New Kid On The Block

In the East it’s called Yin/Yang. Here in the West, we call it masculine/feminine. In business it’s often referred to as left brain/right brain. But whether you’re running a company, a family or a farm, Nature is all about the balance thing, which today, poses a new challenge around these parts.

TJ on his favorite "Big Dog" porch

No sooner did I decide to keep one of Rosey’s pups (Rosebud…to be Rosey’s buddy),  I fell in love with Hiccups (now fondly called Hiccapup or Hix for short).  While it made for quite the budget expansion (food for these big boys can run you an arm and a leg), for the sake of keeping a peaceful balance (I rationalized) I should keep an equal number of boys and girls, just to even things out.

(Another one of those “Didn’t quite think this one through” moments, of which I have a lot.)

So now I’m bonded to Hix, as I am with all my critters, but sadly, who doesn’t like Hix... is TJ.

When the pups were brought in to meet their Uncle Teej (at around 6 weeks old), TJ barely even noticed. “Consider yourself a goat” I coulda sworn I heard him say. To Teej it was just another herd to protect. (When your head is big as TJ’s you really don’t worry if you’ve over extended yourself. Coyotes and buzzards and foxes (oh my) are not welcome here.) 

But now that Hix is half TJs size and growing like a weed with paws even larger than TJs at the same stage of things, I have a growing concern that, for all my balancing intentions, I failed to consider the “T” factor (which is to say, Testosterone!)

When it comes to his things, (his bones, his toys, his mama—ie. “me”) TJ doesn’t share. Try as I may, it’s not happening and while Hix has learned to keep a safe distance, he is likewise a male…likewise becoming more territorial as he grows.

While the plan was for Rosebud and Hix to eventually have their own set of goats to protect (allowing TJ and Rosey to resume their pygmy goat-guarding duties), I’m not so certain I can fence faster than Hix is growing.

Hiccapup (a.k.a. "Hix") Can't Help But Grow

At present Hix is in a growth spurt equivalent that of a teenage boy. Again, comparing his size to TJs at the same stage of things, it appears Hix might just surpass TJ in size. (Lord help.) Add to that his own growing tendency to protect (both his real mama and his 2-legged one) and I am now rethinking the Hix factor.

The good news is, Hix outgrew that little hiccupping problem he had as a pup, which, as a result, has now made him the most aggressive eater in the bunch (hence another reason he's growing so fast). For those who missed that blog, Hiccapup was so named because as a little guy, come food time, he’d get so nervous battling the other 6 pups that he’d break into hiccups, which netted him a little extra TLC from me, and repeatedly, his own bowl.

Little did I consider that this cute little habit (of him training me to secure his own food source) netted me a dog that, now big enough to hold his own, scarfs his food quite quickly so as to nudge on over to everyone else’s bowl before they’ve finished. (Every one that is, except TJ.)

As to what happens when Hix surpasses TJ, well, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. (Or else I’ll be starting that dairy goat operation sooner than I had intended.)

It all serves to remind that it takes only the slightest change in the course of nature to throw off the entire balance. Then again, when it came to this cute little pup hiccuping every time he started to eat, I can't say that I could've responded any differently. (He was just too dang cute.)

Another one for the file of "Things the blonde farmer did not think through."

TJ --Master of All He Surveys

(I think it's time I start a book.)