I have been busy!

It's winter here on the farm. That means snow and cold and more cold! Us, goats, do not appreciate the snow very much. It's wet and cold and yucky. We much prefer to stay in our warm pens in the warm barn. The farmer makes us go out in the snow every other day or so. We try to protest but she is not easily swayed.

Well, I don't have much time to say much more than that. All of us goats are expecting babies in the spring so we are using most of our time ruminating on that situation.

Breeding Season

Well, it's that time of year again -- breeding season. All of the goats (me included) decided to come into heat all at the same time this year. Cookie led the charge by coming into heat on November 3rd and 4th. Pepper, being a total Nubian and not wanting to be outdone by her daughter, followed on the 8th and 9th. Here's a picture of both of them in all their Nubian (PA-TOOEY!) glory:

My mom, Gloria, decided to give it a go on the 10th and 11th. Here she is looking much rested after her year off from having kids:



And I rounded up the rear on the 12th and 13th. I was looking very splendid on this wonderful fall day:


We were nice enough to the one and only buck on the farm to come into heat in succession and not all on the same exact day. That way he wasn't overwhelmed with adoring females to the point of total exhaustion.

Here is the lovely buck from both sides. Notice the wild spots and large splashes of white between the black. Hopefully his kids will be just as wildly colored.

The buck has one more doe left to breed. My half-sister, Madge, has come back from the farm she lives on in the next town over. She is here to visit for a few days because she didn't get bred the first time around when she was with the buck in September. After she leaves, the farmer says she will keep the buck for one month to make sure none of us decided not to get pregnant the first time.

I heard a funny rumor the other day:The farmer said that her friend's Nigerian Dwarf can come and visit our buck when she is in heat to make sure that she is totally in heat before being shipped to the next state to visit with her Nigerian buck boyfriend. Can you imagine what our buck will think of a Nigerian Dwarf?! Of course, being a buck he probably thinks anything with four legs and a heartbeat is a good thing but really... REALLY?! Sometimes I don't know what this farmer is thinking.....

Happy Halloween!

Okay so I am a little late on the whole "Halloween" thing, but heck, I am a goat - I don't exactly get to go trick-or-treating or anything (although some treats would be nice once in a while -- hint, hint farmer!). One thing good about this Halloween was that the farmer has really started to make her new assistant pay off. Here is a picture of Assistant Farmer, Emily, in her Halloween costume:


Can you guess what she is? That's right - She's a goat! I thought Emily being a goat for Halloween was a great way to pay homage to us wonderful goats of the world. It also is a great way to spread the message about goats being just as cute to dress up like as a sheep or lamb (patooey!) would be. The only criticism I have about this costume is that judging by the roman nose and the airplane ears makes me think that she must be dressed up as some sort of Alpine-Nubian (patooey!) cross. Nubians (patooey!) aren't exactly the best representatives of the species, so I am a little perturbed that such a nice costume is somewhat wasted on that branch of the goat family tree. Oh well, at least she doesn't have horns!

On another note: Cookie is having a hard time with this breeding season. This being her first time coming into heat, she is having a very difficult time deciding what is going on. Take yesterday for instance; yesterday she sat all day screaming throughout the barnyard. All we heard all day was, "Let me see my boyfrieeeennnnddd! I love my boooyyyffrrieeennnddd! I llllooooovvveee hhhhiiimmmm!". And soon on it went all day long. When the farmer came to do chores, she noticed the extra vocalizations from Cookie and did as Cookie was wanting. The farmer put Cookie in with her boyfriend. Well, once Cookie was in with the buck, she decided that this was not what she wanted. So all we heard for 30 minutes was, "GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DO NOT WANT TO SEE MY BOYFRIEND! HE SMELLS AND IS UGLY!!". The farmer got tired of this yelling so she took Cookie away from the buck and put her back in the barn with us girls. Cookie decided that this was not want she wanted either so she immediately started to protest and cry, "BUT I LOOOOVVVEE HIIIMMM! HE'S MY SOUL MATE! YOU CAN'T KEEP US APART!!!!!". And on and on it went, all night long. Sheesh.... Teenagers......

I won an award!

Many special thanks to Lilyian and Tayet Silverspoon over at "In a Goats Shoes" blog at www.lucky13goatranch.blogspot.com. They gave me my first "One Lovely Blog" award. Sweet! I will pass it on!

HORNS!

I, Lucy the goat, do not like goats with horns! I know that almost all goats are born with horns, but that doesn't mean that all goats should have horns. I was born with horns but the farmer had mine removed when I was 2 weeks old. Now I have a lovely head with no ugly horns. I am quite beautiful being a hornless goat, in my opinion. I had some goat friends at the farm that where born without horns at all! The farmer was quite pleased with these naturally lovely goats, as was I. They were quite impressive being polled from birth. I wish it could be that way for all goats. It would save goat farmers around the world a lot of trouble and it would save goats around the world a lot of eye-sores from looking at ugly horned goats all day.

