"Why does your goat have green lipstick?"
The amused question came over a decade ago from the fresh-from-the-city husband. We had our first three chickens, our first three raised vegetable beds and - yup you guessed it - our first three goats.
"Weeell ...." I was hesitant to commit to an answer I didn't have; "Goats do eat green food".
My concern sent me rushing through the orchard, recently pruned by my naughty pet Saanens. Innocently ruminating in the sun were my goats. Sure enough Emma had a bright green face. To say lipstick was an understatement. She looked like a cabbage had exploded in her face. She greeted me cheerfully with her usual expectant face.
"What treats are you bringing me today?"
"You girls trashed my sunflowers yesterday, I should still be mad"
They answered with a goatie chortle of amusement. Emma looked more comical than usual with her avo green facial. She stood patiently while I poked and prodded her from horn to tail. Whatever was making her throw up it hadn't affected her cheerful goatie disposition. She nuzzled me. I nearly gagged. That distinctive regurgitated odor was all over her green face. Being (back then) quite green to all things goat I decided to stick my fingers in her mouth .... I don't know what I was thinking ... it was probably one of the most idiotic things I have ever done. Back in my goat ignorant early days, it made perfect sense. While my fingers were feeling around in her mouth, she bit me, chortling an apology around her mouthful.
The pain and shock of having my goat clamping her powerful teeth around my fingers took my breath away. While goats have sharp bottom teeth the top is a dental plate. Instead of fact checking, I assumed that meant they have no back teeth. Was I wrong! We have snakes and scorpions and baboons and hyenas to contend with on our African homestead. Never did I imagine that my beloved goat would bite me. I extracted my bleeding hand from Emma's mouth and myself from her company. I nursed my hurt feelings and wounded hand with camomille and aloe vera.
Creative Garden Prompt 2: I was bitten by a ....That nasty surprise taught me never to conduct dental procedures on my goats; unless a stronger hand assists. Despite her frequent forages into my herb gardens, Emma was responsible for many of my special homestead memories. Although I prefer not to remember her snacking on my fingers. I'm sure the creative @crosheille and @generikat with her hilarious posts can share something special for this launching;
Dental care one way or another never take anything for granted, yikes that sounds like you really got vice grind grip from your friendly goat.
@tipu curate
She certainly puts a new twist on the term a love bite
Now that is funny..., well stop handling goat so rough!
Better watch where you put those fingers !LOLZ
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Why am I always backreading your posts?? :(
For sure, thise early days were life lessons, werent they? Im sure you never did that again?
What was that green lipstick? 😳
You tell the best stories. They have me rolling, every single time!
!LUV
You know Denise, you are the only one to ask me about that green lipstick! My girl Emma had a tendency for the dangerous. Like humans, I guess. In the early days we lost a lot of sheep, and a couple goats on the mountainside to a poisonous indigenous plant. We lost a few before we learned what the problem was and moved them permanently into the fields. I guess the plant (whose Afrikaans name is untranslatable) gave the same buzz as any addiction. It basically attacks the nervous system and the animals die of the most terrible convulsions as their body shuts down. It can take weeks and is very traumatic. I learned very quickly how to use radical ancient farming methods. I saved adult animals but I could never save the babies. My first loss ever was goat twins of a couple months. It was traumatic. But it took losing a few more animals before we realized we could not eradicate the plants but we could remove the animals from the danger. Emma had a couple close calls. And that green lipstick was a regular thing until she was banished from the mountains
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Hahaha Emma is a character. I have always been rather skeptical about goats, even tame ones because I know they have a bit of a nutty side to them. I hope your finger was ok. I've heard that they will eat anything, even if it makes them sick. Including people's laundry and rubber lining off vehicles. I've always assumed it was hyperbole. Is it though?
That is the theory. Personally I have never experienced it so I'm guessing the theory is based on very hungry and desperate goats. They are actually extremely fussy eaters. So much so that if something falls on the floor - or worse - gets sniffed by another goat, it will go uneaten. Goats are curious by nature. More so the the proverbial cat! They will sniff and nuzzle something they don't recognize, like laundry or tyres. But eat? I don't think so
Oh ok, that's good to know. Shame, if that's the case then desperate goats they must have been.
I can see that they're curious, every time I've come across a herd of them, they've always come to say hi and see what was going on.
Go(a)ta love goats
Oh wow what a story. Comical except for the biting part…OUCH! That was truly a lesson learned.
Thanks for tagging me because I was unaware of this new launch. Not sure I’ll be able to write something in time but I’ll keep an eye out on these prompts now.
Oh you have so much to offer a creative garden challenge. From your childhood with your gardening Dad, as well as your wonderfully creative writing and photography. I'll be spying on you over the veggie patch
The goats are cute and mischievous. Sorry you got your hand snacked on.
Oh I still love them. Having goat scars are worth it
Oh my god. The green faced goat, the expression on their faces, your naivete - damn, I bet you only get bitten by a goat ONCE!!!! This beats the bullant biting my labia story - or does it? I just cant' bring myself to write it down in public...
Great story wonderfully told!
Nooooooooooooo! Do I even want to know?
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so nice!! I didn't know they like sunflower seeds;)
a Mom and a baby? 😍
Yes. Mom and newborn. I love this photo
This is a whole another goatie level!
I laughed a lot reading this!
Headbutting being out of nowhere just for fun, but finger bite...sorry probably that wasn't funny to you back then, butbutbut hilarious scene unfolds in my head currently.😂
The intention in writing was to show the amusing part of the experience. And I'm glad you could enjoy it. As for the headbutting. Despite over a decade with goats (and not just a few) I also have a headbutting story. But that is for another day
Hahahha really?
I wanna that one! We had them only once, after hey eaten up everything they could, we gave up.
That's a pity. But.....as much as I love my goats there's no denying they are naughty. And, yup, eat eat EAT