6. Gum. Try chewing on a stick of gum to instantly defuse tension. In a recent study, while under moderate stress, gum chewers had salivary cortisol levels that were 12 percent lower than non-chewers.
Feed Nutrients. Energy is the most limiting nutrient to dairy goats. Sources of energy are grass, alfalfa, cereal grains such as corn, oats, wheat and barley and bypass fats. Energy limitations may result from inadequate feed intake, too much low quality feed, incorrect roughage to concentrate ratios.
Goats need the minerals that tree bark contains, and it's possible that if they are really starved for variety in their diet or for minerals, they might eat the bark anyway, especially after the tea wears off a little. We like to cut willow and alder saplings and branches and feed them almost every day to the goats. did read once that you can mix a mixture of goat berries, smash them down, add a bit of water and then paint the tree with it to deter them from eating the bark. Haven't tried it myself. -- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), February 19, 2001.