Where does my lack of love of horned goats come from? Well, being Lucy, the daughter of Gloria the herd queen, means that I have to stay on top of my game to stay on top of my herd. I am second in command (Pepper Ann likes to think she is second, but we all know better). It's a hard position to be in. As second in command, I have to keep my post and keep all new comers in line. Should a new comer arrive at the farm with a full head of horns, my post will be in jeopardy. I cannot stand up against a horned goat. I just don't have the resolve to tolerate all that hard head-bashing that will go on. I, Lucy, might lose my post. I might be pushed lower than Pepper! I might be relegated to the bottom of the herd, lower than even Pepper's excruiable daughter, Cookie! This would be very bad indeed. Thus my hatred of horns is borne on a sturdy foundation of status preservation.

I also do not like horns due to what the farmer has told me about horns. Dairy goat horns grow up and out, and are very pointy. I have seen this myself on a few goats. The horns are like swords sticking out of a goat's head, waiting to impale passers-by. This is very bad news, not only for other goats, but for the farmer. She has to work around those horns and be very careful not to get poked or stabbed. Now, the farmer has a farmer-in-training (FOT) in the form of her new daughter Emily. Could you imagine what would happen if dear Emily were to be stabbed by a goat horn? (I can imagine the farmer would be having filet of goat for dinner that night). Thus my hatred of horns also comes from a love for the farmer and FOT.

Another reason that horns are ridiculous is that my mom, Gloria, is always complaining that she is cold. Gloria has one horn. It's a short little nub that was the result of a botch disbudding by her original owner. This little nub sticks up out of her head, making her a unigoat. This little nub catches the wind and snow and transmits that cold right straight through her thick head into her body. She is freezing all the time due to this little heat sink stuck on top of her head. Goats horns help regulate their temperatures. They are full of blood vessels and nerve endings. This is perfectly fine for goats confined to the scorching southwest, or the heated plains of Africa, but it is totally ridiculous for any goat confined to the frigid north! Temperatures drop routinely to well below zero around here. I can't imagine having two large heat loss masses stuck to my head in the dead of winter. Brrr!!! Thus my hatred of horns is part from my love of staying a non goat-sicle.

So, there is my edict on stupid goat horns. I find any goat with a full set of horns to be a perfect waste of a good goat. Some farmers will argue that horns are "the way God intented goats to be". Well to that I say, a cat is born able to breed and reproduce "the way God intended it to be", does this mean that they should never be neutered/spayed and allowed to breed freely thus populating the world with many unwanted and unloved cats in order to leave them "as God intended"? I think not... Oy!

The Escape: Part Deux!

When we were put out to the pasture yesterday morning, I could hear the familiar click of the electric fence charger in the distance. We knew the fence was on. We knew we would get shocked if we touched the fence. We knew we would get no extra grain treats that night if we got out of the pasture. But we also knew there was a great delicious forest on the other side of that fence.

Pepper was the first to make a move. She eyed the fence up and down and then picked a spot to test it. She put her head down, aligned her shoulders, and gave a mighty shove to the hot fence. She did it fast, faster than I thought a Nubian could move. So fast in fact that the fence didn't get time to shock her. Once the fence was leaning, we could all easily step over it. Pepper went first, I followed, Cookie followed me. Gloria hesitated but didn't want to be left out of the feast like yesterday. She daintily stepped over the hot fence trying hard not to let her dangling teats brush against it (nothing is worse than a hot shock to the udder!). Just a little hop, skip, and a jump and Gloria was free from the pasture along with the rest of us.

We started first on the raspberry bushes and maple trees that we hadn't gotten to yesterday. Then we moved back to the spruce trees by the chicken barn. Gloria taste tested all the flowers in the two barn flower planters. Cookie and I moved along the front of the barn to the bushes next to the dog pen. We found gooseberries, maples, and a spruce to eat.

By afternoon, it had started to rain. We decided to move the party indoors to the barn. There wasn't much to eat in the barn since all the grain was in bins. Pepper tested the bag of oyster shell for the chickens and found it too much like sand to be tasty.

The farmer came home and noticed there were no goats in sight in the pasture. She asked her husband if he had put the goats in the barn. He said that he hadn't. The farmer came out to the barn to find us all drunk in massive food comas from the day's pillaging. She put us in our pens with no dinner for the night. Oh well, we really didn't want any dinner after that smorgasbord we had today!

