Adventures and updates from Tennessee Renaissance Farm
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Settling in nicely...
The llama and goats have gradually been getting to know each other and making the place their own. After much deliberation, the llama has been named Howard. It's been suggested that I find him a top hat and vest, and appoint him Mayor of Tennessee Renaissance Farm. Why not? Hah.
Howard was definitely the first to warm up. He's the first to allow anyone to pet him and not be (too) jumpy about it. He definitely takes his job as protector of the goats seriously. He keeps a watchful eye on the herd and is johnny-on-the-spot when a dog comes to the fence. It's very cool to know that Howard will be effective in case of predators visiting the farm to snack on my little goats.
The goats have been slower to get friendly. I think part of this is because they are smaller and generally less confident creatures, and I don't know anything about their lives before the auction barn. It's obvious that they were handled and raised as livestock and not pets.
Today was a first for the farm, also. One of the goats put his head through the fence and couldn't pull it back out. I think dislodging his head was easier than when my brother got his melon stuck in the railing of the stairs, but still traumatic for the little guy. It was the first time any of the goats ate from my hand, which seemed to calm him before I had to take him by the horns and help back his head out. It's odd how some animals will always look outside their fence when they have so much good stuff inside with them. Now I know why I count so carefully at feeding time and walk the fence a few times a day.
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