats to the show grounds. This undertaking would have probably been smoother if I had put collars on them earlier. They did not understand the concept that I tug, they follow. Instead; I tug, they lock up. So it turns into a goat carrying day. The older does were easy to get into the trailer. Shake bucket of food, and in they go.
Later on wednesday after work I stop by to feed everybody. On the chair in my tack pen is a note from the superintendant, "please see me before you go". Uh oh. I learn that one of my goats has bitten someone and has to go home tonight to be quarantined for rabies. Oh crap. I was pretty sure it was Diamond. She's always trying to bite someone and must have finally succeeded. Instead it was Hippo, the little ober/alpine/togg cross: Look at this face: obviously a killer:
At least Hippo lives up to her name, Hippos being super deadly in Africa. Now you know. don't mess with Hippos.
Ruby the baby oberhasli happened to break with an odorous diarrhea so I took her home that night as well. The ride home was one of prayer, "please don't have diarrhea all over the back seat". I reached home without mishap.
Thursday: Nothing with goats at the fair except routine feeding, etc before and after work.
Friday: See Thursday.
Saturday: today is the big Boer goat show. the babies still do not understand how collars work. Luckily, my dad, husband, sister in law and her significant other were all on hand to help show. The percentages did well. Due to a respiratory outbreak in the 4-H Meat Goat Barn there was decidedly less competition and walked over the non-competition in the group classes. The fullbloods did not do as well. One year we will pull off our showstring from pasture and beef (or should I say goat?) them up with grain.
After the show the Boers went home. And an animal services police officer came to check on Hippo's confinement. Hippo was not pleased. She did not understand why she was locked up and not allowed to play with the other goats. the culprit of the goat bite was a fifty-five year old man that "did not know goats had teeth". Who knew? Only one more week left of quarantine for Hippo the rabid goat.
