Drama at Gullringstorp
All the drama at Gullringstorp, revolve around the goats. Everyone else seems to settle issues without too much drama. But with my ladies in the stable, there can be some dram and I do mean drama!
Ok here we go: Iris has two tiny new babies that are growing like little weeds. Iris’ box is now separated by a fence to give her the comfort and safety she seems to need with her new family. As her babies get bigger and stronger, it occurred to me that this box was a sub-herd within my larger herd. I remembered when I was in London and our little Ivy had a tiny baby girl. There was no fence put up during that period and there was no drama. So I thought that these two new little ones needed to become integrated into the sub-herd ASAP. First step, take down the fence.
All was fine for just about 5 minutes then the bully in iris came out after she cleaned up the grain bowls on the other side of the box. She became the bully that I though would have calmed down once she became a mother. No such luck.. She was a holy terror. She unleashed such anger and singled out one to attack; little Surprise. She had it in her mind that Surprise was going to hurt her babies.So untrue.
Little Surprise ran to mommy for protection. She was no real help
I hope Surprise felt some safety snuggled up behind mommy
All three girls cower in the corner
Well this wasn’t working and I seemed to have unleashed a real bully on my little girls. Iris decided to add barking to her bully repertoire . That was a new one. She actually threw her head back and growled like a dog, a big dog. So I needed a Plan B. Iris wasn’t being very nice even with the fence up. She would head butt it and scare all the girls on the other side.
I put the fences back up into place and took the evening to come up with a Plan B. Ok so Iris was not so happy behind her fence, because she was no longer in control of the entire box. then the idea hit me; Nanna has a box to herself and she likes the 3 little ladies in Iris’ box. So the next morning when all the other goats were out, I moved Iris and her two babies into Nanna’s box.
All seemed alright , but that was just because iris was enjoying the grain left in Nanna’s food tray. Once she finished her breakfast, the fun of the new home wore off. She yelled and yelled and yelled some more. She’s a yeller. Her babies Florian and Blossom were really having fun and enjoyed the ledge to hop of and on to. It didn’t take long and Florian was up on the ledge with Iris.
Florian and Blossom like the new apartment
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When it was time to bring in the goats, I skillfully ushered Nanna in with the other little girls in the first box. She seemed so happy. What made this little piggy happy was all the grain bowls in that box. She ran from one to the next. once that fun wore off and she realized the door was closed, she became a bully.
Oh no, not again! Look at my little ladies cowering in the corner , again!
I had unknowingly brought in another bully. Look at my sweet Nanna on the right in a very aggressive stance!
Well I had seen enough. My Plan B wasn’t working. You are supposed to give any changes some time to settle down, but it was me who could not take the few days needed to see “what would happen”. Iris was not happy in Nanna’s box, but what worried me most was that she seemed not to come down from her perch and her babies needed her down to nurse. I could have handled her yelling but I was worried about her babies’ meals.
Nana was just another bully who I had introduced into the box. My little ladies were once again being attacked. this was not working. I did the only thing I could think of: the fence went back up, Iris and her babies were back in their own home, the three girls were happy on the “other “side of the fence from Iris and Nanna was happily back in her home.
Bottom line, I just worried too much and realized that when the babies are big enough, they will be integrated into that little sub-herd and the balance would be just fine.
I hate to admit it , but my boys are really not as much trouble as my girls. I am not sure if it’s hormonal or what but my girls can really be a challenge and you need to stay alert to all the nuances and be prepared to act, if needed.
Drama over…
GullringstorpGoatGal
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