Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Sweet baby goats

The twins were four days old yesterday.  They are already visibly larger and sturdier, starting to really focus on the world around them.
 
Ahhh....that hits the spot!

Unless it is bottle time.  Then they are hyper-focused.  This is all they think about when anyone enters the stall.  Listen to their cute little noises here, as they look for the udder....er....bottle.

Udders are near legs.  Where is the udder???

Once they get the bottle, it is a race to see who finishes first.  I love their little noises and squeaks at this age.

 Ahhh!  Satisfaction!

After having breakfast, one needs to tinkle.

Ahhh!  Satisfaction!  Again!

Ginger will no longer nurse these little guys, but she is still rather curious about them.

Ginger keeps a watchful eye on the goings-on in the hoophouse.

What is a hoophouse?  Also known as a chicken tractor, it is a moveable pen used to keep chickens safe from predators...in our case, hawks....while still allowing them to be on pasture.  The pen can be moved every day or two to a fresh, clean patch of grass.  My chicks will be moving into it next week.  Meanwhile, it makes a handy playpen for the baby goats until they are bigger than snack-size to the huge hawks and eagles.  They need to be bigger than a chicken...which our local birds of prey will kill on occasion...before they can go into the kid pasture unattended.  Meanwhile, I only put them outside when I can be nearby or right with them.  I was working outside for most of the day yesterday, so the hoophouse was a great place to keep the twins for a few hours.

Buckling Tractor.

The boys alternated between napping and hopping.  No pics of napping.  They hopped whenever they saw me approach. 

Nobody here but us chickens!

Aren't they precious?

A still picture doesn't do them justice.  See them tentatively trying out their hopping legs on youtube.

Goats make surprisingly wonderful pets...who will also clear brush with amazing efficiency and possibly even provide milk for your family.  I love my goats....even when they are naughty.   More on naughty goats coming up...



3 comments:

  1. How often do you have to feed them? They sure are mighty cute!!!

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  2. I feed them within the hour of being born, then every four hours that first day. I sleep the night if the babies are strong, as these two were, but I'll set an alarm for a weaker baby, usually bringing it into the house for a day or two or four.

    After that first day of frequent colostrum feedings, I feed four times a day, every 5 hours or so, for almost two weeks, then they should be eating some solid food and starting to chew a cud. At this point, I reduce to 3 bottles until they are 2 months old, then one bottle for the next month or two....but they are usually sold long before that, so the new owners can thoroughly bond with them. Bottle feeding is so sweet. They gaze into your eyes adoringly. I love it!

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