Goat Goat!

This is what I say when I call my goats: "Goat Goat!" I don't know how it started but it's kind of just became my call for them and they know the sound and will answer. I say "Goat Goat!" and they (almost instantly) say "Mehhhh!" (you know--the goat sound :) It's a lot like marco polo! When I can't see them (they are usually just behind something out of sight because they won't go far away from their master) I say "Goat Goat!" and they will pop their little heads up and talk back!

Despite how pesky they can be when I let them out to forage they are still probably my favorites. They have so much character and are so lovable. Ester is a ham and loves the attention but Ruth (the white one) is still skiddish but I can tell she trusts me. Here is a picture of her--the rubberband method of dehorning is working very well. One horn has fallen off and the other is not far behind.

I found another website afterward that said you can get a shot and put some novocaine or something numbing like that (can't remember what it was) and you do a little shot at the base of the horn and saw a small notch at the base (below the hair) where the rubberband should stay. That would have helped. The rubberbands won't stay down where they should without a notch--our rubberbands rolled up so we just left them there because we didn't know what else to do and now Ruth will have some nubs about a 1 cm long--but atleast they arn't full blown horns. I just hope they don't regrow.

All in all, I would have to say that this is a great way to remove the horns and the bleeding was extremely minimal. Ruth had a trickle of blood that happened at one time with the horn that is now off and that was all. You can be sure that surgery would have been much bloodier and more traumatic and dangerous! And I think that banding the horns while the goat is young would be better than waiting for the horns to grow big because as they start to wear off if they knock the horn it could cause it to fall off and a bigger horn equals more blood. Also, it is a very gradual and slow process--I posted weeks and weeks ago when we first put them on and the horn only just fell off yesterday.