Never Butt Heads with a Goat . . . You Will Lose

Let me make this clear.  It wasn’t the goat’s fault.  She is a very sweet goat, and she would never try to hurt me.  That being said, I’ll tell you the story of how my sweetest goat landed me in the hospital this week!

Molly is my oldest goat.  We aren’t exactly sure how old she is.  Last year, the vet deemed her “middle age,” whatever that means.  Anyway, when Eric built the milk stand, he built it to accommodate his height and he built a set of steps to help the goats get up.  Of course, the goats absolutely refused to use the steps, preferring just to jump for it.

Fast forward a year.  Eric helps milk the cow often, but he never (ever) milks the goats.  I am in great need of cutting about 6 inches off the legs, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Molly is now reluctant to make the jump many days.  When she really refuses, I usually pick up her front legs and then pick up her back legs to get her up.

Well, yesterday I had taken down a banana peel as a treat for the goats.  (Goats think banana peels are candy, did you know that?)  Anyway, as I was picking up Molly’s front feet, she saw the peel and apparently decided to jump for it.  She threw her head back in her attempt, and we bonked heads with a sickening crack.

I yelled for Erica, who ran to my aid, bringing me an ice pack and helping me back to the house.  I tried to walk it off, but I was feeling very off by the time I reached the house.  It was time to call in the big guns mom.  I am very lucky that she only lives 3 miles down the road and she rushed right over.  Meanwhile I asked the smart people in Facebook land for advice.  I received overwhelming advice to go get checked out, and for once, I felt bad enough to actually listen.

I had a major headache (duh) along with tingling in my extremities, confusion, and a general drunk feeling.  I was diagnosed with a mild concussion and a black eye.  (As a side note, apparently all the ER workers fought over who would get to treat the lady with a concussion from a goat!)

My black eye is beginning to heal. The funny thing is that she didn’t actually hit me in the eye!

I thought I was better the next day once the major symptoms disappeared, but apparently, I wasn’t out of the woods yet.  I have battled with bouts of fatigue, headache, confusion, fuzzy-head and irritability all week.  In fact days have gone by and I haven’t posted about what happened because I couldn’t come up with the words.

In better news, I’ve had a very good, productive day today, and I am finally feeling more like myself.  I hope it is here to stay, I’ve missed me!

For more goat stories, be sure to check out out “Animals” tab at the top of the page!