Chick lies in my hand, life ebbing away from a lapsed moment of confusion: the canine reflex I failed to control struck a fatal stake through vital organs, rendering final bloodless violence on a beautiful body; perfect feet, soft plumage and gentle eye, now useless as vital spark irrevocably fades. I struggle through tears like guilty blood she does not shed. Could art or beauty redeem this ill?
I am reminded by the violated roadkill deer, his face a picture of terror while his perfect hide is ripped and bloody. His relatives struggle on in the strife of life as their habitat shrinks, pressed by human concerns. So many share his fate and that of his family. Meanwhile humanity relies on domestic relatives to feed their ever-growing needs and desires. Successful species abound with a cost in deformed physique due to selective breeding for growth and production. The chicken grows so fast! She feeds the burgeoning population of homo sapiens, the apex predator with no natural ecological population control.
While the masses content themselves with cheap meat, not having known the meaning of flavor, the epicurean values the premium quality of Bressan birds, who are allowed to free range, for the value accrued in their muscles by grass and insects, then confined to cages to fatten with corn and milk (do they suffer more from confinement, having known freedom?), then individually stunned and slaughtered to eliminate trauma to the beauty of their carcass, a perfect object, which is lovingly plucked, rolled, and prepared to display the red of the crest, the white of the feathers, and the blue of the feetāthe red, white, and blue of the French flagāto the delight of the chef and gourmet: that life that engineered this beautiful and desirable corpse is now a waste product and a cog in the wheel of production for the relish and happiness of mankind. Should it be this way?
Photo of La volaille de Bresse : un āobjet parfaitā by Mon Oeil from flickr.com CC BY 2.0
Coco was displaying oestrus and bucky behaviour for about a month. By the time I learned that this was a symptom of cystic ovaries, the behaviour had ceased. Sheās reverted to her normal bossy ways, but is no longer bucky or behaving like she is on heat.
During this time, another spanner was thrown in the works by a stray cat, who decided to move in, despite objections from our feline residents. Prolonged cat chess and frequent fighting made all the goats more nervous and wary while ranging.Ā
Meanwhile the paddocks recovered their wild meadow plants and I was keen to start rotating the goatsā grazing. The goats had by then become too nervous to venture out in the long grass, expecting fighting cats to leap out from the undergrowth. Cocoās hesitancy to take the walk from the goat-house to the pastures increased. She was no longer trying to challenge her companions every step; she was rather too wary to take those steps. The very sight of one of the cats would bring her to a halt.
Normally, I only have walk the routine path and the goats will follow me, but Coco now seems to have lost confidence in this morning venture (no problems coming back at night). Well, itās not too late to start lead training, so that is what we are doing. I give her lots of cuddles when I put on her collar and leash and she doesnāt mind me doing this. I hold the lead but without pressure and call her name and she slowly follows me. I have taught her that when I say ācomeā that means I will pull on the lead if she does not step forward. After a few days she got the hang of this, so I donāt need to pull. She will walk with me on a slack lead, although still slowly and cautiously.
We found our stray a loving home that didnāt already have resident cats, so our cats have calmed down now. Coco has too, but all the goats are still nervous about wandering out in the fields. Every day Iām leading them out to get them rehabituated, but they tend to hang around the shelters (which they appear to consider their safe base) when Iām not with them. I hope in time they understand that the grazing paddocks are safe again and cats arenāt going to leap out at them anymore.
The oestrus behavior of my mate-less does has become more pronounced in late winter, just as it did last year, when they were buck-less too. Their heads have become very strong smelling, and their behaviour at oestrus more exaggerated. Cocoās fervour to maintain her dominant position gets stronger when she is in oestrus too. Weāve had to separate her into her own stall at night to stop her hassling her underlings. Georgette was spending the whole night on her platform without access to water and urinating in her bed. They have settled down at night to more harmonious eating and resting and Coco is calmer now she has her own private stall.
Since her last oestrus, Coco has maintained her aggressive, oestrus-like behaviour. Itās been about two weeks now. She focuses mainly on Georgette or Perdie and behaves dominating and buck-like, with flicking tongue, pawing and mounting. I wonder if this is her way of reasserting her authority because that she realizes the other goats are getting stronger than her, or if she has an excess of sex hormones, due to lack of mating and pregnancy. She must be tiring herself with this constant excitement.
