Mummy, what's that smell?

Unlike many farms, we are limited in our choice of outbuildings, so we try to make the most of what we have. We are fortunate to have an 80ft pole barn and try to keep it productive as much of the year as possible... layer chicks, broiler chicks, lambs, kids, we even have rabbit cages in there. One thing you can not do with a pole barn is keep it warm in winter; particularly not in South Dakota winters. We work with that by trying not to lamb before the end of March and, as we ideally want to have our kids at a similar time, that means segregation of the sexes until the 1st November. We have not always been succesful but we do our best. This year the barn reminds me of West Berlin stranded in the middle of East Germany! We have woven wire fence reinforced with barbed wire. We have gates reinforced with hardware cloth. We have electric fence and we have stock panels, all adapted for one reason, to delay procreation. We are considering giving inspirational tours to fathers of teenage daughters!

We have two buck lambs living with the goats, segregated at night so they can't get into the goat feed, which has a higher copper level than they can tolerate. Oh yes, there are layers of intricacy in this Orwellian form of segregation, food plays a role too! We have ordered a new sheep buck from a neighbour, a handsome suffolk, fortunately he is not being delivered till November, so we have not had to corral him this year. As yet the young rams have not caused any problems, though I have noticed the ewes laying round the fenceline making eyes at them, so we are on red alert for the sheep population. We should be fine as long as we keep an eye on the fences and keep the gates well closed.

Goats, on the other hand, are far more creative than sheep. Their powers of mental agility exceed those of a dog or small child. They are both greedy and intelligent, persistent and opportunistic, strong and agile, all powerful combinations. The girls, Petal and Daisy, still have their hands full with their 3month old kids, they appear to not be responding to the call of the wild from Randy, our buck goat. Appearances can be deciving!

Randy has been living with the ewes and has decided that he would prefer to be in with Petal and Daisy. He now ignores the sheep and lays along the fenceline making strange noises and performing even more bizarre rituals. Twice he has managed to break in, we have caught him, led him out and addressed the weak section of fence that he used for his break-in. It looks like he didn't have time to encourage the girls to reciprocate his yearnings, so he continues his courtship.

Randy spends the night looking through the gate into the barn, doing what male goats do and getting smellier by the day. By the time we go to milk in the morning, walking through the haze of his natural 'aftershave' makes your eyes water. If you have ever had a group of teenage boys in your house getting ready to go to a dance, you would recognise the haze. Last week, when he had to be removed from the female area, I came back to the house, dropped my clothes in the washer, continued upstairs and showered...TWICE! The next morning when Anita came home from work, she still asked if I had been wrestling with Randy. Does are responsive 24-40 hours every 21 days, I wish someone would explain this fact to Randy. Fortunately by the middle of November he will return to his usual sweet-smelling, friendly self. Hormones are not only affecting his odour but also his behaviour and we are being extra cautious around him. Jake has already tackled Randy when he shows signs of disrespect to us, it is good to have such a good stock dog.

I am hoping that come February this blog will not have cute photos of lambs or kids!