Benji update

Saturday, December 3, 2022  I always fret about moving the juvenile boys in with the bachelors. And until you’ve seen a 200 pound male jump on a little guy you might not understand my angst. The point is, there is good reason to fret. Many farms simply keep 2 or 3 separate male herds, but because I choose to keep them all together I need to be extra cautious. Generally the new little boys will form their own gang and hang together as they adjust. Well, Benji was our only boy so that compounded my concern for him.  It was the first week of October when I moved him to his “private suite” in the boys barn so the bachelors could get to know him nose to nose.  Then on Nov. 25 we moved the bachelors in to Benji’s private pasture (well he had been sharing it with Rocky already) and we held our breath. Mojo decided to be the bully and chased him with no good intentions so Mojo spent 24 hours separated from the herd. Thank goodness the gentle boy was here to help with the separating and gate situation to accomplish that so quickly.  So Mojo was quite sad for 24 hours, but Benji was totally accepted by the rest of the boys. When Mojo was reintroduced he was simply happy to be included in the herd again. And (knocking on wood) it’s been a mellow male herd ever since.  I think it worked well for 2 reasons.  #1 We introduced them all together in Benji’s territory, not the main barn. And #2 They all saw what happened immediately when one tried to pick on Benji. And Benji seems pretty happy with that fence down inside the barn.   All’s well that ends well! 

Photo of the Day:  Benji is just one of the guys.

It also might have helped that we put the clear tarps up that same day so the shelter looked a bit different to all of them. Benji is back on the right, Romulus pooping as I try to get a photo. Thanks Rom.  😆