The other goats join in to some extent and there have been excited battles between each pair: all ritualized, but quite serious hierarchy contests.
Adding a grooming brush to help them shed their coats has proved a helpful distraction, as they rub and butt it, perhaps releasing frustrations as well as getting a good scratch.
We are paddling in dirty water, seeking hidden treasure. It is calm and quiet and the trees sway gently. We are quite content about our occupation. We are well protected in newly waxed coats. The world feels fine.
The calm is suddenly broken by the lumbering step and enormous shadow of the water carrier. It is a fearsome creature that towers like a tree, but moves like a giant, clumsy bird. We see it regularly, but its very presence is alarming and awe inspiring.
Now it lurches towards us on two solid trunks, quickly gaining on us to loom above us. Huge feet crash down dangerously close by. The main head is fearsome: two predator eyes like the fiery wheels of gods flashing in the sunlight, great clods of dangling plumage, which changes colour from day to day. Two additional heads with beaks rise on snaking necks. These heads are particularly unpredictable, and they bestow it with amazing powers.
This time, the beaks grip deep pools of water, the necks prostrate and unmoving. At least they are rendered powerless by their burden. The predator head stares fiercely, however, so we back away, bending our necks and shouting with all the bravado we can muster.
A slit in the predator head issues a high-pitched barking sound. But then it turns away, its attention taken by our water source. The beaks release the burden and the capricious necks snake and grapple, upturning our precious bath. We exclaim as the beloved liquid seeps away.
But then the joyous gurgling of fresh water pours from the deep pools into the dry bath. I feel the fresh breeze accompanying the sparkling explosions of clear light as delicious cool fresh spring surge into the bath, like the renewal of life. Overcome by my desire for this refreshment, I edge towards the giant. The predator head is fixed on its own occupation and the necks are supporting the flow. It is not interested me, but I desire so much the gift it is offering. I edge forward, lured by the delight. Danger! A sharp warning from my sister and the spell is broken. But the monster turns away and leaves. One beak spits out grain on departure.
With no sign of danger we plunge gratefully into the fresh spring.
The goats have settled into an unusual non-linear hierarchy. Coco is the undisputed boss, and all the others keep out of her way. However, she has not calmed down and still has to prove her dominance at every opportunity. This has resulted in Georgette getting stuck up on a platform at night, not seeming to risk leaving it. Iām worried sheās not getting access to water and salt and has resorted to wetting her bed rather than toiletting in one of the usual toiletting areas. So we have penned Coco at night again and found she actually seems calmer that way. I guess she doesnāt feel the need to protect her private space now she has her own pen. She can see the other goats who are very close by, but cannot attack them. The others are now all moving about and toiletting in the normal places. Unusually, in this case, penning a goat separately at night appears to be the best compromise, due to Cocoās aggressively insecure nature.
Happy has boisterously stepped into second rank with her growth into adulthood and her lively boldness. George, her older sister, is resigned to give way to her vitality and strength.
However, this is the unusual part: Perdie still displaces Happy when it comes to food, but Perdie also gives way to Georgette every time. So the hierarchy now stands at Coco, Happy, Georgette, Perdie, but Happy gives way to Perdie: thatās a non-linear hierarchy! Itās unusual, but not unheard of in goats. In our case it might be the result of Perdie being a bigger, stronger animal, but lacking horns, so she can push well in an argument but has to back down on any horn threat. The other unusual factor is that the two most dominant goats are the smallest in the flock. Georgette is bigger than Coco and Happy but doesnāt have their confident assertiveness. Maybe this comes of being the only kid in the flock during her kidhood, so she didnāt learn to compete with peers when young.
Now oestrus with three naturally synchronizing females has been interesting this year, now that we donāt have a buck and they have not been covered.
Coco enters oestrus first, which is normal for the head goat, closely followed by Perdie. Again subordinates normally enter oestrus after dominants, so all standard herd behaviour there. With the absence of a buck, Coco seems to have taken on a buck-like role as well as defending her position as head doe claiming the right to be mated first. Her buck-like behaviour includes an intense interest in Perdieās oestrus: sniffing her flanks, neck and belly, resting her head on her back, following her around and mounting her. I thought this might be irritating for Perdie, but when Coco calmed down, Perdie reciprocated with similar behaviour. Georgette wants to investigate Perdie but hardly gets a chance with all the attention Coco is giving her. I hope this peaceful interaction might help to form longer lasting bonds, by increasing their tolerance of each otherās proximity, but who knows if it will last once the hormones wear off.