Perhaps tomorrow the farmer will let us out to the pasture again?

The Great Escape!

Pepper was the first to notice it when we were let out to the pasture in the morning.
She said, "I think the fence is off".
I said, "No, it's never off. You test it".
"I don't like getting shocked! I don't want to test it", Pepper replied. "Let's get Cookie to test it".
"How will we get her to test it? She's even more of a scaredy-goat than you", I snorted.
"Let's trick her into testing it" Pepper said.
"Good idea", I said. "Hey Cookie! Come over here for a minute."
Cookie came running over to the fence.
"Cookie, look at this bush on the other side of the fence". When she turned to look, Pepper gave her a headbutt and pushed her into the fence. Cookie fell over the fence, knocking it down. Pepper walked over Cookie and into the great forest of delicious leaves. I followed Pepper. Cookie followed me.
"You'll get in trouble!" Gloria called after us. She stayed inside the pasture on her thinking stump and mulled over the situation.

When the farmer came home she saw that the fence was knocked down and the goats were wandering around the yard. She quickly grabbed Pepper, Cookie, and I and put us in the barn in our pens. She then went and let Gloria out of the pasture and put her in her stall.
"Good girl, Gloria" the farmer said as she gave Gloria a scratch and an extra grain treat.
"You are all bad girls" the farmer said to the rest of us. We didn't get any extra grain treats that night, but it was okay because I know I was not in the mood for any extra food after the buffet I had earlier in the day. Oy!

Dawn of the Does

We are watching you!










I am watching you!!

Where did I go?

"Where did I go?", you might be asking if you are a fan of this blog. I didn't go anywhere. Nope, nowhere. I haven't been able to post because the farmer has been busy training her new farm helper - "Baby Emily". I am not too impressed with her progress in training. By three months old, my babies are already learning to jump off of high places, climb the gate for grain treats, and they are ready to be weaned from milk. So far in three months, Baby Emily has learned only not to scream so much while the farmer is busy milking me. Sheesh! That's not much of an accomplishment if you ask me! I often wonder what the farmer has been training her to do, if anything at all. She can't even hand out one grain treat yet. Human babies are so unrefined.

So, what's going on with me, you ask? I am well. The summer has been good to me. I had twin boys this year, if you remember. Both of them grew up to be strong and happy by three months old (unlike some other baby we have around here!). They went off to their new home to entertain a young girl with cancer. I hope they are behaving themselves and are keeping the girl happy.

Finally we have a real summer of sun and heat and not so much rain. The last couple of summers have been rainy. Us goats do not like the rain. It's wet and cold and very un-fun. Sometimes when it rains the farmer lets us stay in the barn for the day. That is boring but at least we get some hay for breakfast and we don't get wet. Sometimes, though, we aren't so lucky and the farmer makes us stay outside in the rain huddled under the pine tree. Yuck! Well, I digress.... Summer has been good this year. I am fat and shiny. The other goats are fat and shiny as well (some fatter than others -- Pepper Ann!). Fall is coming. It's getting colder and the leaves are starting to change. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.

On another note, the farmer says she has found me a boyfriend for the fall. His name is "Jazz" and he is quite handsome. He's a Nubian (patooey!) cross, but I have been assured that the Nubian part of him is very faint and hardly noticeable. The farmer says she is trading him for my roommate, Martha. Martha has been acting badly and was put on the list to leave the farm. She was being silly and running away from the farm sitter when the farmer went on vacation. That kind of thing is not allowed and Martha must now find a new home. Also, the farmer says that 5 goats is too many for the small red barn in the winter time. I will miss my roommate, but I will be happy to meet my new boyfriend. Here is a picture of him (please disregard the Nubian (patooey!) ears).

Well, that is all that is happening with me. Later!

A Face Only a Mother Could Love!

Nubians! Ick!!

Cookie Comes Back!

I thought the farmer had settled on ONE Nubian being enough for the farm. Well, lo and behold, who shows back up yesterday, but Cookie. Cookie is Pepper Ann's kid from last year. Pepper Ann is the one Nubian we had, which I thought was satisfactory. Pepper Ann is a big pain in the butt, but as long as there are only one of her, it's manageable. Now there's two of her!

Cookie came to the barn last night and was put in with my boys. The farmer figured since the boys were big enough to hold their own but not too big as to beat up the new arrival, that they would be good house-mates for Cookie. Cookie did well during the night and doesn't seem to be as whiny as her mother (thank God!). This morning the farmer opened the door to the outside pen for the boys. Cookie went through the door and then a horrible racket was heard! Cookie was bouncing off the fencing on all three sides of the pen. She must not have seen it because she kept running into it. The farmer told her to knock it off and Cookie did. No one ever said Nubians were the smartest breed.......

