Our Goaties

Fall is fully upon us, and will this season comes the annual acorn feast for the goats. Our goats are all fat and happy, the does are all gestating, and the bucks are finally out of rut...or so we think. Of course only time will tell, but we are looking forward to our Spring 2009 crop of kids. I spent a few minutes this morning taking some pictures of our little herd...and decided to introduce them. These aren't glamour shots, but perhaps you can get a glimpse of their personalities and understand why we love them so much.

The girls....

First and foremost, my favorite....Faith Hill. She's a quirky girl, which is part of her charm. She's a great milker plus we've trained her as a pack goat.

Next is our girl Legacy, she is the most quiet and content girl...unless there is food involved; then she is first in line and pushing everyone else out of the way. We nearly lost her last year, but she pulled through and is doing great.

Our only Boer is Nikki. She is actually a Boer/Nubian cross, but she's marked like a traditional Boer. Nikki is Ben's goat, and is the most mischievous goat in the entire herd. Coincidence? I think not!

Our 2008 first fresheners...

First is Angel. She is Legacy's daughter, and Stephanie's goat. She is the "teenager" in the herd...and always has something to say. She is proving to be an excellent milk doe, and is out producing her mother at this time.

We bought Callie this year as a first freshener. She was already in milk when we bought her, and had some behavior issues. She was very skitzy when we first got her, would not lead at all, and was a nightmare on the milking stand. It took a few weeks, a lot of patience and training...not to mention animal cookies...but she has proven herself to be an excellent milker. She has settled down and is not spooky any more and will lead.

Next is Blessing. She is a yearling doe, Faith's daughter...and I think the prettiest goat in the herd. Her striking markings remind me of a flashy horse. She is not the biggest producer, but she is the best behaved. She has always lived up to her name!

Blossom is our other yearling first freshener. She is another Legacy daughter and is very much like her mother. She is very quiet and unassuming, well mannered and a good milker. She is a sweetheart.

Our 2008 keeper kids....Clover and Cilly (Pronounced Silly). Clover is a Faith daughter, and Cilly is a Legacy daughter. Clover is the herd brat, and Cilly is as quiet and sweet as her mother and older sister.

Da Boyz...

Tucker is our oldest buck, he was our bottle baby a few years ago. Although we didn't use him for breeding this year, he is certainly worth keeping. He is one of the sweetest, most gentle bucks you'll ever meet. He is Blossom's dad.

Our next oldest boy is Satin. Words can not describe how sweet and adorable this guy is....he is such a mamma's boy!

Yes, we are crazy enough...we don't have just 1, not 2...but 3 intact bucks (not to mention the 2 boys in our sister herd!). Our boys are all easy keepers (except when in rut-but then they are just hard on fences) and they all have excellent bloodlines; what can I say? I just can't get rid of them. Besides, we like to have genetic diversity....and keep all our options. Yea, that's it!

Manny is our newest boy, and I think he will be our largest. He is 7 months old and already tipping the scales at 100+ pounds.

Last is Rebekah's wether, Roadie. What can we say about Roadie. He's a goofball. He's trained as a pack and cart goat, so he's not completely useless.