Sometimes pet owners wonder what our animals do while we are away...I am pretty sure the goat boys are reading Harry Potter (or possibly even taking part-time classes at Hogwarts!)  It has to do with gates... One of the major challenges of "goating" seems to be exiting the fenced area without a goat coming along. We always try to make sure the goats are distracted in a distant part of the yard before unlatching the gate, yet no matter how far away they are, as soon as they hear the oh-so-quiet snick of the latch. there they are at your side. There can be no other explanation than the art of apparating,  that magical process by which Harry, Ron and Hermione travel instantly from one place to another. (Unless, of course, the goaties are hanging out by the gates under an Invisibility Cloak...)

It is interesting to note that the "goats" and "Houdini" both originate from the same Latin root word for "escape" - for this reason we have recently abandoned the gates altogether, instead using an old wooden ladder propped up by the fence, which works well except when carrying full bowls of grain, or for elderly grandparents. So far the goats have not learned to climb the rungs (only a matter of time, I'm sure!).