We had a bit of brief excitement this morning. Lilly is due any day now, so I always peek out the window first thing in the morning to see if everything seems normal. All the goats were in their sheds so I didn’t bother them and went upstairs. An hour or so later I heard a horrible screaming cry. It sounded like a human toddler! I rushed downstairs to see what was happening. My only thought was, “Oh my gosh! Lilly kidded last night and a baby is tangled in the electric fence!”

But when I came outside, all seemed quiet. The goats were bunched in one corner of the pen staring wide-eyed at Daisy. Lilly had her hackles up, but no babies. When I went out to check on everyone, Daisy was beside herself and Lilly was on the warpath. Apparently Lilly has kicked into aggressive mode and I think she pushed Daisy into the electric fence. Lilly attacked Daisy a couple more times as I was letting everyone out. I wonder if I’ll have to put Daisy outside the pen for a while until Lilly settles down, or if Daisy will figure out how to stay out of Lilly’s way.

Those two have always had a very rough-and-tumble relationship with a lot of play-fighting and dirty tricks, but both of them always looked as though they were enjoying it. I regularly see Lilly sneak up behind Daisy and snatch a chunk of hair out of her tail. When Daisy yelps and jumps, Lilly struts off with head high and tail arched over her back, waiving the ball of fluff triumphantly. Sometimes Lilly bowls Daisy over. At other times Daisy ambushes Lilly out of nowhere and nips her ear or cheek then streaks away with a gleeful grin on her face. Neither of them has ever taken these hijinks seriously, and one will usually chase the other after a prank. But this morning’s encounter looked serious, and no one was laughing. I’ll have to keep a close watch and make sure Lilly doesn’t get too aggressive. Daisy is a great guard dog and I don’t want her losing her enthusiasm for her job.