PUSHING AND SHOVING AND PULLING

My older sister is sick, so tonight I went down to feed the baby and bring hay down to the goats - by myself. Now, really...it's not that hard. But when you're talking 17 goats, things can get a little on the messy side.
So first of all, I grabbed the hay bale, put it in the wagon, and headed down to the field where they were all staying. Once I was about half way there, the goats heard me. That can almost explain itself. So here those "precious" goats come running to the gate - which I had to get through. Somehow I made it in to the penned field without any bruises or scrapes. But the moment the wagon was pulled in there...goats started raiding it! Some on top, some trying to get on top, others leaning with their front legs all the way around it. But that was alright with me as I needed to feed the baby anyway. So I fed my sweet Spencer and then the real excitement began. Comet was on top of the hay bale at this moment, while all the other goats were pigging out from all four sides of the wagon as I was trying to pull it....I think I only made it a couple inches each pull! I picked one goat up and moved it, picked another goat up and shoved it away...still, they didn't seem to give up. I couldn't help but laugh as I trudged in the snow...thinking of all the goats around that wagon raiding the hay was funny enough...but Comet nonchalantly eating on top of the wagon was even more hilarious! FINALLY, after pushing and shoving and pulling...I made it to the goat house pen - with Comet still on top! :) After a couple minutes of taking a breath, I picked up the hay bale...all the goats following me of course, plopped it on to the floor of the goat house, undid the string, and wa-lah! Finished. Tired. But thankful I got it done!!!!

King Of The Mountain :)

I have to give it to that Spencer. He's a little onry "rebel". Every time we've taken him outside he seems to fit PERFECTLY in. And I mean perfectly. Spencer doesn't get too scared or frightened when a goat comes up to smell him or butt him. In fact, when one of our goats does come up to butt him...he butts them right back! I've never seen a baby goat be so confident before...and those are the ones raised outside. He's a bottle fed, house raised goat that is full of pride and confidence...inside the house and outside. That little fellow can also be pretty greedy.

One situation that would demonstrate his greediness would be earlier today. Arthur had been standing on two or three cement blocks all grouped together. Well, Spencer sees him and decides he's going to get on top of the blocks too...even if it means butting or pushing Arthur off. Now you have to understand the size difference. Compared to Arthur, Spencer is a little "David"  while Art is Goliath (only to him anyway).
So he walks up to the blocks and tries to get on top. He runs into some trouble (which was suspected) with Arthur as his "enemy" butts him and pushes him away. Now most babies would stop at this point and waltz off some where else getting distractted. But no, Spencer was determined. HE WAS GOING TO GET ON TOP OF THOSE CEMENT BLOCKS. So he starts rearing up at Arthur with furiousness. Butting him and pushing him and butting him and pushing him. It was like that little "rebel"  was saying, "Let me at him! Let me at him!". Arthur I could tell was a little shocked that this "little goat" was so "viscious". But Goliath won in the end of the fight as David was just too small. (Definitely a twist of the bible story). :) Spencer ran away a few steps back and occupied himself with something else. Eventually Arthur plopped off of the cement blocks...and who do you think followed after him? Spencer. His perfect chance. So he walked right up to the blocks and stood on top. He proudly became the "King Of The Mountain". :)

You'll have to excuse the eye color in the picture above. I guess it was just the flash that made it look like the blue you see in his eyes.  :)

Spencer And... "THE TRASH BAG"

Everything has been going wonderful with our goats. The goats are still enjoying the well-deserved grazing time they've been getting these past few days. I think we won't get any more snow, so Lord willing they won't have to endure that long wait again.
Spencer has been growing so fast! His horns are about to be visible. Right now the hair above them is popping up making it look like he has "hair horns". But those little studs are very tangible as I've been feeling them every day. :) Earlier today I had to get out a new trash bag for all of his "precious gifts" he gives WAY too often! (He's a goat, what can I say). :) Now you have to understand that, as I've said before, Spencer is VERY sensitive to noise. Most of the time it's good noise. For instance, my voice and my siblings voices. But there is some bad noise that he is so scared to hear. And I didn't realize HOW scared of this noise he was until today. So as I said, earlier I was getting a new trash bag out for his dirty stuff, and in order to open it you have to lift it up and down...which makes a loud noise. Well, Spencer is out...THE MOMENT he sees the bag...he runs away as fast as he can and hides behind our computer chair while his little head is peeking out from behind it! He DOES NOT like the noise of "The Trash Bag". My heart goes out to him. I could see him saying as he runs away from it..."WUN!! (run)".
Bless his dear little heart. :)

