Segregation, Silly Kids, and Tierra's Testosterone

We finally got around to building the buck pen this week. Finally. I've literally been losing sleep about it, lying in bed at night with my heart racing thinking about how I've been dropping the ball on separating the boys from the girls. I got away with it for a long time because all the girls were pregnant, but as we all know, thats no longer the case. Right before Harmony kidded (almost 6 weeks ago) I had set 22 t-posts in preparation for putting up permanent fencing. I have posts set to separate off a good sized portion of the goat pen for the bucks to live in (I have to say, one of the roomiest buck pens I've seen yet), a large quarantine pen completely separate from the goat pen, and enough posts set to replace the electric goat netting currently surrounding the goat pen with permanent field fencing. Well, when I set the posts I also talked to my neighbor who said he'd come over and show me how to use his come-along to put the fence up nice and tight. And then he never came. I went over and tried to procure his help more than once, but he was always off fishing or something. Meanwhile, I'm losing sleep envisioning rampant pregnancies and illegitimate kids and single moms having to file for goat-welfare while awaiting their court date to go after goat-child support pending results of a goat-paternity test. After my mother told me she'd read that a goat can go back into heat as early as 3 days after kidding, we knew we had to take matters into our own hands. Sunday Dustin and I went out as soon as Ayden went down for his nap and put the fencing up as tight as we could on our own. I probably would have gone and bought my own come-along and figured it out by myself, but Ace Hardware is closed on Sundays and I would not have Dustin's help until the next weekend and I just couldn't wait any longer. It didn't turn out as badly as I thought it would, and we can always go back and tighten it at a later date. It took us two hours to put up about 65 feet of fencing, and that's with the posts already set. The goats, of course, were a big help.
As you can probably see. Poe, in particular, took the opportunity to avail herself of Dustin's high points. At one point she actually laid down on his back.

Here's a short video I took of her trying to fluff his back like a pillow.

As you can probably see in the background of these photos, many of the goats eagerly entered the "new" area and commenced trying it out. Tierra's girls quickly decided it was prime real estate for sunbathing and settled down for a leisurely nap.When it was all said and done, Louie, Puck, and Lucy were sequestered in their new pen. Lucy, admittedly not a buck, will live with the boys because a) I cannot bare to separate her from her bosom buddy, Louie and b) Because she's a total turd and a kid butter. Angora's breed seasonally and her season is over, and besides, there's always the slight possibility that she's already pregnant, and it wouldn't be a total disaster if Puck managed to breed her anyway. I'd just have a Nigora. :) So here they are, thrilled to be locked off in what you would think is their dungeon. Puck, especially, is broken hearted to leave Sahara's side, whom he cannot decide if she is his mother or his girlfriend. He alternates between trying to nurse from her and mounting her. And I mean, he tries these two avenues of behavior within seconds of each other. Its quite disturbing. So now he stands at the fence and cries and cries for his "mama." I got these two big dog houses for a steal at Petco, on sale for $50 and with a $10 rebate. Woo hoo! It sprinkled last night and Louie and Lucy refused to go in the houses to get out of the rain. I think this is their attempt to be as stoic as Ghandi, showing their displeasure at being kicked out of the spacious barn. This morning they were both distinctly damp, but I'm not going to feel sorry for them. I refuse. Mostly because when I first brought the dog houses into the goat pen, Louie crawled inside before I'd even finished putting it together and laid down and refused to budge for the next half hour. I felt bad that they didn't have any toys in their area yet (*sigh* the picnic table was Louie and Lucy's special place), so I put a pallet in there for them to stand on. As you can see Puck is doing. They also have their own water buck and box for hay, which I'm going to have to continue buying since they won't have free access to the pasture. Although, I left the girls locked in the pen this morning and let the "bucks" out for a turn about the pasture.

Tierra's had an interesting development. She's continued to work on her beard, which I'm proud to say is coming along nicely. She's got quite the Jerry Curl going on. But... I'm afraid all this manliness is taking a tole on her, as she is also begining to display a distinct case of male pattern baldness. Don't believe me? Look for yourself. Go ahead, click on the picture and blow it up for a closer look. Its this dry crusty spot and all of her hair is falling out. I put some bag balm on it the other day for lack of anything better, and now its a soft supple bald spot. Really, though, I wonder if maybe she has ringworm? Anybody got any ideas? Dustin's had ringworm before and we dosed it with tea tree oil and it cleared right up.