The Great Houdini - Annie the Nubian Goat

Each morning while we milk the cows, we put Annie, our Nubian dairy goat, into the goat milking stall.  You can see the gate leading into the stall in the photo below. To the left of the gate inside the stall is Annie's milking stanchion and her trough that we pour dairy ration for her to eat while Tricia milks her.  I'm not a big fan of drinking her milk plain, but we make goat kefir (a drinkable yogurt) that we make delicious smoothies with by blending in berries, figs, honey, and cinnamon.  It is a great, healthy breakfast-on-the-go.

So while we milk the cows, Annie waits (sometimes) patiently for us to finish up and then go feed her and milk her.  Except we have a design problem with the gate that has allowed Annie to figure out a way to escape.  Can you see the gap between the gate and the post that has the gate latch below?  Annie has recently found that she can stick her nose in the gap and wedge her nose underneath the latch and pop the latch up.  Animals can be smart sometimes, can't they?

She then gets out.  It may not be as dramatic as getting out of a straight jacket or a chest with chains and padlocks, but she is crafty, calculating and deceptive.  Since we are busy milking the cows, we don't notice she's escaped until she sticks her neck into Daisy's trough and begins eating her food. Daisy will have none of that!  She uses her big old cow head as a weapon and knocks Annie out of the way.  Annie is a stubborn, persistent creature and she will keep on trying.  All sorts of shenanigans follow.

I broke an old broomstick in half as a temporary workaround and used it as a doorstop.  It worked!  Annie was frustrated that her escape act had been foiled.  But a sharpened broomstick handle isn't a long-term solution.  It is kind of dangerous, too.

I rummaged around in the barn and found some lumber and nailed it in two angles on the ladder that leads up to the hay loft.

If you notice in the photo below, look at the bottom latch.  You'll see the gap no longer exists.  There is just a small sliver - way too small for Annie's goat nose to fit between.

Four screws and two scrap pieces of lumber was all that was needed to put an end to Annie's escape artist routine.  There is peace and harmony around the barnyard now - for us at least.

Soon...

Annie, however, is plotting her next escape, biding her time until she pulls off her next Shawshank Redemption prison break.