The Dumn And The Silly

Today we've been working on baby goat wraps for the new little ones when they come - because it's going to be cold! One is pink and the other is purple - I'm really hoping we have twin girls! :) No new signs with Cassidy, she's the same.
I have another really funny story to tell. Last night me and my older sister were outside taking care of Cassidy and it was really quiet. We had just gotten all the other goats in their pen for the night...or so we thought. As we're watching Cass I all of a sudden heard this noise - like a burp or something. My first thought is "There's something behind us". But I tossed that aside thinking that it was probably Cassidy. Still, just to make sure I turned around to look over at the haybale pen and guess who I saw? Gracie. Yes, the lovely, slightly dumn baby of Essie had no idea that the other goats were put away and she was one of the only ones still eating. Another thing that's funny is that we had a scooper with a little grain in it to lead the other goats into their pen, and she took no notice of it. That's why we call her a little dumn. So my sister went and grabbed her to put her away. When she came back we decided to make sure that there weren't any other naughty goats still out in the haybales. My sister walks over there and suddenly something starts moving on top of the hay bales. It was a little scary at first and then we got up the courage to check it out. We lifted the tarp flap and our eyes beheld the sweet, innocent figures of Brownie and Cocoa. They were on top of the hay bales, moving around, also unaware that everybody else was put away. Silly goats. :)

WHAT A NIGHT

We had a hilarious night with the goats yesterday. Last night it was frigid and cold, so we decided that we needed to give the goats hay and grain. So we go down there, beginning with grain. That deffinitely took a while let me tell you. First of all, before I go any further, we didn't have much of a plan on how to give all sixteen of our goats grain...but we thought we had one, so we tryed it - not knowing how hilarious the night was going to be. First Comet, he got out and we gave him grain first in the birthing pen since he's mean to the others. While he was eating, we let Cocoa, Hosea, and Brownie out for their grain. As I'm watching the four eat, I all of  a sudden see 4-5 of our other goats running right towards the grain that the babies were trying to eat. This was unexpected of course since they weren't supposed to be out yet. My sister accidentally left the gate open just enough for those silly things to slip right through. So that sort of begins our night. Let me warn you, so much happened last night that I'm not sure if I'll be able to remember it all. But I'll try my best. :)

Since the others escaped we went ahead and let them have their grain. My sister was able to get Cassidy out so we moved her in the birthing pen with Arthur as we took Comet out. So they eat. Now understand, we have  A LOT of other goats in the goat house pen that are all bleating and "yelling" at us to give them food too...it just wasn't fair for the others to get grain and not them. We decided to begin giving them grain...all I will say is that it was hilarious! My sister was able to get some of the pygmies into the other pen, so they're wouldn't be too many goats on top of her when she went inside the pens to give them grain. So we have the bowls ready, and we're walking over there...and wa-lah! The pygmies are out and it's back to basics. Those smart rascals figured out how to open the gate and get through. Once again - pygmies are too smart for humans sometimes. So we just let it go, and my sister bravely went in for the kill so to speak. Trust me - I don't really know how we were able to feed them all. The moment you walk in with grain, they are literally on top of you and bucking each other to get out of the way. It can be chaos. But with quite a few trips back for more grain, and few times going back in the pen being trampled upon...our "babies" were satisfied as they all quietly ate their food as we both breathed a sigh of relief.

