Billy Goats!
I don't know how many of you have or have owned billy goats (Intact male goat) but the have a very unique smell! This smell is very potent, with a good 1/4 mile reach. Well, during "rut season" the Bucks (Billy Goats) go through a four to five month cycle were there capable of breeding. Not only do they become more "nasty" but they become more "smelly". There is no way to describe this smell unless you have smelled it. When working with a buck in rut one has to take many precautions, such as.
1. Wear very old clothes, ones you don't care if they need to be thrown away.
2. Some form of mask, to help with the smell.
3. Sturdy disposable gloves.
These are some of the precautions I use prior to handling a billy goat. Once the smell touches any object, be it clothes or skin. The smell can and will linger for up to two days. Even after washing over a dozen times you will still smell the billy goat on you and the clothes.
Keeping this in mind, today was goat de-worming and hoof trimming day. Such a lovely day. I got through all the goats including the does, with right know smell just about as strong as the billy goat. When it came time to get the billy goat out and on to the milk stand for the trimming. The way our pasture is set up, you have to go through the doe pasture to an adjacent pasture were the buck is. Meaning you have to lead the buck through the doe pasture to get to the milk stand. I decided to try and manage this all by myself! As you can imagine it was not a pritty site. I don't mean to brag but I only weigh 105lbs. Were as the billy goat weighs 130lbs. Once I got the lead on his collar I commenced to leading him through the doe pasture. Yea.........right!!!!! It took me about 3 minutes to get to the bottom gate and get it open. Trying to keep all the does from running out, while trying to hold the billy goat with one hand. Once I got through the gate the latch decided that it was going to get stuck and the buck decided he wanted back in the pasture. Weather or not it meant jumping over me to get there....... :-(
Once I got the latch fixed and the buck on the milk stand, I got a nice strong wif of that lovely billy goat smell. Its enough to make your eyes water. I got all of his hooves trimmed but one, the front left. This leg, how can I say it, it's "NASTY". I'm not going to go into detail as to why it is, but its just nasty! Luckily the buck was content just sitting there eating making the process of trimming got quite quickly. While the billy goat was eating I ran and got some help before attempting to put him back in the pasture.
Yes, I did learn my lesson!
After all this, I imediatly whent inside and took a cold shower! As I type this I can still smell the "billy goat smell" on me.....*sigh*. I just love this time of year. But now that its done I don't have to worrie about it till next month. :-) Yea!!!!
I just thought you all might find some hummor in this little story. I know I did, well after it was all over.....lol
I don't know how many of you have or have owned billy goats (Intact male goat) but the have a very unique smell! This smell is very potent, with a good 1/4 mile reach. Well, during "rut season" the Bucks (Billy Goats) go through a four to five month cycle were there capable of breeding. Not only do they become more "nasty" but they become more "smelly". There is no way to describe this smell unless you have smelled it. When working with a buck in rut one has to take many precautions, such as.
1. Wear very old clothes, ones you don't care if they need to be thrown away.
2. Some form of mask, to help with the smell.
3. Sturdy disposable gloves.
These are some of the precautions I use prior to handling a billy goat. Once the smell touches any object, be it clothes or skin. The smell can and will linger for up to two days. Even after washing over a dozen times you will still smell the billy goat on you and the clothes.
Keeping this in mind, today was goat de-worming and hoof trimming day. Such a lovely day. I got through all the goats including the does, with right know smell just about as strong as the billy goat. When it came time to get the billy goat out and on to the milk stand for the trimming. The way our pasture is set up, you have to go through the doe pasture to an adjacent pasture were the buck is. Meaning you have to lead the buck through the doe pasture to get to the milk stand. I decided to try and manage this all by myself! As you can imagine it was not a pritty site. I don't mean to brag but I only weigh 105lbs. Were as the billy goat weighs 130lbs. Once I got the lead on his collar I commenced to leading him through the doe pasture. Yea.........right!!!!! It took me about 3 minutes to get to the bottom gate and get it open. Trying to keep all the does from running out, while trying to hold the billy goat with one hand. Once I got through the gate the latch decided that it was going to get stuck and the buck decided he wanted back in the pasture. Weather or not it meant jumping over me to get there....... :-(
Once I got the latch fixed and the buck on the milk stand, I got a nice strong wif of that lovely billy goat smell. Its enough to make your eyes water. I got all of his hooves trimmed but one, the front left. This leg, how can I say it, it's "NASTY". I'm not going to go into detail as to why it is, but its just nasty! Luckily the buck was content just sitting there eating making the process of trimming got quite quickly. While the billy goat was eating I ran and got some help before attempting to put him back in the pasture.
Yes, I did learn my lesson!
After all this, I imediatly whent inside and took a cold shower! As I type this I can still smell the "billy goat smell" on me.....*sigh*. I just love this time of year. But now that its done I don't have to worrie about it till next month. :-) Yea!!!!
I just thought you all might find some hummor in this little story. I know I did, well after it was all over.....lol
