Mr. Pibb is a fertile boy (see the proof here, here, and here) and in order to stop him before he gets Clover pregnant, yesterday afternoon–when the sky cleared and we saw the sun for the first time in forever–he was moved to the meadow bottom. It was really difficult for me to send him down there. I love my Mr. Pibber. He won’t be back “up top” near the house until we get the “duck ‘n’ buck” yard built. (The duck ‘n’ buck yard is the fenced field I want to make around the pond–with a duck/buck house. The ducks will be happy. The bucks will be happy. I will be happy! It’s on the spring to-do list.) I’ve delayed, too long, sending Mr. Pibb down to the boys because of my affection for him. He’s spoiled and such a pet. I mean, just look at that face!
He’s part of the team! One of the girls!
Except…. Not. And it was time. Past time. And so…..
Down he went.
He surveyed his new surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.
Then he met his new friends.
They aren’t as friendly as his old friends.
Between Eclipse and Rhett, Eclipse is the alpha buck. Mr. Pibb will have to work out his position.
There was a lot of this.
And that.
And more of this.
And more of that.
You can see Eclipse and Mr. Pibb in action in this video–and also see Mr. Cotswold get involved from over the fence. He got a little excited and wanted to show those boys who the real man was. Don’t worry, as soon as the video stopped–because I was starting to FREAK OUT–the sheep were moved to the far field so Mr. Cotswold can’t be quite so up in the goats’ business.
This video would be complete if you could have eau-de-buck pheromone smell-o-vision to go with it.
By the way, I’m not sure how many of them are pregnant, but either Miss Jacob is about to pop or she has a tumor.
Which is it, Miss Jacob?
We only have this one lamb still with us from last season.
Don’t ask about the others. It was tragic. Annabelle doesn’t like to talk about it.
If you haven’t seen Annabelle’s “bouncing” video, you must. (See it in this post.)
I’m not sure if Annabelle or any of the other ewes are pregnant, but they may be. It’s hard to tell with sheep until the last minute. They’re woolly.
It was hard to leave Mr. Pibb behind and go back to the house. I promised him cookie delivery, but that’s not really what he was worried about.
Mr. Pibb: “Where are the girls?”
The duck ‘n’ buck yard is coming, Mr. Pibb, it’s coming! You’ll be back!
Nancy K. says:
Poor Mr. Pibb! Putting a new buck in with an established herd can be a dangerous thing. Something you may want to consider for future reference is putting all of the boys in a very small, confined space. So small that they can barely move. This allows the bucks to get used to each other’s smell without the distance they need to get up a ‘full head of steam’. If you keep them packed tightly like that for about 24 hours (without food or water) they will usually be much more concerned with eating and drinking when you turn them loose. I do this with my rams and have had very good results.
Good Luck Mr. Pibbs!
On January 30, 2011 at 8:45 am
Linda says:
Mr. Pibb does not look too happy….you better hurry with those cookies!!!! :yes:
On January 30, 2011 at 9:29 am
Dianna says:
That video is amazing – Mr. Cotswold was really getting into the action, wasn’t he? “Eau-de-buck” – love it!
I’m sure it was difficult to leave Mr. Pibb there – hope things get worked out with the guys soon – with no casualties.
Dianna
http://www.thesedaysofmine.com
On January 30, 2011 at 9:53 am
farmershae says:
I forget how small they are – until I see one in the back of the truck with Morgan. What a little pocket goat :heart: I would have a hard time taking him away from home too. Just more motivation to build the buck pen asap, tho!
On January 30, 2011 at 9:57 am
iowacowgirl says:
satyrs, yes??
On January 30, 2011 at 10:02 am
drucillajoy says:
ever consider a name change for Mr. Pibb……7up seems more fitting due to his popularity with the girls 😀
On January 30, 2011 at 10:15 am
Deb says:
I thought you had to keep the bucks far far away from the females because of their smell….I’ve been told that it will even cause the milk to smell?
On January 30, 2011 at 10:16 am
Brenda E says:
I hope they finally made friends and had a cigar together. I’m learning so much from reading this blog. Didn’t know goats did that like dogs – the alpha male thing. Didn’t know about the smell either – I take it’s not so pleasant a thing. Mr. Cotswold doesn’t seem to like them fighting like that – he wanted to break it up or either get in on it. That’s so cute.
On January 30, 2011 at 10:39 am
Miss Becky says:
Oh poor Mr. Pibb. He’s so adorable. Suzanne do those critters in the meadow bottom have shelter to go into when it snows and blows? Just wondering, although it looks like they have plenty of fur to keep them warm. :yes: thanks for the video – I love watching them all in action!
On January 30, 2011 at 10:41 am
Susan says:
I realize they are doing that totally natural male thing but what’s with the tail wagging? Looked they were very happy to see one another! Bet they are just making plans for the football game next weekend.
