"Some beers, a few laughs..."

Our spontaneous backyard goatscaping experiment for the week hit a minor bump. After analyzing her herd, Mrs. Charlie didn't feel comfortable selling me a goat to both keep for a few days in the city, and then eat. Nothing fit the bill entirely. That is to say, there are edible goats available, yes, but none that were old enough to be removed from the herd and expected to remain relatively quiet.

So, our goats-in-the-chicken-run idea will have to wait until another time. On the bright side, Mrs. Charlie was very receptive to the idea of loaning me a few goats for 24 or 48 hours in the future. A very kind and generous person she is, indeed.

But, don't let the rain check fool you. We're still on for roasting goats this weekend. Two of them, in fact. The onset of warm weather deserves celebrating, and USA is playing Argentina in soccer. I even put a bug in Kelly's ear about preparing one goat Jamaican curry style. Sounds like the makings of a party...

"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."

The good news: our wounded hen seems to be slowly recovering. I'm no vet, but it's clear she's starting to act more like a chicken. She even laid an egg today, albeit slightly misshapen. Then Brian dropped it...

The bad news: our rogue predator(s) is still prowling the neighborhood. The closest guess I have after seeing shadowy shapes fleeing the scene is a raccoon. Maybe two. I know, I blew it. That was my chance to prove a point to the little devils.

Plus, I just heard a great horned owl in the backyard for the first time. Right over the chicken run. So, we can chalk owls up to the list of potential predators.

Speaking of the list, I find it fascinating how many people have an opinion on what kind of animals could be stealing from our flock. The boss, the checkout lady at Athens Seed, Grandpa, the roommates. Everybody's got a theory. Whatever it may be, it's getting a lot of attention. What do you think? A penny for your thoughts...

"I will not abide another toe!"

For two nights in a row, I have been awoken by the sounds of screaming chickens. Clearly, our perimeters have been breached.

The first night resulted in nothing more than a brief chorus of chaos inside the coop and a half nude sprint to the flock to verify its safety. Last night, on the other hand, our flock was not so lucky.

Upon hearing the chickens again, I bolted out onto the deck, scaring away our phantom predator. Unfortunately, I arrived just a few minutes too late...

Lodged between the door and frame was a very unlucky hen. Apparently en route to its dining quarters, the predator left the chicken wedged in place in its haste to avoid my wrath. At first glance, she appeared in bad shape. Shocked, bleeding, and noticeably hurt, her chances at survival didn't look good.

But where there's a will, there's a way. This hen has proved herself to be quite the trooper. Aside from a bad limp and unattractive head wound, she appears to be on the path to recovery. After a rough morning, she spent the day drinking, eating, and resting. We'll keep a watchful eye on her over the next few days and monitor her progress. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I'll be waiting patiently to greet our uninvited guest with some sort of unpleasant projectile...

"Leads? Yeah, sure. I'll check with the boys down at the crime lab."

Behold, a dozen golden eggs. We leave for a few days, and the ladies have a full carton waiting on us. What's not to like?

Nothing. Any animal that makes me breakfast is always welcome at my home. Which is why it pains me to report that two more of our flock - the black and white Domineckers - have fallen victim to another (or the same) neighborhood predator.

A tribute to our fallen hens

So far, we've lost four birds. (Now, only the original three Rhode Island Reds remain.) Our only clues to the identity of our predator(s) are the location of the kills. The ducks were attacked back in the bamboo grove, while these two chickens were killed in the more exposed, open part of their run.

Hawks are certainly a possibility, at least for the deaths of the chickens. There's a nest in a nearby pine, and theres always a few circling overhead. But it could also be a number of other animals: foxes, dogs, raccoons, garden gnomes, rogue poultry murderers, etc. Whatever it is, it should know it has started a war. I just recently saw the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, so I'm already in the mood to do battle with varmints. Bring it on.

"Hey, I'm not messing with your special lady."

As of recently, my roommates and I have enjoyed life as new urban chicken owners. There are a total of five new ladies in the backyard - 3 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Domineckers - all of which are laying eggs daily. (We had two ducks for a short time, too, but they were quickly eaten by an unidentified neighborhood predator.)

