Two Goats Gone

One thing about goats is that they multiply.  They have a tendency to have more triplets and twins than singles, so in no time at all the pasture is full of goats!  They are very cute when young and are so fun to watch.  They have the best little personalities.  This year Annie (Nubian momma goat) had triplets and Oreo (La Mancha momma goat) had twins.  Two of Annie's kids died due to parasites.  We've had quite a time this year fighting parasites!

We decided that we needed to downsize in order to make things easier.  It is quite a rodeo getting to the barn every day during feeding time.  All the goats (Annie, Buckwheat, Oreo, Andy, Salt and Pepper) rush to try to get into the barn before the cows arrive.  The cows can be quite mean to the goats, using their heads as a battering ram to violently push the goats into the wall.  When you try to open the gate, the goats are all up around you.  It is especially annoying when you have your hands full of milking buckets and wash buckets.  It is a real chore to try to get into the barn without one of the goats knocking into you and causing you to drop something on the ground.  When we come out with a bucket of hen scratch, the goats get all under your feet, making it hard to walk.  Sometimes they'll jump up and pull the bucket down and make us spill it.

We need things to be a little easier.  Tricia put Oreo and one of her doelings, Salt, up for sale.  In a short time, we had someone who had agreed to purchase.  Sunday afternoon, we bid farewell to Annie and Salt.  The purchasers showed up right at the time when we had to meet to go Christmas caroling, so I missed telling Oreo and Salt goodbye.  Tricia stayed behind for a short while to make the transaction, but got distracted and didn't get a chance to get pictures.  Oh well.

So now there's just Pepper left.  Pepper is Oreo's doeling.  Here she is on top of the old freezer we use to store feed.  She's always hopping on top of something! 

Although she is a La Mancha, her Daddy is Buckwheat, who is a Nubian.  Pepper inherited the long ears of her daddy.  Tonight at supper I asked Tricia if Pepper was acting sad that her momma and sister are gone.  Pepper didn't cry a bit.  She's acting normal.  We're planning to keep Pepper for breeding stock.  Oh, and Tricia said that it was much easier around the barn at chore time with two less goats!