Since Fb went, Coco quickly regained her dominance of the herd. She appeared to do this with a minimum of ritualized head pushing. More rigorous competition broke out among her daughters and surprisingly her youngest, Happy, appears to have come out on top, now ranking second in the herd.
Unusually, the two most dominant goats are the smallest in the herd, probably due to the fact that Coco is the dam of the females apart from Perdie, who has no horns, and horned goats always dominate those without. The strongest horned goat, Georgette, is very meek and mild and submissive, often missing out at the hay rack. This is surprising, as she is young, large and full of spirit when she has confidence. I think itās a case of Happy being more boisterous and spirited than Georgette -- I am surprised at how belligerent our little Happy can be.
Three weeks later, since Cocoās recent oestrus cycle, she has become more defensive of the main shelter again, and the others are becoming reluctant to enter when she is inside. This is where most of the hay racks are located, and Georgette often ends up too nervous to approach a rack. Weāve installed her a new rack at the edge of the shelter, which she now uses. Ideally, a couple of outdoor racks with a roof would suit them better, so that they would have plenty of escape space.
Weāve installed platforms in the goat house so that the youngsters can get out of Cocoās way when she starts throwing horns around. Sheās not able to jump up on them herself, so Happy and Georgette can circulate, feed and sleep up out of harmās way. Coco did not like living in a separate pen, but her aggression towards the others made it unfair on them to house her with them until the escape routes were in place. Perdie still has her own pen next to them with good visual, vocal and olfactory contact, and she seems to appreciate the privacy and peace. She does not have the agility to jump up on platforms, although she frequently stands on a low stand and watches the others.
Thereās a palpable tension in their exchanges, as the goats reassess their ranking in anticipation of the breeding season. Frequent morning combat between Happy and Georgette has taken on a vigorous tone, while Coco stands by to jump in, seeking a piece of the action, particularly with Georgette, who is closer to her in size. Both head goats have been walking alongside the youngsters with agonistic poise, perhaps sizing them up for strength and agility.
Over the summer, harmony appeared to grow within the herd, with the two junior members being allowed by the allied head-goats to enter the shelter during rest periods, with only Perdie, the non-family member, still outcast on the periphery. We built her yet another shelter so she didnāt get wet in downpours. Then, only last week when we were browsing the banks along the drive, harmony was maintained by the lower ranking goats just avoiding the two boss goats and leaving a patch if one of them approached. Everyone was very polite.
Just these last two days, everything has changed. Fb has become aggressive, really laying down whoās boss. Even Coco was chased from the hay racks yesterday. Today, Coco wouldnāt enter the barn with her. However, plucky Happy has moved in instead. Iām wondering if the alliance between Coco and Fb is now broken, now that Fb has realized her power. Iām back to laying hay out on the branches again. The problem is the chickens scratch it up so much and then it become mud after the plentiful rainfall weāve had this year.
Fb hit my legs today as I dished out the hay. Perhaps a misunderstanding as she was munching out of the bin I use to distribute it. She probably thought I was taking it away from her. However, I need to reassert the positive reinforcement training that worked so well earlier this year. Iāll also focus on petting her and Coco together to reestablish their bond.
You probably don't want to read this story. No one should have to know this. But it is very much part of life.
She lies on her side in the middle of the paddock in our village. Head raised, ears flicking. Herd mates graze all around, but she has been lying in the same position all day. Head raised defiantly, she looks towards the herd, but her ears hang loosely and her angular hips and pins poke sharp contours in flaccid hide. The sun shines on her unprotected head and side; flies torment her eyes and muzzle; her ears flick uselessly. Her rapid panting is clearly visible.
Yesterday she lay out a few paces away from her current position. It was pouring with rain. The other cows grazed near the shelter of the trees. She lay there all day, rain beating down on her dull tented hide. Head still held up defiantly.
I first saw her seven days ago. She was lying down while the others grazed. Her head was lively and I wondered why she did not join her sisters. Cows normally prefer to do things together and move as a group. Something was not right about her and I wondered if she could stand at all. I rang the farmhouse and spoke to a child, suggested a cow might be ill and a farmer may want to look at her. I pass her twice a day and can't resist looking out for her.
