Rambunctious Stew

Buckling Stew tries to clamber up onto the crate with little goat Lisa.

The other day, after I had moved the goats into the secure pasture behind the house, the younger goats immediately found ways to play. "King of the Mountain" is a goat favorite; goats of all ages seem to gravitate toward the highest spots in any given area.

Uuumph! This buckling needs a boost.

Although I had placed a dog crate into the pasture as a shelter, our buck, Midnight Hank, saw fit to turn the structure on its side. Since the sides are tapered in toward the top and bottom, the sideways crate provides an unstable surface for goats who jump up onto it.

When little Lisa, our last Nigerian Dwarf goat (She is scheduled to move soon.), jumped up onto the rocky surface and balanced perfectly, our largest buckling, Stew, scrambled to join her. Only, he was not yet tall or talented enough to surmount the obstacle. Determined, he worked and worked at the problem--even foregoing grain when it came to the pasture.

He's up!

I enjoyed watching him hook the front portion of his torso onto the crate, then try to figure out how to bring the rest of his body up there. Within the hour, he had accomplished his goal. He was up! Until he shifted his weight and the crate wobbled, tossing him off again.

... and right back down again.

Stew spent the rest of that afternoon and well into the evening launching himself up onto the crate, learning to balance, then leaping off only to repeat the process within minutes. The thudding of his little hooves on the crate resounded about the farm and continued to do so even after I went inside for the night.

I wonder how soon our littlest bucklings will tackle this new obstacle?