Little Buck and Chewing Cubes

Little Buck finally has a respectable beard!  He also has a yellow cast to his white face and beard hair because he has some unsavory habits (but excellent aim and bladder control!).  He is still his usual sweet self, despite those pesky hormones. 

He had a distinct odor during the fall rut when I kept the boys separate from the girls, but now that all the does have calmed down and the herd is reunited for warmth, I don't notice an offensive smell.  I was hesitant to own a buck because so many people on the interweb cautioned about the stink and the weird male behavior.   Maybe it's because he is still a young buck, but so far he isn't mean or even very loud.  When the girls where having their cycles and bawling like idiots, Little Buck only made little goat grunts that sounded like a baby goat in distress.  This seemed to irritate Peaches, but wasn't a bother to the rest of us.  

Tractor Supply sells these big bags of alfalfa and oat cubes in the horse supply section.  I bought a bag to see if the animals would like them as a treat.  

The cubes look like compressed blocks of green vegetation.  

They are very dense and the goats have a bit of trouble chewing them unless I break them into little flakes.  

Can you see the new sliding door that Brandon built for the goat stall?  It's the new yellow plywood.  This door slides closed so I can block the wind and lock the goats in their stall.  On these cold days I've been leaving just enough of a gap in the door so they can squeeze through.  I know fresh air is important, but I think my little barn is a bit drafty and the openings face the wind.   

The donkeys love the cubes, and will take a big hunk and chew, and chew, and chew.  They chew so much they get green slobber on their lips.  

How to illustrate the wind with photography?  We have a strong wind, and photos just don't communicate the presence of the wind.  I made the short movie below of the donkeys chewing their green cubes in the wind.  You can see their fur blowing and hear the rattle of the wind in the microphone.  Enjoy a few minutes of donkey chewing in the wind zen!