Experimenting with Goat Hobbles

So, while exploring Pinterest and checking out different blogs about farming and homesteading, I found a little gem called Granny's Best. It's a lovely blog following the adventure of owning and operating a Goat Dairy and Creamery.

While I was exploring and pinning from the blog, I came across a really cool idea to help with does that kick and jump around on the milk stand: velcro goat hobbles.

I've never heard of hobbles before and especially not this way of making your own. Goat hobbles are like handcuffs that go around the goat's upper back legs to keep them from moving. These velcro ones are made from cattle leg bands.

I was so excited! I have one especially difficult doe who is due soon, and I entirely related with the story on the blog. So I immediately ordered a set of ten (neon pink!) leg bands from Amazon.

When the package came in the following tuesday, I had forgotten all about the hobbles. There were chores to be done and other projects to take over my thoughts. But when I opened the box and saw the leg bands my excitement was renewed.

Our milkstand that my Daddy built. Roomy enough to fit two does. We use a lead rope to tie the goats off.

I went out to the barn and prepared the milk stand for its first usage in a few months. Then, I dragged in our stubborn, very round doe Dolly.

The way these velcro hobbles work is two bands around the legs are bound together by another band in between. I figured I would strap one not too tightly around each back leg just above the pastern, then strap those two bands together.

Bad idea!

I wrestled with my doe, holding her legs still, forcefully pulling her back up when she laid down, strapping the bands too loose and yelling at her when she popped them off. It was a bad experience for both of us.

I threw my hands in the air. Forget it! We'll just butcher her in the fall. (Our usual angry response to naughty critters. :P)

Dolly

I went inside. I visited Pinterest. I went outside. I did some gardening. I refilled the rabbits' waters. Then, I went back out to the barn to try the hobbles again.

I figured I would start with a much more chill goat. My wether Dobby, who we really are butchering in the fall, is also known as Chillax because of how laid back he is. What I forgot is that he doesn't have a collar, has never been tied off before, and panics when he's alone. He just seems laid back in the comfort of his pasture and herd.

After noticing his lack of collar, I retrieved the lead rope we use to tie goats to the stand and looped it around his neck, clipping it to itself. That's when any semblance Dobby had to his alter ego "Chillax" was gone.

Dobby

He hated the idea of being lead. He refused to move, forcing me to either drag him or push from behind, then he'd jolt forward randomly, going exactly in the wrong direction. When I finally got him on the stand he danced around like a tap dancer, stomping and never standing still. I gave up. I dragged/pushed him back into the pasture.

Goodness, I just realized what I bad person this makes me sound like. Hopefully fellow goat people understand. Please?

Okay, it's time to do what I should've done from the beginning. I go fetch my best doe and kindest milker Raini. She actually squats when i touch her udder which makes milking that much easier.

The lead rope I used on Dobby is usually tied o the milk stand at a perfect length to hold the goats where they need to be and not allow the goats to move, but when I walked Dobby out, I had to use the lead rope, and when I brought in Raini, I switched the lead rope to her.

As I walked up the center aisle of the barn, my best doe at my side, I watch from the other end of the barn our miniature pony walk in through that gate, into our open feed room, and from there into the adjacent chicken coop!

Jazamin

I hurriedly tied the goat to the milk stand, allowing a long length for her to move around with. I run into  the feed room and I hear a noise behind me. The goat jumped off the milk stand and couldn't move because she was still tied to it at an awful angle. But she's not choking. So she isn't the priority.

I chase the pony into the coop, and when I enter I slow down. The pony is more or less scared of us and we've been keeping her in our backyard. Also , we keep a halter and lead rope on her for easy, gentle catching. Just grab the lead rope off the ground.

I do so, and as I walk the horse back to the backyard I see Dobby, back in the barn, heading in the same direction. Ugh! I had left that gate open, too.

I led the horse into the back yard and preceded to chase down, grab, and drag by the horns that darn goat. It sounds mean, but please, you have to understand, there was no other way! It's hot outside, the heat of the day in the prairie sun, and my stress and frustration levels were skyrocketing.

I finally get Raini back on the milk stand properly, and we actually have a nice time. She ties off without a problem, just stands there. I treat her to a little sweet feed and touch her udder. She squats for me. I love this goat.

I play with the cattle bands for a while, trying to figure out a faster way to get them on the goat. Then, I got it.

Instead of tying them first to the goat's legs then together, prepare the middle link by making it into a loop, about an inch, inch-and-a-half in diameter. Then strap that loop to the first leg. Then to the other leg. Wa-lah!

Getting it on the second leg is harder because the goat doesn't want to bring it's legs so close. You could make the middle band wider, but the wider it is, the more motion it allows the doe. Another mistake I made was attaching the hobbles just above the pastern. They really need to be above the hocks.

So it all worked out for the best. I walk my best doe back out to the pasture and decide to take some pictures. I realize I left my camera at the milk stand and run back to get it, leaving the gate open. When I turn back, Raini is gone!

She had made a quick run for the rabbitry (where I had left the door open!) while my back was turned. Ugh.

Oh well, all's well that ends well. And it did end well. All the critters were put in the proper place, the hobbles were figured out, and I walked around the barn and closed all the gates and doors.

So, lessons learned:
          1) Always have patience. If it's going to happen, it will. Don't get so frustrated.
          2) AND ALWAYS CLOSE THE BARN DOORS! Lol. For real, though.

-Katie