Welcome Pigs
So, I have mostly recovered from the mountain climbing. Although my calves are sore. At least I think it’s my calves. I left my anatomy dictionary in my other pants.
But let’s rewind and give a proper introduction to the two new pigs.
Oink, oink! Two lovely, little spotted piglets.
It was fun to see them explore their new home.
They seemed to like it. I made a video of their arrival: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ni4RrjKTDrc. You can see Kurt carry them inside and how everyone is ooohing and aaahing over them.
It was my day off so I went up there bright and early. And then I realized that Kurt wasn’t bringing them from his own place. He had to go to some lady and pick them up. Which meant that they wouldn’t be there early in the morning. So I ended up having something like 4 hours to kill before their arrival. Luckily I had the goats to keep me company so that wasn’t too bad. When I got there Kurt slapped me playfully on the back and said that I ought to get there at 10 every day. I asked why, and he said that he had had 20 kids standing in the rabbit house being too afraid to come out because the goats where outside. Haha. And yesterday when I got to the playground Alice was again chasing the goats away from the food containers. And she was glad to see me so I could keep the goats away from there. All in all I seem to be good at being a goat whisperer. Keeping the goats out of trouble. As much as humanly possible.
The goats weren’t too impressed with the new piglets I think. You can see in the video that they come in to check it out. But that’s it. The food containers happen to be right next to the pig sty so while everyone was looking at the pigs, the goats were snooping around for food instead.
Vanilje is pretty curious about other animals though. You saw her fascination with Lulu. And it was the same thing when this little fellow came by:
A pigeon.
Vanilje followed it around, of course it kept flying away from her. And eventually it flew up on the roof of a building so Vanilje had to give up the chase. I got a bit of it on video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sULj3DCFLB4. Funny. And then:
A new little bunny, being taken for a walk by a girl (whose head got cut off in the picture, oops). Again Vanilje very curious. She’s quite the adventurer, a veritable captain Kirk, meeting new species and boldly going where no goats have gone before.
It’s so great to have her back.
It was a nice day, Wednesday. Hanging out with the goats. And then meeting the piglets. Thursday was the field trip to the Mols mountains. I’ll make an entry about that tomorrow probably. With pictures en masse. Friday I got the day off. I was completely exhausted and sore so I called in sick, and Trine, my contact person, was very understanding. She was happy that I had managed to go. It was no problem for me to get the day off to recuperate. Which I did by going to the playground and sitting down with the goats.
The pigeon came by again. At least I think it’s the same one. It landed right in the middle of the little bunny pen. Vanilje was once again very interested in it, but she couldn’t get over the fence to the bunny pen so she just walked around on the outside and looked at it.
The piglets were out and about.
Digging through the dirt.
I think they like their new home. Lots of mud to roll around in. They’re still a bit jittery. If you make a sudden noise then they grunt and run away. But I did manage to reach down and touch one of them without any complaints. Kurt says that it’s an extremely friendly breed. He even said it would be possible to walk around downtown with them on a leash, like puppy dogs! Hah. I don’t think they’re planning to do it, but it still sounds fun.
Their snouts seem kind of long and thin, at least compared to Yvonne’s. I think it was Kurt or Per who said that they looked like ant-eaters! Hah. And when Kurt threw a handful of wheat on the ground for them on the first day they were eating it up, running their snouts over it like little, powerful vacuum cleaners.
There were some people there to see the goats too. They are studying to be teachers, as far as I understood. And they were doing a project about goats (or whas it animals in general?) and their effect on kids and education and other complex things that I didn’t quite pick up. But as part of their project they had to show that they had been around the goats and were comfortable with them and such. So they went around and took pictures and we talked a bit. It’s always nice when I get to talk about the goats. It’s one of the few subjects where I feel like I can actually talk. Actually have conversations. So that’s good for me. Magnethe was kinda pushing Vanilje around a bit so they asked if they were mother and daughter. I explained that they were sisters, that it was just a bit of sibling rivalry.
There they are, saying goodbye to the goats. There was a little girl too who came and sat next to me and talked for a bit and played a little with the goats. She was afraid of them but she didn’t let her fear get the best of her. Most of the kids are more or less afraid of the goats. Some just run away when they get near. It’s nice when there are kids who stay and intereact with the goats despite their apprehension. And then of course I try to help. I keep Mads in check and explain that they aren’t dangerous and so on. I see it as my duty as a goat whisperer to facilitate the inter-species communications. Look, it’s right here on my job description. (Okay, it’s just a piece of paper with some lines jotted down in red crayon).