Aside from providing fresh eggs every day, the chickens have proved to be quite entertaining. You'd be surprised by the reaction a trophy earthworm can illicit. One favorite past time involves throwing treats at one end of their run then the other, effectively racing our hens back and forth. Their running style is pretty hilarious. Like a flock of mini velociraptors.

It didn't take long for merely hanging worms over them to evolve into trying to feed them by mouth. Chickens flying up at your face is pretty unnerving, but that's what makes it a worthwhile, noble activity, right? Aren't you proud, Mom?

I'll post more poultry-related material in the future, but for now, they're most useful in that their enclosure can double as a temporary goat enclosure. The goal is keep a couple of goats for two days and see how much damage they can do.

Right now, the enclosure is completely overtaken with non-native invasives: bamboo, autumn olive, and English ivy. If I had to guess, I'd anticipate the goats honing in on the bamboo leaves at head level. That would be ideal - limbing up the vegetation to increase visibility into the enclosure while at the same time preserving the shade and cover the bamboo offers.

"Way to go, Donny!"

Check it out. Looks like the University's catching on to the alternative grazing approach to ecological restoration. You can read more about it here.

Oddly enough, I used to ride my bike daily right by the parcel of land they fenced off - a linear strip of privet and honeysuckle sandwiched between the Oconee River and River Road. I can remember thinking to myself, as often is the case now, that "my goats would be perfect here." It's good to know I'm not the only one.

I had lunch the other day with two men from the University Architects office. They were interested in and encouraged by the blog, as well as very receptive to the idea of somehow incorporating goats into the equation in the future. At the very least, I offered my time and labor in an effort to stay involved with the project.

"What is that, yoga?"

We have at my house no shortage of bamboo. Whatever spiteful gardener that previously lived here has left us and our neighbors with an infestation. But, as we now know, one man's trash, is another goat herder's treasure.

So, with the Jeep loaded down with the results of a heavy thinning, Brian and I headed to Mrs. Charlie's to share the haul with the herd. As anticipated, they were happy to see us.

What we hadn't anticipated, however, was getting lucky enough to be present for a goat birth. Unbelievable timing. And as if the timing weren't perfect enough, this happened to be the last remaining pregnant goat of the season.

Notice Abbey in the background. As you can tell, those dogs are incredibly vigilant and protective. Mrs. Charlie could not speak highly enough of her two Great Pyrenees. She stressed that had the goat given birth in the evening out in the pasture, one dog would have escorted the herd back to the barn for the night, and the other would stay by the newborn kid and its mother all night. She added that her predation rate since the two dogs' arrival has dropped to zero. Man and goat's best friend.

This particular goat is a Toggenburg named "Cripplet." (Her not-so-subtle name is the result a knee-stiffening birth defect that initially made walking impossible.) The sole leftover of a donated group of goats, she's the only one of her kind in Mrs. Charlie's herd. In most cases, though, Toggenburgs are used primarily as dairy goats.

Also, I'll take advantage of the corny segue opportunity and mention the birth of this blog's Facebook page.

Dana/Mikey Goats

Next stop on the garden tour is Mikey and Dana's. Remember, this property had 4 goats on it for about a month. That's some intensive grazing. Given the time, the goats stripped the yard of any leaves under six feet. Even the plants they first shied away from - aucuba and holly - were completely denuded.

Now that I think about it, the length of time it took for the goats to naturally transition from more palatable invasives to less attractive ornamentals would be valuable to know.

Notice the leveled plane of vegetation in the pictures below. Somebody over there came up with the idea of hanging weights on the limbs to give the goats access to more leaves. Sheer brilliance.

Above is the previously impenetrable corner of privet, honeysuckle, and English ivy. A little elbow grease and a couple of goats, and voila, recovered yard space. What's also interesting is the goats' stripping the bark off the trunks of the larger privet. Those privet "trees" were left standing, but perhaps girdling them in such a way would be enough to kill them. Guess we'll find out...

Dougie House Update

Here's the first of a flurry of posts. Plenty to catch up on.

No better place to start than the Dougie House. Pictured below is the back yard as of this Spring. Notice the remaining bare privet behind the benches. The last image shows what the goats started out with about 2 years ago. Holla at ya herd.