Goat Tethering

The goats had eaten down most of the grass in their pasture and were getting hungry, so G and I decided to tether them in our front lawn until we could get a fence put up in the backyard. 

This is a bit risky because they haven't been trained to be tied up and we didn't want them to wrap around each other, get tangled, or get hurt. I tried to think through all possible negatives before we tied them out, and I think it went as well as can be expected. 

I bought a 150 lb dog tie out steak and a cable / tether for a dog of similar weight for Ilsa (the mom) and a second set for Gerda (the baby). Before tying them out, I tried to get them used to stepping over a rope by having them wear a sheep halter I found back at the farm from our sheep raising days. It worked quickly. A few hours after I put it on they were already stepping around it or holding their heads so the rope wouldn't be in their travel path. Smart goats! 

I finally quit putting it off and tethered them in the front yard with the help/moral support of my dad (he'd come up to pick up some trees). 

The goats were NOT fans. They really did not like being separated from each other. I actually moved one tether a few feet closer to the other one so they could overlap just a little bit, but not enough to wrap around each other. Still didn't like it. They wouldn't let me come near them without frantically bleating. I guess G continues to be their favorite, haha. 

But they did enjoy eating the new grass. 

I left them alone for a while and kept and eye on them from the house. Gerda would lay down from time to time, which indicates that she was feeling relaxed and not scared.

The second time I tethered them, I tied them out by myself and lured them out with "seven layer salad" aka veggie scraps. It worked better than I expected. I swapped which goat was tied further away and put Gerda down closer by the pond. 

There must be something about that spot that freaks them out, because Gerda was quite frantic and tried really hard to get up to where her mom was tied. Ilsa had done the same thing when she had been tied down there. She would run and try to break her collar, but it would hold and jerk her completely off her feet and onto her back. Cue the frantic bleating. Actually, it broke the first time and I had to put a different one on her. Thankfully I had one in the garage! It was a metal chain halter from the farm, one previously used by our very first goat Easter Lily. That one hasn't broken yet. Gerda's hand braided twine collar still holds strong!