As I was walking through the woods today looking for poisonous plants (see my post titled Tin Cans, Tennis Shoes and the Kitchen Sink), I was also looking at my beautiful surroundings, when I had a thought. Not only should I be looking down for plants that could either make my goats sick or actually kill them, but I should also be looking left, right, up and around. But why?
If goats can get into trouble, or otherwise find themselves in potentially hazardous conditions, they usually do. It's the nature of our goats. As such, we need to do what we can to limit the possibility of them finding trouble.
What do you see pictured here? You guessed it - it's a tree! But, it isn't just any old tree. It's a tree that could possibly help my goat find trouble. How's that, you ask? Simple!
Goats like to reach as high up as possible to eat their favorite leaves off of trees. In doing so, they put their front feet on the tree and stand up tall. In doing so, they sometimes slip. Trees with forked trunks or branches leaves our goats wide open to get their feet caught in the fork of the tree when they slip.
As we purchased farm land and began clearing it to make room for the pastures and their adjoining woods that would be our goats' home, my initial walk-through uncovered several concerns. Based on those observations, here are a few other potential obstacles that we should watch out for:
Ditches or holes covered by overgrowth
Bottles / cans / glass
Support beams
Downed barbed wire and old logging cables
What other situations or items can you think of or have encountered on your property?
Regardless if you have a new farm or an old family homestead, take a few minutes on a regular basis to evaluate your own situation and the conditions of your pastures to ensure that potential hazards are eliminated before they become true disasters.
Best regards,
Bobbette Fagel, Owner
Briar Creek Farm