Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats
The Friends Newsletter
Winter 2009
Snow
Winter really struck with a vengeance. Within twenty four hours the wind had changed, bringing a chill Siberian winter from across the continent. Overnight, within just a few hours, eight inches of heavy snow had fallen. Fortunately for us, our near neighbour had been out at daybreak with his tractor and snow plough, and cleared the narrow country lane leading to the sanctuary. This provided access for four wheeled vehicles, but left the road with compacted snow, providing a wonderful skating rink for other vehicular traffic, or pedestrians wearing Wellington boots!
I arrived at the stable blocks and all was hushed and quiet; the absolute silence that one can only experience in the countryside when all sounds are insulated with freshly fallen snow. The trees laden heavily, and all the paddocks and down across the weald; white, white as far as one could see. Normally four or five volunteers would have arrived by now. I knew that one of our part-time employees, Peter, was on holiday and that the other, Carolyn, would have difficulty driving in from the Medway towns. I was alone.
Normally the first priority would be to feed the 110 goats, who would all be patiently waiting in their stalls. But heavy snow had drifted in the passage ways to the stables and up against the doors. If it was not cleared away, it would be walked on the goats straw beds. There was no alternative but to start shovelling. Within minutes, I found myself becoming quite warm, my breath easily seen in the cold morning air as I puffed and panted!
It was with some relief that I heard another person’s voice. Valerie, one of our closest volunteers, lives in the next village and had walked over a mile through the snow to come and help.
Each of the goats has its own stall, or shares with a close companion. They sleep separated primarily to guarantee that each can be served with an individual bowl of cereals matched to his or her own needs. Pigmy goats, being small, get ‘rounded’ very easily if allowed to have too much protein, and the larger goats of course need a bigger portion. Male goats can suffer with bladder crystals if given too much protein, and so receive a larger proportion of roughage in their diet. The very old are guaranteed a little more - perhaps some chopped fruit and vegetables on the top.
The forecast for the rest of the day was for the South East to have more heavy snow showers. Valerie and I therefore decided, for their best comfort, to keep all the goats indoors for the rest of the day. We served breakfast, then collected all of the bowls. We then carried fresh, sweet-smelling hay to everyone, each stall having its own hay rack built in for such occasions.
There is no more satisfying experience in the whole world than to be in a warm stable block with many, many goats, and to listen to the sounds of contented chewing, whilst outside, all is cold and hostile. The very old and infirm enjoyed the added benefit of additional gentle warmth from overhead heat lamps.
To the dismay of the goats, the cold and constant snow showers stayed for many days, necessitating the animals to remain in their pens. Thanks to the many volunteers who battled the adverse weather conditions, all of the goats were kept warm, fed and watered.
Christmas Celebrations in the Stables
For the second year, the volunteers decided that the goats should enjoy Christmas celebrations in their stables – an ideal opportunity for all members of the local community to come along to share the season’s festivities with the goats. Preparations started many weeks before, hanging coloured tree lights in all of the stable blocks, along the back and across all of the pens. ‘Santa’s Grotto’ was constructed from a green tent suspended from the hay shed ceiling and adorned with small coloured lights and decorations. Inside, around the edges, were bales of hay for the children to sit upon, whilst Santa was seated at the back in all of his red finery. He had two young elves to help him select the required presents, and the queue of adults and children waited patiently outside. (Next year, we may have to have Santa for adults as well!!)
Mulled wine, mince pies and hot soup were on hand for the weary. Many of the volunteers donned Santa caps and flashing earrings, and were at hand in the stables to answer questions and to introduce everyone to the goats within their area. Visitors who had adopted goats had the opportunity to come and see them in their pens. Bags of cut carrots and biscuits were sold; many noses were soon stretched over stable doors and long tongues put to the test to see how far they could reach to gather special treats from young, outstretched arms.
Those manning the car parks found themselves almost overwhelmed by the number of cars continually arriving. Lanterns borrowed from the local scouts provided a pathway to the entrance, and a long string of coloured lights showed everyone the stable blocks.
For many of the goats, this was to be their first Christmas at buttercups. I wonder what they thought of it all?
