Sometimes we find the most joy in the most unusual places, don't we? Never ever did I think I would fall in love with three little goats. I never thought I would actually enjoy the smell of the barn and not even mind shoveling goat poo. But as God is my witness. I have found my Utopia in a goat barn.
We have had the kids for a year now. We took my 97 minivan to Kansas to pick them up...a gift from our son. To say I was unprepared would be an understatement. Our goats were so tiny! And I had no idea what to do with them. Meet Mr. Bill, Laverne, and her twin sister Shirley. They cuddled in the van but by the time we got them home on that hot July day, they were ready t eat.
It took them a bit to warm up to us, but now they are attentive, loving,
and full of mischief.
The year has been a learning experience for us. So many misconceptions!
So much to learn!
- Goats do not eat everything. Not tin cans, not hay when it falls on the floor, not some goat feed. They are finicky. They only want the best hay, the leaves off of all the trees, and whatever the other one has.
- When one goat gets sick, they all get sick. I read that you need to pay attention to their goat poop. It should look like bbs and be everywhere. So one day I started noticing Mr. Bill's poop was soft and more like it came from a cow. My husband said don't worry. I worried anyway. Within a couple of days, Mr. Bill had a bad case of diarrhea and wasn't eating. Here I sat washing his behind and cleaning up messes. By the time it was all over, they all three got it, I treated it, and it was over. Thank God for Google and YouTube.
- Goats can get into everything. They can climb ladders, steal your hat, and pee on your tools. We learned really quickly that they are curious creatures and that they cannot be trusted.
Our goats are Oberhasli dairy goats. Though they are from the same breeder, the twins are from different parents. We plan on breeding them in the fall so we can have Springtime babies. The barn is complete but we are considering a buck barn. Right now they are separated, but Mr. Bill is really rambunctious and unpredictable. I think he needs to be farther away. We just have some logistics to work out with things like power and water.