Next pass she was up and grazing, but I could see she was badly lame, her carpal joint swollen and the hoof curled up. She was obviously thin from the boniness of her ribs, hips and pins. A typical case of weight loss in a sick cow now dried off and turned out to pasture to recover. I hoped to see her progress. So I was shocked to see how rapidly she lost weight over the next few days, despite her ability to hobble around and graze. The modern dairy cow needs a lot of nutrition just to maintain her bodily functions and grazing doesn't cover her needs once she is lactating as well. This poor sick cow could not even graze long enough to maintain her weight.
Today she is down, and I see no hope of her ever coming back to health again. I wonder if the farmer has given up on her too. Is she just being left here to die?
The herd all move over towards the yard and voices. They crowd around the gate, perhaps for supplemental feed. Our sick cow only moves her ears, appears past the effort of even trying to get up. They are gone some time. Her head goes down. Tired. Still panting. Will someone come to her? Give her water? Relief? The coup de grĆ¢ce?
A traditional farm, long in the dairy business, may not realize that a cow can suffer. Perhaps they feel it is a peaceful place to die naturally. It did not look so heavenly yesterday in the pouring rain. Perhaps they feel animals are tough. Perhaps they were before we bred them to produce so much milk. Energy they need for resilience and fighting disease is now taken up by lactating, with little room for exercising muscles and joints.
The next day she is a few yards to the right. Did she walk there in the evening? Did a vet or farmer move her? Is there still hope? Her demeanor is more resigned, her head mostly flat on the ground, occasionally resting on her bulk. Ears flick against flies drinking from dehydrating eyes and muzzle; this last tribute to self-maintenance remains.
Perhaps if you have lost your wife or mother to cancer you would care little for the suffering of a cow. It must be tragic to see a young woman fade away. The last days must seem vast and painful. We are lucky to have palliative care. What is it like for a cow to watch life drift away? Cattle have similar anatomy, physiology and brain function as we do. We can only suppose they experience pain, hunger and thirst like we do. This aversive feeling motivates us to protect ourselves or do something to resolve it. Does the brain mask these bad feelings when there is no longer anything we can do? Does she drift in cow oblivion? Her ears flick in a determined attempt to chase away flies. Then the ears lay back, a known expression of pain.
A damp morning arrives. Her still bulk sinks heavily into the soil. Her head and neck are flat. Just the sunken mound of her abdomen form a static hillock among the plants. No movement. I hope for peace, then a flick of the ear pulls my stomach over.
The farmer's wife showed me how to slaughter poultry. She said other family members perform this task these days, but she was still plenty strong enough to do it. Her smile was wide and cheery. I couldn't see her poor health: only noticed the short hair. "I am lucky I don't get sick," she told me, "just tired". She ably caught a turkey and strung it upside down to a beam. "We do it differently than you English", she stated, then stuck her knife down its gullet. The bird made no sound, eyes wide, neck slowly gyrating, but two minutes dragged as life dripped away.
Poor cow has changed position the next time I pass, but is still, skin sunk over angular frame, head down, slight ear movement. Still waiting, still failing, surely no way back now. An economic write-off; maybe commercial practice cannot justify spending a veterinary fee. Is she past caring too? Her plight already moves me less, as I reconcile myself to her inevitable demise with little hope that anyone will ease her passing. She becomes part of my world, a literary device, just as she is part of the inevitable life and death cycle of the farm. I want to move on and not see her anymore.
Today she is still. Concave pelvic girdle washed up on a green sward. The herd pass by, grazing nonchalantly. An ear flaps in the wind; a hind leg appears to levitate; probably an optical illusion. Then her whole body spasms laterally, hind legs pull in. I wonāt look her way again.
Goatsā senses differ from ours in range and sensitivity. Their minds are evolved to deal with a very different lifestyle from ours. Not surprisingly, they perceive life differently to how we do and misunderstandings can arise. Biologist, Jacob von UexkĆ¼ll defined an animalās perceptual world as Umwelt, and realised that each speciesā experience would be different and often hard for us to imagine.
Here I will try to imagine what it is like to be a goat, judging by what we know, or suspect of their senses and adaptions.
