On most dairy farms the bucks get the machete long before their female counterparts. Unless, of course, you keep all your male bucks and don't sell any of them for meat. The reality is most male goats born on a dairy farm get sold for meat, or if there isn't a market for meat they are killed at a young age. Luckily, Tennessee is the second biggest meat goat producer in the country, so we have a market for our boys. Although our bucks aren't quite ready for that yet, they still get the machete everyday. Only they love it.
Usually, when I approach their pen they start running around making goat noises. I always wonder how to describe a goat noise. Cows have 'moos'. Sheep have 'baas'. Goats make all kinds of different noises that are hard to describe in words. Anyway, these fellas make a lot of noise when they see me coming.
They're anxiously awaiting freshly cut branches and saplings from the nearby forest. On many occasions they won't even notice if I have a little grain for them, they're too focused on the prized tree branches.
Previously, I used a small hatchet to harvest their dinner. Since my birthday came, however, I now have a machete. Sweetbreads surprised me with a gift that I'd been wanting for a long time and it works perfectly. The length and weight distribution of the machete make it far easier for me to do my work than with the hatchet.
In addition to harvesting the buck's food, I also use the machete to cut paths for electric fencing in the woods. The cows don't have a portable shade shelter, so they need the woods to provide shelter and shade. Since we rotate them a couple times per week there's always a need to cut a path to make their paddock in the woods. That chore just became a lot easier, and way more fun.
Cows and goats, always a good excuse for a new machete.
