GOAT PLAN

My goat plan for today through Tuesday is to crate them separately in my kitchen area during the dangerously hot hours of the days so I don’t have to goat-sit them 13+ hours every day.

I still have two drainage tubes in my abdomen, so goat-sitting four occasionally rowdy small breed goats indoors for at least 12 hours every day for the next three days (while the heat outside is goat-killing) just isn’t a workable solution.

I goat sat for three or four hours yesterday (on a less hot day) without crating them, and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun because I was worried the whole time they might somehow be able to pull out the drainage tubes and bulbs that are safety-pinned underneath my shirt. Plus there was a lot of clean up afterward and I’m not supposed to be doing that much physical activity right now. It pretty much exhausted me! I slept very well last night!!!

So, this morning I went to the shed and pulled out the two massive dog crates that Lisa got at an auction and set them up in the kitchen. Then I pulled out my equally massive one from the goat pasture and cleaned it up to use as a third. I also have a slightly smaller one that’ll work for Tillie, the littlest goat.

I’ve put pine chips and straw in all of them and arranged them in the kitchen so they can see each other and know they’re not alone. (Yeah, more physical work, but no heavy lifting, and I worked slowly and very early while it was still cool out. I will still need a nap today, though!)

So, now I’m sitting here watching the temperature gauge rise. In another seven degrees, I have to go get them and introduce them to a situation that they won’t love, but it will keep them alive and me safe.

The crates are large enough for them to stand, turn around, and lie down in, but no larger. Goats get transported in crates like these a lot for hours and hours at a time, so although it isn’t an ideal situation (an ideal situation would be NORMAL DAYS HERE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST — days of 85 degree and less temperatures), but to save their lives while keeping myself safe in my post-op condition, it’s what I need to do. Less wear and tear on me, for sure: crates are easy to clean–floors, rugs and pee pads not so much!

I know they won’t love the next three days, but if they could understand the need to sequester them in this way, they’d thank me for it…

I just hope they will settle in, lie down, and feel secure enough to rest.  Yesterday, they never did settle in well enough to lie down on the rug or rest.  This way, it will be more or less forced on them. There won’t be enough room to do anything else!

I’m reminded of that line from the original Star Trek, when Spock keeps saying not to risk sacrificing more lives to save his (in a shuttle). When he protests, McCoy snaps, “Shut up, Spock! We’re rescuing you!”  Spock responds, “Why, thank you, Captain McCoy.”

If my goats get noisy, I’ll just have to respond, “Shut up, goats. I’m rescuing you!”