Shocking

My new handy dandy Hot-Shot Power-Mite arrived from JeffersLivestock.com. It is like a electric cattle prod but it is compact and fits into your pocket. It looks like a stun gun or taser, but of course, only delivers a buzzing sound and a slight shock. It is used for close-up animal work with hogs and cattle. In case you missed my blog about my billy goat getting a little pushy and aggressive, he is the reason that I bought this little device.

I put it in my pocket and went to gather eggs in the goat/chicken shed. As usually, Cooter started his routine of chewing at my sleeves which is fine, then he started lightly pushing on me with his head.

He gradually increased his pushing and I slipped the Hot-Shot out of my pocket and applied it to his neck. He hollered and came back after me, mad as could be. I shocked him again on the neck and he yelled and came back again, this time he reared up and tried to hit me hard. I got him on his shoulder that time and he came back for more.

I was beginning to wonder who was going to win this battle, when I made good contact with the side of his belly and he bleated and ran away. He went on the other side of the building where he had to peek around the side to see me. He never came back and I was relieved because I didn't have much more fight in me.

When I went back out there to check on things after dark that night, he came right up to me to be petted but never once chewed on me or pushed on me. I was so happy that he wasn't afraid of me and that he didn't start his stuff with me again because I had totally forgotten to take the Hot-Shot with me.

I have been in the lot several times since this incident and he is a changed boy. He is not pushing on me at all now. It is amazing to me that he knew exactly what he was doing that he needed to stop doing.

Farm-Style Manicure

You should see my lovely fingernails, they are brittle and broken, split and jagged. They usually have unidentified dark substances under them as well. I try to keep them out of my mouth most of the time for that reason.

Dipping crushed oyster shell straight from the bag with your bare hands to feed to your chickens is rough on your nails. Bracing yourself with your hands in the mud and manure to look under the goat/chicken house for a lost hen is not good hygiene. Getting into a slight scuffle with a Billy Goat can and will break an already brittle nail and also bruise one's knuckle.

I don't know what has gotten into Cooter, well maybe it's because it's Spring but I didn't know that he had a calendar and knew the exact day that Spring arrived. He is getting hard to deal with, he usually just nibbles at my fingers and clothes, sometimes puts his head against me and applies slight pressure but today he was just being mean and trying to knock me down. He did the same thing to my DH while he was shoveling out the shed, he took the shovel to him and that made him worse.

He likes being kicked and hit because he likes to play rough, so I avoid getting rough with him, even if he makes me mad. If he pushes on me, I grab his ear, give it a twist and hold him still in one place for an extended period of time. When I let go he usually doesn't want to play anymore. But this type of training does take time and patience.

After the slap with the shovel, he thought we were on his energy level and were thinking like he thinks. I know from experience that it is hard to win in a hand or foot to hard head battle with a buck. If you kick them, it will hurt you worse that it hurts them and hitting them with your hand is just stupid and I have the bruise on my hand to prove it.

Billy goats are made of tough stuff and I should have known better than to have made such a pet out of Cooter but he was so sweet and cute, I couldn't help it. My last buck was not pampered and he avoided human contact, so he was much better behaved.

I am afraid at this point that I am going to have to resort to drastic measures and purchase a cattle prod because I don't want my Grandkids not being able to go into the goat lot because of a mean billy goat, plus the fact that I am just getting tired of his annoying behavior.