Take Your Pick

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."  My mother was famous for tossing these kinds of old-time mottos at me.  I also have a fridge magnet that says, "If at first you don't succeed, to hell with it."  Take your pick.  I can go either way, myself.  It's best not to get locked in to one way of doing things with the goats, so maybe Mother was right..

Plan A:  in the beginning, I'd go into the stalls first at night, carrying grain to get the goats to follow.  That worked until they got too pushy, mobbing me and actually knocking me down.

Plan B:  for years, I've put down feed in bowls every morning so the girls would have something to look forward to at night, knowing that some grain would go to the birds, mice, and squirrels.  All I had to do was open the stall door and the girls would rush in.  The little critters have always been considerate and left enough for the goats' nighty-night treat.  Until recently, that is.  Lately, the greedy-guts have eaten every crumb and the goats have complained mightily as they looked in the empty bowls.

Obviously, Plan C was in order.  Now I have to leave the goats outside at night while I go in one door, put down a few mouthfuls of grain, go back outside and let the girls in another door.  We'll see how long this works.  I'm certainly getting my exercise.

Oh, and in case anyone worries about these things, I still put out a small scoop of grain in the morning for the little barn creatures.