After that little episode, the farmer put the big girls outside (me included) and I luckily don't have to deal with Cookie again until dinnertime when I come back into the barn. Whew!

New Pictures!

The farmer got a new camera. Here is what she took pictures of this morning.


My two boys. My how they have grown!!!

Grandma Gloria says, "What are you doing out of your pen?!"

All of the adults out in the morning. Can you spot the Toggenburg?

The barn in the morning. It's still a little dark out at 6am.

My Babies!

My babies are a week old now. They have graduated from the house to the garage to the barn. Here they are all curled up in the barn, taking a nap.

Here's me and my new babies when they were born.

Here's the farmer and my baby.

Finally!!!

I had my babies on Thursday! I had two bucks. Both are very handsome Toggenburg-looking kids. One is very big (which I wasn't so happy about at the time.... ). The other is big but not as big as his brother.

I was a good girl and waited for the farmer to get home from yoga class before I started labor. I had to cross my legs all day and wait for her! She got home and I let her know that I was ready by giving her a big greeting. I yelled and yelled. She got the clue.

We went in the barn and I ate some hay and my grain. Then the contractions started for real. I had to lay down a lot and get ready. They hurt so I layed quietly. I started pushing a little. Nothing happened. I started pushing more. Nothing happened still! The farmer came in and gave me a hand. The first baby started to come out but he was big and his leg was bent and the knee. There was no way that his head and his bent leg were coming out at the same time. The farmer reached in and grabbed his leg and pulled it forward. She then pulled on the kid while I pushed. I screamed a little because it was a lot of pushing and pulling!

The next kid came out quickly. The farmer grabbed them both and cleaned them off with towels. I helped by licking them. I was super tired and ready to sleep so the farmer took the boys into the house to feed them and take care of them. She can do all the hard work from now on.

Now I am making milk and having a good time. I get extra grain and cookies on the milk stand. Everyone is very jealous!

Soon!

Okay, I am ready to not be pregnant any more!!! Oy!

Baby Goat Watch 2010!!

Spring has decided to come early to the frosty North Country! The weather here has been quite fantastic lately with clear, blue skies and temperatures in the 40s. The snow has started to melt and us goats get to go outside to play almost every single day. What more could a goat ask for?

The farmer was nice enough to clean and sanitize the goat barn last weekend in anticipation of my kids arriving. I am due next week and can't wait! I am as big as a house and ready to get these kids out of me. I have been moved to my kidding pen during the nights. I don't have to share my pen or my food dish with Martha anymore. WhoohoO! Now Martha is sharing the big pen with Gloria. They haven't quite figured out the feeding arrangements yet. The morning and evening feedings are now accomplished with lots of jumping and dodging as Martha crashes nervously around the pen to get away from the possible onslaught of Gloria. The farmer was smart to notice that this racket was disturbing my peaceful meals and she now puts Gloria on the milk stand and leaves Martha in her pen to eat. This way no goats have to share any space with other goats during breakfast and dinner. All is better.

I am preparing for kidding by making an udder. No milk yet but my udder is swollen and ready to kick into production once the kids arrive. I also have started to get a little loose in my backend. It shouldn't be long now until I go into labor. The farmer is on stand-by to be available whenever I decide it's time to let the kids out. I will try to keep her guessing, as is the faithful duty of any respectable goat. ;-)

Well, time to get back to napping in the sun. I will let everyone know when the kids arrive!!

Martha's Debut!!

Last weekend, Martha the Toggenburg made her full debut as official "Float Goat" in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Gala Parade. She was a member of the Trudeau Institute's parade float. The theme of the parade this year was "Adirondack Cowboys". What is more cowboy than a goat?? Martha put on her finest attire, complete with backpack and bandana, and marched with her head high all the way down Main Street. She was so good that she didn't even raise a fuss when someone in the crowd yelled, "Hey! Look at the LLAMA!!". Martha had plenty to say about that when she got back to the barn, but during the parade she decided to be a model of fine goat-ness and she held her tongue.

Here are some pictures of Martha in the parade:

Here's Martha all ready to start marching in the parade.

She enjoyed the fringe on the side of the float (a little too much!)

The float was a bucking bull moose ridden by the director of the Institute. The moose was on springs so it moved!


No bull-riding themed float is complete without its rodeo clown!

Pictures!

Here's a bunch of pictures:

These are all of last year's babies. This year I will have some babies. I hope they are as cute as these!

This is Madge. She is Gloria's daughter. She went to live with a new family.

Here's Hefty. He is my son from last year. Isn't he handsome?

This is my mom, Gloria, getting milked. Doesn't she look happy?

Here's me! EXTREME CLOSE-UP!!