Gotta rave about Jazz. For a long time she lacked confidence in the barnyard, so daunted by the goats after getting pummeled by one as a juvenile that she'd trot for the house when I would traipse down to the barn. That concerned me, since I hope to use her as one of my foundation females.
Lately, to my delight & relief, she has come into her own. It started the day I wrote the article, "She's got my back". Since then she has come to realize that these goats are afraid of her and will move if she uses her snap & bark. She now starts to grin when I call her and say, "Jazz, I need your help." Cheerfully running down to the barn, tail a high wagging flag, she eagerly watches to see what we need to do.
Monday evening was a prime example. We had a bunch of chores to tackle in the barnyard. While I worked on a doe with mastitis, I needed her to keep the other goats away from me and also the grain she was eating. With the command 'Watch 'em', Jazz's eyes lit up and she immediately rushed with a low growl to create a space around us. Wide eyed, the other does leapt backwards, not daring to more than poke their noses through the doorway to the milk room. Then it was time to check the doe's buckling for fever as a precaution since his mama's milk was infected. "Grryap!" Jazz jumped into the throng, clearing the way so we could get to his stall. 'Hup' over the divider into the stall. Checked him over- Jazz had to inspect him too- he was on the higher end for temperature, but it was a record breaking hot 28* day at the tail end of winter and all the goats had spent the day panting in their thick coats. I made a mental note to check him again in the morning & put him away. Jazz hurdled the divider again to mobilize the goats so I could exit. Following that, we walked the gauntlet, Jazz hazing the does out of the way, so that we could have an unobstructed path to transfer the treated doe back to her stall. "Snap, woof,' she pushed them again so we could get to the feed/meds room for grain for the next milker.
'Watch em' brought tense posture, tail up, and a low growl, keeping the goats from pushing in for illicit snacks... Snorting, heads high, everyone kept their distance.
I brought another doe in for milking. All this time, Jazz's air snap and "yap!" clearing a path so I could walk through without having to push and shove against the wave of animals eager for the grain in my bucket, does swerving like minnows before us. Done milking, hubby puts that doe away while I go outside to gather up the ducks and herd them into their shed, goats following me in a stream. Inside the coop I count that we got them all, then back outside to move the goats back into the barn for the night, Jazz a faithful shadow throughout. "Put 'em away" does the trick. Tightly bunched in front of Jazz, they trip trap into the barn. Goats all locked up, time to hike to the house to tube feed some kids... No bed for me, but I can lay my concerns about her qualifications as a foundation gal to rest; she's a chore champ. Good girl, Jazz! :)
