Posts Tagged ‘Goat’
October Auroras
A hazy green fogged the Big Dipper at the twilight of a crisp fall night. Streaks of Red darted upward just on the edge of eyesight.
The word spread ’round the barnyard; from the ducks to the horse to the cat. The goats were too busy stuffing hay into their mouths to notice; adding to bellies already quite fat.
Sunset Storm A’Brewin’
With a Sunset Storm a’brewin’ all the critters ham it up a bit for some interesting pics. Especially this heifer, Frolic. ‘Course it’s dinner time too, Dad’s late, and for “some” reason they like to stay close when it’s lightning and thundering.
Who’s Protecting Who?
Some people just never outgrow some aspects of being a baby.
There was once this little guy named Hornpipes, who I am sure you have heard of. He was once so cute and little, and now he’s a BIG weirdo, kinda cute but more of “what in the World is that?” He used to be practically pocket-sized and now pockets aren’t practical for him: if he had any pockets he would not be able to fill them for all the odd belly bulge he has. However he is still just a big baby.
Mister Festus, the Rooster, is really pushing his luck. I was crouched down filling water cans; with the little hose through the small door, coming from the water pump. I turned and leaned out the doorway more and hooked the hose to fill the heifers’ water tub. When I turned I heard that nasty Rooster start his commotion and squawking, heard crashing, and just as I came back in the doorway I got stampeded by a big, fat, four-year-old Pygmy Goat Kid….Hornpipes. YIKES…Click here to find out what happened…
A “Tail” of Two Goaties
Have you read the Epic A “Tail” of Two Goaties?
Here are the Blogs in Order:
Thistle and Nettle
Bagpipes Adopts a Kid
Bagpipes and Hornpipes
Dainty Miss Mussette
When we last left our Goatie Epic, Mister Hornpipes was adopted by that handsome, caring Sheltie Collie, Mister Bagpipes, and terrorizing, I mean living in the house.
Meanwhile out in the barnyard, on another very cold below zero night, Cecil the Quarter Horse as the barnyard announcer ran ‘round announcing the birth of a new goatie kid, Mussette.
Bagpipes and Hornpipes
Milking that old crazy nanny goat was impossible, she was always flighty and now she was just plain crazy. So we had to feed the little guy cow’s milk using a small pop bottle with a very small nipple.
He found his voice soon enough and when he was hungry or had to go he’d let us know by screaming. Bagpipes went over to the barrel, budged it so it moved, and Hornpipes quit yelling and listened. Then Bagpipes went to the door, dinged his bell, and we let him outside. See when we first got Bagpipes we got a hunting dog bell and hung it on the door. Dad rang it once and let Bagpipes outside, and from then on he dings his bell to go out.
He was telling Hornpipes, ”Hey kid, when you want out, you just do this.” So we gave him one of Bagpipes’ other bells by tying it to a string and then tying the other end to a dowel rod that sat over the top of the barrel.
Wonder what Hornpipes will Do? Click here to continue reading.
Bagpipes Adopts a Kid
Sometime in the night or early hours Nettle went crazy, as goats and some animals do, and killed the little girl. I saw immediately when I entered the barn on that cold January day the nanny kid lying there, with her neck cocked back. Nettle had caught her under the neck with her horns and broke her neck, possibly throwing her into the wall. When I went in to find the boy he was nowhere to be found. The girl’s body was cold and stiff, which meant it had been at least a few hours even though it was a very cold morning.
I searched all over for the little boy with no luck. Then I pulled my flashlight out and started looking in every nook and cranny. I found him under my saddle that had fallen on the floor. Near as I could figure was Nettle had killed the little girl and tried to kill the boy too. She had picked him up and flipped him in the air, but luckily she accidentally threw him over the gate and he landed in the hay and straw on the ground. He was shivering so, it was quite cold, and we had just had another night where it was -35°F.
Thistle and Nettle
In October 2006 my dad bought me two Nanny Pygmy Goats from a friend and neighbor for my birthday. We had been looking for a young kid to raise since our last Pygmy, Cagney.
We had mentioned to our friend that we were looking for a nanny (girl), so we could raise and train her, make her really friendly. We had no luck finding one, well an affordable one, and really did not have the money to spend for the only ones we had seen advertised that were over $100.
My cousin got a call from our friend that he had found four adult nanny goats and bought them, and asked if we would want one or two because they were pregnant. So we made the long journey to his farm, which is a whole 3/4 of a mile as the kestrel flies. He had these four nannies in with his young billy, who was really friendly, but the nannies were kinda flighty. One did come up to me, she was the smallest.
So I asked our friend, in a very sucking up tone of voice, really milking it, “Since it’s my birthday today, do you think I could buy one get one free?”
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