I’ll finish off with a video I uploaded a few days ago and then forgot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=StPmxc9mgMg. I call it “wacky goats”. Because they’re acting rather wacky. Especially Mads in the beginning. He’s follow Magnethe around, sort of sniffing at her backside. And making odd grunts that you normally hear from ‘intact’ bucks. Mads is neutered. It’s very odd behaviour from him. And it seems to freak out Magnethe a bit too. She starts jumping around to get away. And then Vanilje starts running and jumping too. She’s quite easily excited. If one of the other goats runs or jumps then she’ll start too. And then Mads starts running around too, so pretty soon all three goats are just all over the place. Good fun. (Turn up the volume to hear Mads’s grunting better).
That’s all. Next on Plume: Mountaineering! (What a cliffhanger!)
March 31st, 2007 at 22:11
Wow, not too much goes on at the playground that the goat trio isn’t aware of, is there? Kurt must have sent them a memo about the piggies arriving.
We have a new use for goats – babysitters. Round up all the kids in the rabbit hutches and post a goat at the door. Kids, do your homework or the goat will get you! Clean your plate, or the goats will eat it!
Looks like your Playground Guide duties have started already with explaining the complex behavior of goats. Jump around a lot, look for food, jump some more, chase children, look at pigeons, eat food, run to Plume, and look for food.
April 1st, 2007 at 6:29
I think you’re very much needed there. Having that many children hiding out, too afraid to come out because of the goats, isn’t a good thing. Kurt was correct. You could have taught the children how to interact around the goats. In a sense, you’re the teacher and the 20 or so children your students.
Have they named the piglets yet? There should be a naming contest; and the best name gets a prize. The piggies are absolutely adorable! In time, they will follow you around just like the goats.
I have seen on the television people who have put a leash on their pet pig. But pigs are very, very smart. Some say even smarter than dogs. What I don’t like is when people say that pigs are dirty. Just because they like mud, which keeps them cool from the hot sun, doesn’t mean they’re terrible creatures.
So it will be interesting to see how they will interact with you. Just like the sheep, they will sense you as a friendly being and will accept you into their group, just like the goats and sheep.
I shan’t be surprised at all if one or both of the piglets will come up to you and just nap. I’m glad that Kurt said they’re a friendly breed.
On that note, there was a big dog loose on the freeway here in San Diego. The police stopped traffic and tried to get the dog. But it thought it was playing so it ran all over the now quiet freeway while cars were held back by the police.
Then it ran into a nearby neighborhood while the police used a bullhorn to warn the people there to stay indoors. The dog was finally caught and now it’s sitting in the animal shelter.
But since it got so much coverage on the news, there’s no doubt it will be placed in a good home soon.
If you know anything about the freeways in San Diego, especially southern California, we have traffic that is a complete nightmare. And to close the freeways for whatever reason causes delays and backups that lasts for hours.
So to do that for just one dog is amazing! The dog literally stopped traffic for over an hour during the lunch time traffic. But it’s alive and I’m very happy about that.
We don’t need anymore killing than necessary. With the way the world is right now, we need all the happy stories we can get.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:15
I love those videos – I think I might know why I like goats so much… it’s because they’re curious and want to know what’s going on just like me :)
The vid of Vanilje trying to befriend the pigeon is great! And when they come in to see the piggles – made me laugh out loud!
Keep up the good work for human-goat relations!
April 1st, 2007 at 21:02
Debster – Well, the playground is their kingdom so they have to keep everything in check of course. Make sure that the piglets don’t steal ALL the attention.
I think Mads would make an excellent watchdog. He doesn’t bark, but he’ll still keep anyone in. Or out.
Do you know the first law of the playground, as decreed by the ruler goats? “Finders Eaters”!
Luis Lemmings – I like teaching about the goats. The kids are often afraid even to walk past the goats. As if the goats would start aggressively hunting them or something. Truth is Mads couldn’t care less if anyone walks past him. Only if they’re carrying food he would go to the trouble of actually following them.
The pigs aren’t named yet. We will have to do some serious brainstorming. And I certainly don’t think of them as dirty horrible creatures, no. Sometimes I am tempted to roll around in the mud and dirt as well. If I didn’t have to walk home in mudsoiled clothes then I might even do it. Getting dirty is fun.
I like the idea of a dog stopping traffic like that, thinking it’s all a big game. Sometimes I envy the simplicity of animals’ lives. I’d rather run around and play on an empty freeway than sit in a big metal block spouting smoke and pollution on my way to some place I probably don’t even want to go. Roll in the mud, that’s what I want.
Stu – You gotta love how curious they are yes. They are always examing everything. Do you follow pigeons around? Just curious :)
I wonder if I can get an official post as human-goat ambassador or something.