Hay time. So we begin grabbing hay from our hay bales. I'm able to give Cassidy and Arthur some and then we both start getting some for the goat house. A lot of our goats are all eating at the hay bales now. Charlotte, Annaliese, Gennavieve, Hosea, Velvet, and who knows which others - but there were a lot! More goats escaped the from the pen during the times we were going in and out of it. I'm telling you, one minute we'd think we had it all together, and the next the goats get out! So we'd get them back in, and then they'd come out again. It was hectic. So eventually it ended up being about eight goats out eating hay, two in the birthing pen, and about six in the goat house pen. . Eventually the hay is finished and it's time to get all eight goats back into the pen - this was a task. We began with the babies since they were the easiest. :) Then we get to the harder ones - I call this the "pulling and trudging" method. We're pulling their horns as they resist and we're trudging on the ground.  One time, my sister was carrying Genavieve - she's heavy. She could barely make it to the pen. Genavieve was looking my way as if to say, "I'm heavy?".  After a LONG two hours of being out there, we finally were able to grab all the goats and get them back in their rightful places.  WHAT A NIGHT!!

Signs of kidding for Cassidy : last night Cassidy looked like she was going to kid. When she was laying down, her tail would go up as if she was having a contraction and her ears would be raised as well. She yawned, and she looked like she had pooped a lot - that's a sign. So that's why we moved her to the birthing pen. I went down this morning - no baby. But it will be soon. :)

THE FIGHT OF THE FURIOUS FOUR

I woke up this morning and went to do the chores. I found that Annaliese and Hosea found out how to get into the orchard by sliding underneath a fence that was inside the pen where the loafing shed is placed. Those sneaky pygmies ALWAYS seem to find a way to get into places they're not allowed to be in. I know this because the boer goats haven't ever had this problem...or at least not this bad. :) And Comet!! He literally "flew" over a fence we never thought he would know how to get over...but surprise!! He did! And boy did he do it well. All he had to do was get on top of a couple logs and leap over the pretty high fence that was there for a reason. I know now that it wasn't high enough! :) :) :)
Earlier today when we were out there, Essie and Cassidy were having a HUGE fight. About what? We don't know. But they were furious! They just kept going and going and going and going and going! Essie in particular would't give up bucking Cass - I have to tell you...I've never seen Essie look this evil before. Now, there's one thing you have to know before I go any further with this story. Essie is mean. Is that simple enough? She's pretty dumn and can be very mean to the other goats. So back to the story. As they're both fighting and hitting and hitting and fighting...Velvet gets tired of watching the war between the two and gets jealous (she likes to get into fights). So she decides that she's needed and "goes in for the kill". She waltses in to the "arena" and pushes Essie as they both fight. And then she bucks her "up and down up and down", as if she was saying..."Essie! I've had enough! You stop this "goat business" this instant! OR ELSE!!" She surrounds them. Her back hair is up - that means she's REALLY mad. Every once in a while she goes back in and gives them a little nudge as if to say,  "Break it up girls, break it up!". Well, Valorie is watching on the other end and gets tired of watching all the excitement and thinks she's needed too. So what do you think she does? She goes in! She gangs up on Essie and then they all four start butting each other! I've never seen FOUR does get into a this big of a fight before. They were just going at it! Valorie would be saying, "Let me at her!" Velvet, "Ahhhhhh! I'm so mad at you three!" Cassidy, "That's it!! You are SOOOO getting it!" And Essie,"Oooooh, I'm gonna... I'm gonna...well ...when I think of it I'll let you know, but for now, you get this and that and that and this!!" (remember she's dumn). Sometimes they would split into twos and fight that way. Velvet with Valorie (the two V's), and Cassidy and Essie. Finally, things calmed down and receded. But as we all watched this hilarious "show" we were all howling! We just thought that it was so funny. Never on our farm had we seen something like this. All I can say is...I WON'T forget it!

