(possibly) decking screws. I was working on the roof of the animal shelter and had a box of self-tapping deck screws that I foolishly left at goat level. I loo

(possibly) decking screws. I was working on the roof of the animal shelter and had a box of self-tapping deck screws that I foolishly left at goat level. I looked down from the roof to see the goat with her head in the box, screws sticking out of her mouth. I jumped down and grabbed her and made a grab for the screws, but she objected and in the process at least one of the screws went missing. I assumed, but could not prove, that she had managed to swallow it. Then we had a brilliant idea: my son's metal detector! We grabbed it and my daughter held the goat upright as I scanned it over her abdomen. The results were inconclusive. What does a metal detector sound like against normal animal abdomen, versus animal abdomen with a deck screw in it? Didn't know. So in another flash of genius I pulled off my shirt and we scanned me. In the end we we never found the screw, were never able to prove the goat ate it, and heaven only knows what passing drivers thought. FWIW the goat showed no ill signs afterwards. This is actually a thing with cattle; it's called “hardware disease”. Basically, scrap metal - nails, staples, etc. get mixed up in their hay and they ingest it. The cure is to feed them an enormous magnet, which contains the metal bits and prevents them from getting into the intestines. Not kidding. http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/cowmags.html http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/cowmags.html