Artie just went down the road

[mammabooh]

I kept one of our buck's daughters last spring, so I needed a new buck for next year. I put Artie on craigslist and a woman called the next day and bought him. However, it has taken a month for her to arrange to pick him up. Anyway, some folks came today in a minivan with the middle row of seats removed. There was a young teen boy sitting on the back bench seat and we put Artie in the middle. I cannot imagine riding in that vehicle for over 100 miles like they were gonna do. The woman who bought him lives about 150 miles away, so these folks are going to meet her part way and transfer him to her vehicle. I told them they had better be glad it didn't happen a month ago, because he was dripping with pee stench then. Blech!

By the way, I have a buckling reserved that will hopefully be born either next week, or in April (two different does). He will be a bottle baby, so that's gonna be a pain in the patootie! If one of those two doesn't have a buckling, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. It seems like it's pretty difficult to find tested stock around here.

[dozedotz]

We had several young teen boys at one time...it was worse than pee stench.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by dozedotz

We had several young teen boys at one time...it was worse than pee stench.

We have one pre-teen boy, so I can only imagine. A while back, he was outside running around. When he came in, he said "Mamma, I have Amish armpits"! We bought deodorant the next time we went to town.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I have had a classroom of junior high males after their P.E. calls. The next class (eleventh graders) always walked in and wrinkled their noses. :P

I can't tell you how many folks have met me in parking lots to pick up kids in minivans.

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I brought Hercules, Otto, and Toast home in the back of my Jeep. Gemini was spoiled and got to wear a diaper and sit in my lap or the kids' laps, or my husband's lap everytime she rode in the car, which was every weekend last summer because we took her camping.

[LomahAcres]

I prefer to haul goats in my mini van over truck or trailer. Better gas mileage and closer to the ground for goats getting up and down. Granted - I take out the back seat and put a tarp down - duct taped up 2' on each side and all of the front, with a nice layer of straw down. Taken goats as far as 6 hours that way, cleans up pretty nice too. But yeah- a buck in the middle with no tarp - not happenin' in this mini van.

[mammabooh]

I can understand hauling a kid, but he'll be two years old in May. Ugh!

They brought a cage along, but thought better of it once they saw how big he is. For some reason, they had put a pile of dirt in the middle of the cage (I would imagine they didn't have straw since they were just the transporters). When they decided against using the cage, they just dumped the pile of dirt in the middle of the minivan floor. Whatever floats yer boat, I guess!

Anyway, the lady who bought him called a bit ago and is tickled to death with him...said he's much more handsome than what she thought after seeing him on craigslist. She texted me a picture of Artie riding in the back of her hubby's SUV. She has several girls that she's hoping to breed yet this season, and her neighbor man just got two new girls that need to be bred. Artie is going to think he died and went to heaven.

[bluefish]

I just sold a 3 year old buck last month. There were 5 people in a Ford Explorer (or something similar) and they put him in the back. They laid down some cardboard and a blanket, but still..........They had a 4 hour drive ahead of them. Braver people than me!!

[BethW]

Originally Posted by Squeaky McMurdo

I brought Hercules, Otto, and Toast home in the back of my Jeep.

We did the same with our three goats. I was so excited that I rode the 2 hours home in the back of the Jeep with them. They slept much of the time.

[LFRJ]

Mammah boo. I remember the day when you (and I) only had chickens.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by LFRJ

Mammah boo. I remember the day when you (and I) only had chickens.

Yep! We are talking about adding pigs and turkeys this year too...and a much more productive garden. I canned around 800 jars last year, but we are still wishing we would have done more!

[COWS]

Re: hauling livestock in vans: Recently I was at the sale barn and someone had an old van with the rear seats out and some barrier , I think, behind the front seats. He loaded his purchase through the side sliding door. AIRC it was a calf, not a goat, but I thought at the time his system had some advantages, as in no exposure to the cold wind, reducing the chances of shipping fever. Also, the livestock couldn't climb out over the sides(I have seen trailers with only 5 foot sides). Only disadvantage would be the smell.