"Over the Hills And Through The Mud, To The Loafing Shed We All Go"

Last night when we closed the goats up, once again there were the same five goats in the goat house and the same ten in the loafing shed. We decided to move the five to the loafing shed with their other fellow goat "mates"...they looked a little lonely. Plus, Velvet outright deserted her babies each night as she decided to stay with the ten and have a night off of "babysitting" and leave the twins with the other three in the goat house. So I had had enough of that and moved them both with their mommy. As I have said before, however, GOATS HATE MUD. It's been EXTREMELY wet and muddy these past couple days and I had a little trouble getting the babies to walk through the mud to leave their pen. Brownie I think was the most hilarious. We have wood planks down on the groud in their pen that lead to the "doorway" so they won't have to walk through as much mud. So as I called Brownie to come out of the pen, he took the planks and was walking towards me and then all of a sudden he stopped at the doorway. He looked down at the mud that happened to be outside of the doorway, and he decided he wasn't going to go any furthur. His little "baaa...aaa" was so adorable as he looked up at me with pleading eyes. "Please don't make me walk through mud. I don't like it. Please pick me up and carry me! Please, please, please!!" it almost sounded like he was saying to me. Well, I'm a softy and after a little coaxing I gave up and picked the big baby boy up and carried him to the loafing shed. You could say he "caught a ride". He bleated again really quietly in my arms as if to say "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!" as if he was on the verge of tears (if goats could cry). :) Cocoa was pretty similar, although she finally gave up and walked through it with "courage" and followed me to the other shelter. Comet was actually the first to walk out and desert the other four. I didn't have to coax him at all, he just went straight on over there. Essie and Gracie...well... let's just say they're the stupid goats of our herd and I had to drag them out. Here are some pics of the "Faithful Five" of the goat house. Enjoy! :)

~Big Baby On Top Of Little Baby~

Last night, we found the same five goats in the "goat house" and the same ten goats in the loafing shed. They are so funny. Once again, this morning I gave the goats some alfalfa cubes which they all think are tasty. As I was giving Cocoa a cube, one of the five goats in the "goat house" pen, I all of a sudden saw Gracie jump on top of Cocoa and lean on her back! Now, understand that Gracie is no longer a "baby", she's big! Cocoa is small as she is a pygmy/nigerian dwarf (plus she was just born in June). And as I was raising my hand with a cube in it, Gracie who was behind Cocoa had the guts to get on top of the poor thing to reach the cube that was in my hand!! And what's even funnier...Cocoa didn't think a thing about it! All she was thinking about was the cube in my hand because her eyes never left it. It was as if she was saying to me..."So she got on my back. Who cares? Give me the cube please." with an angelic face. They don't care, they just think it's a typical thing for one of their fellow goat friends to lean on their back as if they were a wall or fence! :) I've seen our other goats do this before, just not a "big baby on top of a little baby". That was very different. Here are a couple pics of Cocoa and Gracie...I want you to see their size comparison so hopefully you can picture how silly it looked when Gracie got on top of Cocoa! :)

Pete's Curiosity

This morning it was REALLY frigid and misting outside. So I decided to give the goats some alfalfa pellets just in case they didn't get that much food today. Let's go back a little bit. Last night when we went down to close them up we foud only five in their normal shelter (the chicken house, which has now become the "goat" house), and the other ten were in a totally other shelter which happened to be the loafing shed that has a lot of hay in it. So we went a head and left them separated for the night, we didn't think it would hurt. Back to the present. So as I'm getting the alfalfa pellets out of the freezer in the first half of the loafing shed where the goats were on the other side, there's a fence separating me from the ten goats right where the freezer is. So like I said, as I'm reaching down trying to get some alfalfa pellets in my scooper I all of a sudden hear a really loud noise. I looked up and there was Pete (our REALLY big and tall boer buck) with his head poking up right above the freezer top that was lifted as he leaned on the fence separating us. The loud noise I heard was obviously him jumping up to lean on the fence.I thought it was so cute!! He's taller than me when his two front legs are leaning on something. He's probably almost six feet tall! He was just curious to see what I was getting. His expression looked like he was saying..."What are you getting? Can I see? Can I have some? Please?". Silly Goats. :) :) :)...

Goats Strolling Along The Highway

Yesterday during bible study, our neighbor called us and said that are goats were apparently along the fence near the highway!! My mom, my older sister, and little brother all went straight home to check on them and get them back in their proper place. My sister told me later that when they got home the goats were in our yard! I still have no idea how they did it...we're planning on figuring it out as soon as possible. Those silly goats! :)