Step 5 of the embryo transfer report was supposed
to start with the uneventful picking the goats
up at Jeff Latham’s and end with cute
little babies being born in August.
Somewhere along the way someone
didn’t hear the word “uneventful.”
I do not recommend anyone follow
our unintended Step 5 in their own embryo
transfer program.
The weather was perfect –
just what John Edwards suggested. Not a
cloud in the sky, and the temperature was
in the mid 60s. A lovely spring day.
Since the truck had pulled so hard
on the previous trip to Livingston, AL and
since we were only hauling 5 goats, we decided
to forego the trailer and just travel in
the truck. First mistake.
We were well prepared. We had the
cattle sideboards on; and, since Xenia is
a jumper, we cut two cattle panels and affixed
them, overlapping, to the top of the sideboards.
And to keep the wind off the critters, we
invested in a 12 by 14 foot heavy duty (expensive)
tarpaulin to put on before making the trip
north. We had plenty bungee cords and baling
twine to keep the tarp secured to the sideboards.
Second mistake.
We had an uneventful trip to the
Lazy L. Catching and loading the goats wasn’t
difficult (although they did take Jeff on
a stroll around the pond). All was going
so well we never dreamed of the adventure
to come.
About 200 yards after we got onto
I20/I59, the wind got underneath the tarpaulin,
and suddenly the sideboards learned how
to fly. Up, up and away – leaving
five startled goats standing, untethered,
in the back of the pickup truck. They stood
very patiently – until the truck came
to a stop on the side of the interstate.
Sensing they weren’t supposed to be
there and seeing lushious green brush in
front of them, over the side of the truck
they leaped, running up the hill into the
woods. We managed to catch one.
We put a rope around her neck,
and I held on for dear life while Ken backed
the truck to where the sideboard-kite had
landed. He rapidly took the tarp and cattle
panels off the top and got the sideboards
back on the truck – amazing himself
that he could put them on in one piece.
A family of four who had been behind
us stopped to help keep the goats off the
highway. A teenage boy ran into the woods
after the goats (with us just knowing he
was going to chase them back to the traffic)
and came back to report the goats were stopped
by a fence, happily eating. About the time
Ken returned with the truck, the family
got bored and left. They missed all the
fun to come!!
We got Xenia
loaded onto the truck then went in search
of the other four. There were all together
in a tight bunch. Oh to have had a net.
We couldn’t have used it, of course,
because the brush was too thick. On our
first try Ken managed to catch Matilda.
The other three started to follow
Matilda
back to the truck. A mixed blessing. Since
we had no way to catch them in the open,
we scared them back up the hill into the
thicket. Probably mistake number three.
After Matilda was loaded, off we
went after the other three. Again. A gentleman
from Livingston stopped to help along with
an extremely nice young lady. We never learned
either of their names, so we offer this
public THANK YOU!
We almost had Kattie
when the other two decided to dash off in
the opposite direction. They headed toward
a storm draining ditch. Kattie alluded capture
and headed for the interstate.
How she avoided being hit is still
a mystery to us. God was apparently watching
over her; and since He had his chuckle for
the day watching a bunch of overaged, overweight
fools chasing a goat, He took care of her.
One car left the road to miss her. The 18-wheeler
managed to stop as Kattie turned and calmly
walked off the asphalt. As soon as she cleared
the road, she darted back up the hill into
the same thicket.
Our newfound friend (whose name
we never learned) call in reinforcements.
In no time at all (seemed like an eternity)
a Livingston policeman arrived on the scene,
and moments later a fireman joined in the
chase.
Several attempts to corner Kattie
failed, but we did manage to keep her off
the highway by scaring her back up the hill
into the brush, fallen trees, and briars
every time she would make a run for the
clearing beside the road. It took over an
hour to finally trap her.
While we were loading Kattie, our
able search party spread out to find the
other two goats. The policeman spotted them
about 200 yards away from the interstate,
calmly browsing underneath an oak tree with
a herd of cows. He thought it would be best
if we moved off the highway, relocating
to the general area of the goat sighting.
So with the blessings of the policeman,
we backed the truck down the interstate
to an “official vehicles only”
turn-around, then we followed the policeman
to the pasture where he had stopped the
goats. The cows were still grazing; no goats
were to be found.
We called the Lathams, and Jeff
and children arrived, hauler in tow, to
carry the goats back to his place. The search
continued. After almost two hours, we finally
gave up. The goats were last spotted about
½ mile from the Lazy L. There is
a 2-in-a-million (because there are two
goats) chance the goats will find their
way to the Latham’s herd.
But if they don’t –
and if you’re traveling along I20/I59
near Livingston, AL, please drive carefully.
At last spotting, Dot
and Koko
were heading south!
Kattie, Xenia, and Matilda will
vacation at the Lazy L Farm until May 1st
when we go to 2nd Annual Heart of Dixie
Boer Goat Field Day– WITH TRAILER.
Are we the only ones who have these
things happen? We thought the adventure
with Brandy was exciting. In hindsight,
Brandy’s
little adventure was just expensive; chasing
goats along an extremely busy interstate
on a sunny Sunday afternoon will definitely
rank number one in excitement.