COWS

[Tango]

I no longer have a livestock trailer so have been thinking about bringing kids home when I eventually do that. Two choices: a large dog crate on my utility trailer, or setting up the back of my jeep liberty with a plastic liner and straw bedding and a doggy barrier. So far the back of the jeep liberty is only showing advantages i wouldn't do this with a buck though. Years ago, the matriarch in my boar herd took off and ended up about a mile away in a neighbor's creek bed. The herd was still falrly new. My neighbor called me and I went over to get her in my truck. She road inside the cab with me and was just fine all the way home I wouldn't do that with a buck either

[bluefish]

Originally Posted by COWS

Re: hauling livestock in vans: Recently I was at the sale barn and someone had an old van with the rear seats out and some barrier , I think, behind the front seats. He loaded his purchase through the side sliding door. AIRC it was a calf, not a goat, but I thought at the time his system had some advantages, as in no exposure to the cold wind, reducing the chances of shipping fever. Also, the livestock couldn't climb out over the sides(I have seen trailers with only 5 foot sides). Only disadvantage would be the smell.

COWS

This would be great as a dedicated livestock vehicle. If it had to double as the family car, though, that may not be so nice. I haul goats in our Taurus all the time, but bucks are pickup or horse trailer only! I'd think that smell would linger a loooooooooooooong time in the car.

[SeaGoat]

I have an extra large dog crate that fits perfectly inside the back of my small SUV.
The only time I have had loose goats in the car was when 2 kids couldnt fit in the crate because of their momma. They just rode on the floorboard of the the front seat, no problem..
It was only suppose to be a 30 minute ride, till my car broke down
They all did fine though. The SO, BIL, and a co-worker came. We transferred everyone over to the truck, put the car on the trailer, and away we went.
The SOs family might think Im crazy, but I just like to think I add a little spice to their life

[Cygnet]

The one and only time I hauled a kid loose in a vehicle, it was 40 pound Nubian wethers, about six months old. I had an old Cherokee. The kids spooked and tried to leap out through the back window, and put a big crack in it. They were only 40 pounds -- a bigger goat could have gone right through the glass (or ended up in my lap, with disastrous results.) I had less than a mile to go, over rural dirt roads, so I figured they'd be okay for the short trip.

Since then, I've always crated animals or cross-tied them, with the exception of kids small enough to ride on the floor at the feet of a passenger.

I once sold a full size Nigerian buck (around 80 pounds) to a family that showed up without crate for him. The buck was as wild as a deer and definitely a freezer camp candidate. I suggested we cross-tie him in the back of their pickup (he was horned, so a collar couldn't come off) with tie straps -- or kill and gut him before transport. He was destined for a BBQ, and the owner lived a few miles away. The buyer's husband decided that simply holding the goat by the collar in the bed of the truck was the best solution. I convinced him to *crosstie* the goat anyway in case he got loose, but as they pulled out, the guy was seated in the bed of the pickup, holding onto that goat's collar for dear life so he "wouldn't strangle himself."

[Suzyq2u]

Everything we own has been hauled here in a mini van or born here, lol

Though no full grown bucks LOL

[Farmer Jayne]

My first goat rode home partially on my lap, partially on the floor of the front passenger seat of a '92 Toyota Camry (I loved that car!) She was 2 weeks from kidding and looked a lot like Babbette with long hair and horns. There wasn't a lot of room and she stuck her head out the window. We got many strange looks from people driving by. She didn't try to get out and seemed to enjoy the ride.
I have found that if you can keep a goat laying down for the ride they won't poop or pee. But as soon as they stand up, watch out.
I've never tried to travel with a wild goat or a full grown buck. We've brought home our bottle babies with our kids holding them in the back seat. We've delivered bucklings by looping seat belts through their collars in the back seat of our '84 Mercedes.
When people come to pick up goats that they have bought it's always interesting to see how they plan to haul it. One lady brought a 4 horse trailer (a very fancy one) for a single doe. The next guy got a doe and her kid and just hog-tied them in the back of his pick up. One lady just put the buckling in the back seat. She got home ok, but I was worried.
Then there was the guy who came to buy some ducks. He came from Georgia, a three hour drive. He bought 10 full grown ducks and put them in open containers in the passenger seat. By the time he was ready to leave he had ducks everywhere and his truck already needed to be hosed out.

[mammabooh]

The lady just texted and said she loves Artie and that he is such a character. Everyone is getting along just fine. She said he looked quite startled the first time one of her donkeys brayed!

[Pinehollow]

I use my mini van to haul livestock. All the seats are stowed and I put a piece of plywood wrapped in outdoor carpet over that. When hauling a sheep or goat, I put down plastic and use a x-large wire dog crate with straw. Easy clean up.. and I can keep an eye on them too. My new little jacob ewe chatted with me all the way home!