On January 30, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Tanya Miller says:
Poor Mr. Pibb… my heart goes out o him!!! :hug:
On January 30, 2011 at 12:32 pm
I Wanna Farm says:
I was going to ask about the sheep yesterday! Will we find out what happened? Or did I miss it somehow?
On January 30, 2011 at 12:34 pm
whaledancer says:
Ah, you can practically hear Mr Pibb singing “When it’s springtime in the Rockies, I’ll be coming home to you…” But it’s good for him to have some guy time. Then when he gets back, he’ll be a real manly man, uh, goat.
It’s nice to see Anabelle again. She’s still a sweet-faced wooly.
On January 30, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Margaret Diggs says:
Nancy K is right about putting the bucks together in a small place, we always did it for at least a week. They are challenging each other for who will be the “Alpha” male. We lost a Grand Champion Ram one year by putting two rams together in a pen where they had a chance to run and butt heads. You learn real quick when you loose one so tragically.
Margaret (Ewenique)
On January 30, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Jane says:
I would have freaked about Mr. Cotswold too if I had been there.. it looked like he was about to bring the fence down! Poor Mr. Pibb 😥 I hope he adjusts okay to his new home. I hope you still take him cookies? It looks like he will need something to look forward to after sharing space with Eclipse!
On January 30, 2011 at 1:19 pm
ellen mcbryde says:
The eau-de-buck is exactly why I have only girls! The downside to that is that I have to hire out for stud service. We are currently working on finding a male to come for a visit.
On January 30, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Lynne says:
Do they ever get their horns stuck together? It looks like it would be so easy for somebody to get poked in the eye too. It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt! Yikes!
On January 30, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Diane says:
What happened to the sheep babies? You must tell the good and the bad so we can learn from you.
On January 30, 2011 at 4:55 pm
Yvonne says:
Diane, I’m guessing maybe coyotes, or maybe a gang of some other bad dogs. When you live out in the country, it’s hard to tell what will happen….. 😥
On January 30, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Linda Goble says:
Poor Mr. Pibb. he probably don’t know what to think. He had it so good with the girls. He was king up there with them. The little lambs probably went in the freezer I guess. 😥
On January 30, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Michelle says:
Someone give Mr. Cotswold a valium!
At least your boys seem fairly gentle in their sparring. My wethers knock the bejeezus out of each other.
On January 30, 2011 at 11:00 pm
B. Ruth says:
Morgan you are such a brave soul to ride in the back of the pickup holding a goat and letting Suzanne drive you down that snow covered driveway, yikes! and no helmet!….You deserve a star, a raise, or something…
On January 30, 2011 at 11:08 pm
EightPondFarm says:
So interesting how differently bucks and rams spar with each other, isn’t it? The goats rear up and then tussle almost gently compared to the stupid rams who back up and run head down at one another as fast as possible. Mr. C. was just doing his thing!! We have used the small area technique for our rams, too – especially after breeding groups are broken up. For bucks, it works better when they cannot rear at one another (eg, a low overhead shed for 24 hours). Don’t feed or water them and then release them at night with plenty of food — they will be too busy eating and then sleeping to fight as much.
They have to do some of it to sort everything out, I suppose. Just one of those testosterone things. Must be terrible to have to fight like that all the time.
On January 30, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Heidi says:
Thanks, I am now thoroughly terrified of sheep.
On January 31, 2011 at 10:04 am
GrammieEarth says:
Eclipse and Mr Pibbs are being quite gentle in their sparring. Maybe it just seems that way since they are soo little and ridiculously cute!!! OR maybe Mr Pibbs is ‘just’ getting High5’s for his studly ways? I do hope he refuses to discuss his :shimmy: :shimmy: with the ladies… :devil:
=) Pam
On January 31, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Lindsay says:
That Mr Cotswold looks like he was pretty serious in trying to get to the boys. I think I’d take my chances with the goats over him any day, that was scary! Testosterone is an amazing (and smelly) thing.
On January 31, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Wendy says:
Wow. Mr Pibb went from the ‘Life of a Playboy’
to being a ‘Cage Fighter’.
“Be careful! Somebody’s gonna put an eye out!”
=-)
On January 31, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Ramona says:
A bunch of hard head guys!
On February 1, 2011 at 11:04 am
Alyce Shane says:
What beautiful bucks!
On February 7, 2011 at 12:39 pm
kathy says:
Oh how I love your photos. They make me feel like I’m in the barnyard, but I’m warm and dry in my house. Thanks
On February 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm
stacylee says:
Mr. Cotswold is such a butthead all the time! I guess that’s funny, I didn’t mean it like that.
On October 20, 2011 at 11:42 am