Goats have good vision, hearing and sense of smell. They are ruminant herbivores that are constantly vigilant for predators. They eat quickly to avoid predation and competition, then rest out in a safe place to ruminate and digest their fibrous diet. Having evolved in dry, mountainous climates, they are selective in their diet and highly competitive. Difficult terrain has favoured learning individually through trial and error. They move matrilineal family groups with a strict hierarchy, which involves communication and complex social strategies. Breeding season is during autumn and winter, when a dominant male joins the herd. Kids are born 5 months later during the warmer months of spring vegetation. Males disperse after weaning at approx. 6 months old.
Vision: goats have 320--340 degree excellent vision due to their lateral horizontal pupils. This enables them to have a wide panoramic view with good focus. As they tilt their heads, the pupils remain horizontal. This helps them to remain vigilant while browsing. They have 63 degrees of binocular vision to the front of their head to allow depth perception and detail of the direction they are travelling in, which enables them to jump and climb with skill in the rocky terrain in which they evolved.
Goats see colours from purple/blue to orange (but not red), however may have be prone to colour-blind errors. They also see well in the dark. They cannot see clearly close up, and this is where their excellent sense of smell takes over. Close up items are sniffed and sensed by touch using their sensitive lip whiskers, which guide their agile lips to grasp tasty morsels.
Olfaction: goats map a sensory world hard for us to imagine with their sensitivity to odours. Not only can they gauge what is good to eat, but they identify other animals by their smell. Mothers bond with their young by recognizing their unique scent.
Goatsā social world is governed by pheromones that provide information about the identity, sex, status and emotion of other animals. They have glands by their horns that emit pheromones, their saliva and urine also contains social signals. They may even have scent glands between their toes like some wild ungulates. Goats sniff each otherās mouths on introduction to learn identity and possibly sense status signals. Urine contains messages about sexual status. Oestrus does urinate frequently to leave messages of their fertility and they wag their tails to spread their scent through the air. Iāve often seen goats sniff each otherās mouths and heads during social contacts, perhaps for an update on emotion or status.
Flehmen is a lip-curling action goats use to further analyze heavy molecules with a vomeronasal organ. This is particularly used by bucks examining the scent of females, but also seen in females investigating scents of other animals, including unfamiliar humans.
Hearing: Goats can hear a wider range of frequencies than humans (70Hz--40KHz; humans: 31Hz--17KHz). Like dogs, goats can hear much higher pitched sounds. They often become alert to sounds we cannot hear. They may even be disturbed or stressed by sounds (e.g., machinery) that we are not aware of. Their sensitive spot is at 2KHz (a high-pitched musical note), whereas ours is at 8KHz (an earsplitting squeak!). Goats appear to be disturbed by loud, high pitched voices, such as childrenās chatter and laughter. This would make sense, as goats emit loud, high-pitched, shaky bleats when they are in trouble. Kidsā bleats are also high-pitched to attract the attention of their mother. When goats call each other (or their humans) to maintain contact, without urgency or alarm, their bleats are low-pitched, steady, quiet and closed-mouthed. Mother goats mutter to their kids in this way. Using similar tones when handling your goats ensures they keep calm.
Combining modalities: Odours give detailed information close up and persist after an animal has left, so can give information about recent as well as current events. A mother recognizes her kid initially by its scent. However, this information doesnāt travel far, so visual and auditory cues are also needed. Mothers quickly learn to recognize kids by sight and voice. It is useful for goats to have several ways to recognize each other. Sound may assist where vision is obscured.Ā
I have noticed one of my goats loosing sight of me in the yard and looking all around. However, when I called she came running immediately. It is possible she did not recognize me at a distance or could not distinguish me from a stranger. The fact we humans change our clothes may confuse visual recognition (lambs have been found to experience difficulty recognizing their mothers after colour change or shearing).
Bleat expectations: Goats appear to be more settled and relaxed in a steady and predictable routine. They anticipate the routine by their movements. If I do something unusual, they stand alert and bleat at me. They wonāt follow if I go somewhere they donāt want to go. They probably donāt understand if we do something they would not. If you pick things up, this looks probably looks like foraging, and they will inspect your hands if they are used to you hand feeding them. They have a good idea of how our head relates to our perception, and realize when our head faces them we are paying them attention. However, I think they caprinomorphize: they appear to expect us to be able to see better to the side of our vision, like they do.