Ramesses
Some time in the summer, we had a frantic telephone call from a goat breeder living in Suffolk. They had borrowed an ‘Anglo Nubian’ billy goat from an elderly lady for breeding and, having done his job, were told the owner no longer wanted him back because he was becoming too much of a problem. Like all good billy goats, he kept trying to escape from his solitary pen to be with the girls. No matter how high the fence, how well barricaded the doors to his shed, like all red-blooded males he was determined to do what he was best at doing. Being an entire billy, he did smell somewhat and, although hornless, he certainly was not a candidate for being a family pet, so we were asked if we could help.
A few days later we arrived, with the trailer in tow. I was taken across the field to a large solitary shed. I could smell the billy from fifty paces. As I approached, looking at me through the slats of the shed, I could just see two big, defiant, brown eyes measuring me up and down. From past experience, I realised that this was one of those rare occasions where I needed all of my skills and fortitude! The doorway was barricaded with a number of hurdles, stoutly tied together with copious amounts of baler twine; this told its own story. Undoing one corner, I sidled in with collar and lead in my hand. Inside, all was gloom. In one corner stood this magnificent, majestic billy goat. Dark brown in colour, tall, with a long, regal Roman nose, thick, bullish neck and sporting the longest drooping ears I have ever seen. Had he been a bull, he would have been standing there pawing the ground with one of his front feet. Slowly, very slowly, whispering what I hoped sounded reassuring platitudes – if not to him, to convince myself that all was calm efficiency. I slowly inched forward, eventually being able to fasten the collar around his neck. He was huge.
I decided to stand with him for a few minutes looking into his eyes, talking with him and gaining his confidence. The time then came for me to make my move. I turned to walk him gently out of the shed and, at the same time, the hurdles were opened wide. That was it. He took off like a rocket!!
My hand was caught entwined in the end of the lead. I shot out of the entrance, my shoulder colliding with the corner of the shed. Once outside, he had only one ambition in life; where are the girls? Without slackening in momentum, he took off in the direction of the female quarters located near the entrance to the field. At last, fortune was on my side - the car and trailer were parked near the gate. I had over a hundred yards in which to try to regain some form of rhythm to my stride, and some form of feeling at last started to return to my shoulder. I was able to begin pulling him in! By the time he reached his goal, his energy was mostly spent, and so was mine. Eventually, I was able to hold on to his collar and to guide him into the trailer.
On arrival at Buttercups, because of his noble appearance, he was christened ‘Ramesses’. He was immediately isolated in the ‘boys only’ section. Two days later he had an appointment with his friendly doctor, and from that moment onwards his life changed, for ever!! As the weeks passed, he settled down wonderfully well. He loves sharing the company of his companions, and his behaviour has completely changed. About a month after arriving, he was introduced to the main herd for just the day so we could give him a jolly good bath to get rid of the remaining smell of ‘billy’.
Ramesses and friends relaxing
Ramesses is now so happy and content. He is relaxed, friendly, and has an enormous character.
Some months later, I received a telephone call from an elderly lady – ‘I believe that you have my billy goat’. ‘Oh,’ says I, somewhat taken aback, ‘which one? Can you describe him to me?’ ‘Yes, he is an extremely large brown Anglo Nubian, and he is a pedigree breeding stud – a prize winner of many shows and very valuable. If you have him, can I have him back please’! Today, Ramesses is still with us. He may no longer have value as a prize winning stud, but he remains one of the bachelor boys in our isolation herd.
You can see Ramesses having his bath and his visit to the vets on our DVD ‘All in a day’.
Shakespeare and Roland
As is to be expected , the majority of our intake comes from the south east area, but now and again we have that call which sends us further a field. On this occasion, we had a call about two entire billys at Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset. A man was given them as a surprise birthday present by his two sons. He had a small piece of scrub land near the house and had always jokingly said he would get a goat to clear it of undergrowth.
The fencing of the area was not suitable, they had a simple field shelter for sleeping under, and the man had little time to give them any attention. The desperate telephone call came from his neighbour just three houses away. ‘The goats keep getting out, jumping the fence, and have already devastated the two gardens in between. I am contacting you before they reach my garden. Please can you help?’
