Goat Lesson

We bought goats a while ago.

Beautiful Nubian goats.

They came with ear tags.

Quite often a person will put ear tags into their herd to identify individuals.  It makes it easier to remember things like who their mom was, what year they were born, and what their name is.  The tags are big.

We took ours out when they came.  We had one come that had her tag stuck in improperly so it was always bleeding because it would get caught on things.  (fencing, trees, other goats, etc)

So their ears look like this:

See the small black dot on her ear?  That is where we took out her tag.  It is just like piercing your ear, and it leaves a similar hole in theirs.

BUT,

Our poor little girl, she is just under a year, got her ear caught on something (Fencing we think) and pulled her hole right out:

Yes, that poor ear got ripped right in half!

We put iodine on it and lots of vitamin E so it is healing up pretty good, but it is so sad that she got it ripped.  We were out there just after it happened so I am sad I didn't go out just a little sooner.  

You get attached to your animals when they are as personable as these ones are.  It makes me sad that she has such pain in her ear.  Especially because goats assert their dominance by biting another goats ear!  I can only imagine how low on the pole she will be because of this.

So, lesson learned.  

This is why you never tag your goats ears.  It is not necessary.  I know their names.  I know their mom's and I know what year they were born.  I have it all recorded in a book.  I don't need the tags (as I already decided before this happened) and I wish I could have saved my poor little Jug all this pain.  

The things you learn on the farm!

Cheers