Goat filled day!

[Taffy]

Today was all about the goats.  It was 50*, sunny and calm.  A great day to be outside!


I set up my new-to-me travel pen for the goats.  My friends have a similar one and it worked really well when we were in Utah with nowhere to tie the goats overnight.  I found this one on Craigslist.  I had all 6 goats in it and they had plenty of room.




   




I bought a new truck since our last big outing.  It's a short bed instead of a long bed so unfortunately the goats won't have as much room.  However I think they'll be fine if I can convince Bourbon to behave and let Lex and Leif ride with him.  He is #1 in the herd and territorial.  I opened the back up and set up the ramp.  All of the goats took turns investigating it.  This truck sits really high off the ground compared to my other one.  I spoil my goats with a ramp.  Lex, Leif and Little Man were checking it out in this photo.



   



I did a deep cleaning on their sleeping area in the lean-to today.  Lex was extremely helpful.  NOT!

   

The fields and goat pasture are all greening up with the warmer weather we've been having.  The goats are now beginning to graze and I've been able to cut back some on their hay.  Spring is in the air!

[Nanno]

I like your panel pen! How tall is it and where did you get it?
Also, what brand is your ramp, and is it nice and sturdy? We bought a ramp for Cuzco when he got too old to jump in the truck, but it wasn't heavy duty enough. It bowed in the middle when Cuzco stood on it, and the rough traction stuff on the top started tearing after just a few uses. We ended up tossing it out. Finn steps into the truck like it's a foot high, but Sputnik has to take a running leap and I often wonder how much longer he will be able to continue.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather around here too! It hasn't hit us yet, but starting Tuesday it's supposed to finally get up into the 50's and stay there for a week at least. I plan to do a lot of horseback riding! I haven't been on a horse in something like 5-6 weeks. It's either been way too icy or way too muddy, and it's always been too cold. Every nice day we've had, I've been out cutting and hauling firewood or bedding down goat sheds. February has been a relentlessly cold month this year! I seem to recall it was like this last year too.

[Taffy]

The pen is 4' tall.  Each panel is 10' long but they fold up to 2.5' wide.  Each panel weighs 40#.  I have 4 panels.  I found it on Craigslist for $150!  The folks had only used it a few times for Alpacas.  I don't think the company makes this particular one any more but they have one that's similar.  https://drycoskylights.com/kritter-keeper/

I love this ramp.  It's aluminum so light and has a handle on one side.  It has a clip that holds the 2 sections together but the clip is garbage.  It broke the 1st time I picked up the closed ramp.  I used a Night Ize clip to replace it.  I bought it on Amazon.  I bought the 8' one so the angle wouldn't be as steep going into the truck  bed.  It's 4' long when it's folded in two.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSM...UTF8&psc=1

Everything is budding out here and spring is beginning to spring.  I'm getting itchy to head out on an adventure!

[Nanno]

Awesome that you got them so cheap on Craigslist! Very cool. We'll have to keep those in mind. The only problem I can see is that Finn our super-jumper would probably hop right out whenever he felt like exploring. He can be a little hard to contain. It looks like they still sell that model on their website. It doesn't show a price on their website, but an alpaca site has them listed for $140 each (yikes!). You got a GREAT deal! I like that you can hang hay racks on them and stuff.

I don't see an 8' option on the ramp. Only 7'. It says weight limit 250# and Sputnik is pretty darn close to that. I wonder if it would hold up to repeated use by such a huge goat.

We may have to wait a little longer on our spring weather here. We got another 2" of snow this morning (it wasn't supposed to snow at all), and our chance of clouds on Thursday/Friday looks like it's shaping up to be another snowstorm. Still, it IS supposed to be as high as 57* on Tuesday and Wednesday and I hope they're right (and that it's not gale-force winds!).

[Taffy]

The ones they still produce don't have the same leg base as mine but look the same otherwise.  Luckily my goats don't jump like Finn.  They did stand on the bottom rung to look over it but it held fine.

I found the 8' ramp on ebay.  The ramp has an excellent support frame and crossbars so I'm sure it'd hold Sputnik.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/303606271287?_t...gJh8vD_BwE

[Charlie Horse]

I ordered one of those ramps. Some of my goats are getting old.

So here's an idea... Make a kit to turn that ramp into a wheeled goat stretcher in case of emergency. Some bicycle wheels and an axle that can bolt to it, and some handles and over-the-shoulder harness to pull it with. Just in case! The aluminum ramp would make a great platform. Just gotta have a few wratchet straps to secure the goat to it.

[Taffy]

That's actually a good idea Charlie Horse. I could even move a bale of hay with it!  I hope your goats like it as well as mine do.

[Nanno]

I still think you should add wheels and make a sling out of this thing:
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/deck-chair

You can restrain them with one of these devices:
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/gambr...estrainers
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/restraint-cuffs