We made the journey in a day to collect the goats. One has been named Shakespeare because he has a large fringe on the top of his head that hangs over his eyes. The other has bee christened Roland, and he shares a stall with Ramesses.
Honey and Badger
Either the current financial situation or the ‘I want to go on holiday’ syndrome has required us on several occasions in recent weeks to have to go into the countryside to collect abandoned goats. One was local to us, which makes you wonder why they could not have telephoned us direct for help. She is a small brown and white pigmy goat, very friendly. We have named her ‘Honey’.
Another is an entire male pigmy found abandoned in Sussex. He is black with patches down his side, similar in colour to a Badger, so what other name could he be called?
On these occasions, both the RSPCA and the Police are informed so the former owners have the opportunity to trace them if they so desire, but this has seldom ever been the case.
Bunny and Dido
Bunny came to Buttercups several years ago when he was only eighteen months old. He had been kept by local travellers, and he loved to wander. He was always over the fence or, more likely, through it. When asked by the neighbours (probably in desperation) if they really wanted him, the neighbours took him into their care and then brought him to the sanctuary.
At the time, the name ‘Bunny’ was thought to be highly suitable. He was short (about 30 inches high), very thin, long legged, and his colouring was a mixture of light and dark grey. Had we known then what he was going to grow into, we certainly would not have named him ‘Bunny’. I think that ‘Brutus’ would have been more suitable.
Bunny is now fully grown and is one of our tallest goats. He has character, very long legs, and sports a magnificent pair of horns. We think that when he was very young, he may have been hit hard over his back - he has a mark over his spine where the hair will not grow. Each morning, as soon as we start the feeds, he draws attention to himself just in case he might be forgotten. He bangs on his door with his horns! By rights, this sort of behaviour should simply be ignored, but as soon as this starts, so that some form of tranquillity may return, his stable section is hastily fed. Then, when he has finished, he thinks that he might be missing out on something else, so he starts all over again until someone rushes to let him out.
Nature creates strange bedfellows – his partner is the complete opposite. Dido is a squat, rather overweight, short legged, black female pigmy. Bunny is very protective of her. At night, he waits until she gives him the nod, then they will go in together, but not until she says so. Fortunately, she has not taken on his bad habits.
Each morning the goats are fed fruit and vegetables which have been cut up and scattered in the field by volunteers. This is quite an event and eagerly awaited by everyone. An electric buzz seems to go through the herd, even before any volunteers have left the stables to distribute the food. Somehow, Bunny just does not seem to be on the same wavelength as the rest of the herd While the other goats grow visibly excited, Bunny is either running in the opposite direction trying to entice someone to play with him, bashing the metal hay rack with his horns hoping that one of the other female goats will look at him, or is simply trying to demolish the sides of the stable block. When the gates to the field are eventually opened to allow the food rush to begin, over one hundred goats stampede out; all but Bunny. He stands as always looking bemused, wondering why everyone has suddenly taken off leaving him behind. To think of investigating is too much for Bunny – he simply stands and stares at everyone in the field with their heads down. Then eventually, thinking that he is probably the only sane goat left, he turns and carries on trying to demolish the hay rack.
Buttercups New Book on Goat Keeping
Written by one of the founders of Buttercups, Valerie Hitch has produced a splendid book called, simply, ‘Goat Keeping’. This perfect pocket book guide provides an invaluable aid for the new owner, or gives an introduction to anyone thinking of keeping goats. It explains the art of good husbandry and daily care in keeping these loyal and challenging creatures, covering all of the aspects you would want to know about goat care. There are over one hundred coloured photographs, the majority of which feature the well known and greatly loved goat characters from Buttercups. The book can be ordered from our website shop or direct from Buttercups. Cost £7 plus pp £2.
‘All in a Day’ DVD
This is the new DVD of Buttercups. Made with the help of the members of Valley films, it follows a typical day at Buttercups, from dawn until dusk. It shows the love and care enjoyed by the goats, from daily health checks, to feeding, grooming, cuddling, and cleaning out, and reveals the hard work undertaken by our many dedicated volunteers. It shows the goats at rest and play, and what it certainly does is highlight how gentle, amusing, intelligent, and, of course, mischievous, goats really can be. Order from our website shop or direct from Buttercups. Cost £10 plus pp £1.20.