Sometimes, it is the little things that make all the difference!
Goat feeding times can be boisterous affairs. The pecking order of many animals is such that the 'top dog' needs to eat first and those at the bottom must 'eat what is left'. Of course, in a domesticated situation, we get the chance to control this a little. Onion is our top goat and in a communal set up, it would be fine for her to eat first and then the others to start, except Onion not only wants to start first, but she then wants to go to all the other feeding bowls and shove the others out of the way, before finally heading back to the bowl she first started at!!! Simple fix: we use an old climbing carabiner and sling and tie her up by her feeding trugg - she then eats and doesn’t bother the others who quite calmly go their truggs, eat and stay put! The good thing is that Onion doesn’t get all impatient once she has finished. She just calmly waits for us to unclip her before having a quick sniff around to check no-one has missed any bits!! The other good thing is that goats learn routines really well and as such, morning and evening feed times finds Onion actually waiting by her trugg, all ready to be clipped in with no fuss at all.
Wonderful