I often write about the shifts in hierarchy within the herd and the different position each goat assumes in the order of dominance. This kind of hierarchy is frequently found within goat herds and is normally considered linear and reasonably stable. It has not been stable within my herd, due to the recent changes: addition of rescue goats and returning group members. So I am keen for them to settle down and form a stable hierarchy as this should reduce aggression within the group. Dominant animals need not continue to display aggression once submission is granted by other group members. Indeed, Coco has become gentler in her interaction with the others and she sometimes gently butts to encourage play and during grooming sessions with me, she rests her chin on Fbās back. When receiving food, they all still warn and chase away goats that rank below them. Even when there is no threat, an avoidance order has been established of Fb > Coco > Georgette > Perdie > Happy. Threat and submission signals can be very slight and subtle, as also has been found in pigs. Coco has a dominance grunt. Perdie and Fb make a submissive moan. Ears are flicked backwards in submission.
However, even with goats, who are perceived to have strict, stable hierarchies, there is more involved than just hierarchy and, at least with my herd, it is not all as cut and dried as the avoidance order Iāve stated. Firstly, affiliation and alliances are growing between group members.
In affiliative activity, a goat rests her head on her companionās back or the pair may rest together.
Georgette and Happy have been affiliative since their kidhood. A similar friendship is growing between Coco and Fb. As I stroke them both side by side they seem to accept each otherās proximity now and perhaps even associate it with the pleasurable sensation of being groomed. Fb looks a little wary when Coco rests her chin on Fbās back, but hopefully this will build bonds.
In play, different pairing have set up. Coco enjoys sparring with Happy or Perdie and her approaches to them are gentle and playful. Fb and Georgette have been sparring partners since Fb came back and still team up for this activity.
When Coco began to avoid combat with Fb, a dominance alliance appeared to form between them. Coco let Fb share with her peacefully and the two of them guarded the resources between them to the exclusion of the other three. Shortly after this, Fb started displacing Coco. Coco will still resist in a dispute between them but always now ends up yielding to Fb.
Positive reinforcement of good behaviour has really worked wonders in resolving Fbās undesirable habits (butting me for attention and cuddles, butting when I remove food bowls, repetitive bleating for attention).
Positive reinforcement is rewarding her when she behaves well and is coupled with negative punishment, which means removing rewards if she is naughty. Before I tried pushing her away if she started to butt, pointing my finger and saying ānoā. It stopped her butting but she soon started up again. Now, instead of giving her any kind of attention when she butts, I just walk away calmly (removing cuddles and any interaction). Then I make a point of going up to her and giving her a good cuddle when she is quiet and calm. If she lets me stroke another goat at the same time (normally Coco), then she gets a longer and more thorough cuddle. If she chases the other goat away, I stop.
Within a couple of weeks, this has had dramatic effects. She stays a lot calmer when I am there (no more huffing and puffing and competing for my attention).
Fb is the most dominant goat in the herd, and only Coco dares to approach when she is at my side. All the other goats run away as she approaches. But now she lets me stroke another goat at the same time as her; she no longer chases them away. The lower ranking goats are no longer afraid to approach me. In the last couple of days, I have managed to stroke all the goats during our morning interaction in the pasture. I have stroked the following goats together: Fb + Coco (Coco rested her head on Fbās back); Coco + Happy; Fb + Happy; Happy + Perdie; Georgette + Perdie; Coco + Perdie; Fb + Perdie. Coco spars gentle with Perdie (nudging her neck with gently with her horns); Fb and Georgette are frequently sparring playfully.
Fbās frequent bleating is also becoming less. She is known for standing and bleating persistently for attention when she hears us moving around the garden. I am trying a similar procedure on our cat, Spook. I only give her food or petting when sheās quiet and ignore her if she yowls. After a week, sheās much quieter.
Fb used to butt me when I removed empty food bowls from the goat house. She obviously saw me as competing for her food. Georgette also does this if I refill the hay rack while she is eating from it. Now I wait until they are doing something else before I approach. Just a few secondsā wait has made all the difference and I can say goodbye to bruised legs and hands!
The goats are regularly partnering up for amicable sparring matches: Firstborn with Georgette and Coco with Happy. Perdie is generally keeping out of the way and using the opportunity to browse hay or rose bush cuttings in peace. Coco is generally in combative mood but without her past aggression, mellowing to competitive but gentler, although the others are still cautious with her. Fb is still over-exhuberant, especially with me: that is an issue Iām still finding the best solution to. Any reaction I give her is probably encouraging her, so I need to ignore her when she butts and fuss her when sheās gentle.
Firstborn, since her promotion to top rank, has become even more excitable and bouncy than before. Her habit of butting for attention has got worse, and she appears to be doing it to the other goats as well. When she wants attention, she weaves around me and attempts to butt me. This appears to be her way of interacting with the others too, judging by the way she was chasing them around the other morning.
Coco is calmly and persistently seeking me out for cuddles, especially since loosing her top spot. I think she is seeking affiliation and comfort. Fb and Coco are still able to share me, but Fbās rough approach is making the rest of us avoid her. This morning, Coco came out to pasture in a very defensive mode: hackles raised, turning around to fend off followers. She stayed with me for cuddles rather than going for feed and then calmed down and joined the herd.
The goats are distracted from their social machinations by the new pasture I have opened up for them. The sight of fresh spring grass lured Perdie to venture through to the far field, followed by the rest of the herd, although Firstborn lagged behind reluctantly. She stood at the entrance to the field and bleated at them while they grazed. Eventually, she joined them and theyāve been out there munching most of the day and have hardly touched their hay.
Every day is a new drama, watching the social interactions between the goats, especially when they first go out to pasture in the morning. Coco has calmed her assertion of authority over her remaining underlings and engages with them more gently, although they are still wary of her. Fb, now top ranking goat, likes to engage the others in spirited play and shows no aggression towards any of them (although they are nervous of her, probably due to her superior strength and high rank). She particularly likes to engage Georgette and Coco. She is very demanding of my attention, particularly for grooming, but will allow another goat to come alongside for grooming at the same time. Only Coco dares!
In this video, Coco (brown) and Fb (black) engage in gentle combat.
More shiftings in the hierarchy: Coco has been avoiding Firstborn (Fb) these days. Then, two days ago, they battled vigorously over a bowl of treats. Fb snaffled hers quicker than Coco and attempted to take hers too. After a quick horn clash, a loud grunt from Coco, Fb claimed the prize and Coco was displaced.
Subsequently, Coco set about asserting her authority on the lesser ranks in no uncertain terms. Guttural growls and tongue flaps accompanied raised hackles and mounting on each of the subordinate girls, who clearly wanted no part of it, moving away as fast as they could. After two days, Cocoās interactions with her underlings has calmed somewhat, although they are trying to avoid her still.
More gentle interactions continue among the lower ranks, and Georgette (back right) in particular seeks physical contact, touching faces, resting her head on otherās bodies and engaging in gentle play, especially with Happy (left), although she firmly asserts her dominance at the same time. Interestingly she also plays with Fb (front right) and rests close beside her.
Fb (left) herself shows no aggression towards the others, but when she wants something, she employs weight, might and horns to push the others out of the way. The others keep well away. She still allows Coco or another goat to approach me for cuddles, as long as I donāt stop caressing her.
Spring is in the air and in the goatsā legs. They are leaping around and engaging in playful combat. You can see it is gentle, ritualized combat as they pause and wait for each other. Gone is the aggression and forcefulness. Instead we have posture, engagement of horns, running around and jumping. Sisters Georgette and Happy engage each other regularly with some excited mounting and tongue poking, even though they are not on heat. Happy and Perdie still engage frequently, as usual. Firstborn has taken to Georgette again: she is often by her side, sniffs or touches her gently and plays nicely with her. Georgette has regained confidence: she appears less nervous and more proactive again.
Coco has totally accepted Fb and does not challenge her at all (however, she still aggressively defends feed and other resources from the others). Coco also appears to avoid conflict with Fb, although she defends herself if Fb challenges her. Iām wondering if Coco realizes Fb is stronger now and has formed an alliance with her to avoid Fb taking over. Fb herself doesnāt seem to realize Coco is not as strong as her yet.
One issue with this new alliance is that Coco and Fb dominate the shelter. The other three all take hay from racks on the perimeter. If it rains, I often find 3 little goats along the back wall getting damp, while Coco and Fb stay dry in the shelter.
After their morning high spirits, the sunny weather induces relaxation in the sun. Fb, Georgette and Happy are sitting close together, another good sign of growing affiliation.
