Goat Personality

Until we started this new goat-raising adventure, I didn't know very much about goats...still don't. But I have learned one thing: they've got personality!

Grandma

Though most of our goats don't have names, per se, they have identifiers. One obviously older doe (female) we've nicknamed "Grandma" because she obviously is the matriarch of the group; nobody messes with her. She has this matronly look about her and she almost seems to have this wise, smarter-than-you look to her.

Horner

The girls have nicknamed one of the does "Horner" because it has no horns.

Flip

Another is nicknamed "Flip" because she has two ears that are folded at the tip. Apparently because she was a triplet and the lack of space caused her ears to permanently deform. Each one of the "older" ladies are always very curious and enjoy a nice scratch on the back...who doesn't.

The four younger ladies have slowly become accepting of me.
Bondsy

The first I nicknamed "Bondsy" after James Bond because she has ear tag "007." Sweet little girl. After the second night at our farm I fed her some grain mixture by hand because the 3 other does kept butting her out. Ever since then, she comes right up to me and enjoys a scratch.



The dominate female of the younger girls has a brown spot on the middle of her back; so she's obviously nicknamed "Spot." Just yesterday she decided she wanted to see what this scratching was all about so she let me rub her back. She's been back for more every time I've shown up at the barn since then. The other two let me have a go at scratching their backs tonight. I'll bet I have plenty of company during tomorrow's early morning visit.

Personality of the older girls: sweet and curious. The younger girls: skiddish/nervous at first, but their warming up and are also sweet. What I didn't know was they must have a heirarchy as each group tends to single out 1 or 2 of the others and headbutts them for no apparent reason. When there's food around, I understand. But just to be aggressive surprised me some. I suspect its just a reminder of who's in charge.

Tom getting his nose scratched



Tom, our purebred Boer buck, is hillarious! He hates to be left alone and he'll cry like a baby if he's by himself. I can hear him clear down the road when he's upset like that. He stinks. He will stink worse when he is "rudding" prior to breeding. He urinates on his face. He too loves a good scratch on the back and seeks me out to get one. But the funniest part is that this goat loves feed, or rather his feed bucket.
There's got to be something to eat in here!

One morning shortly after we brought him home, I entered the barn and found him laying on the floor with his head inside the bucket. I thought he was dead. I said, "Hey, Tom! You still with us?" He jolted, stood up, shook his head eventually flipping the bucket off, looked at me and baahed. The big oaf had fallen asleep inside his bucket! I've now caught him sleeping inside his bucket on at least 3 other occasions. Ah, I'm sure the ladies think that's quite the fella they've got there. They'll get used to him. All males of every species are just a little off center I suppose :)

Chicken Tractor

Now imagine if that were a chicken driving that thang' and you got a chicken tractor. Well, okay, not really! But my father-in-law and I have taken our first shot at building a chicken tractor. What's a chicken tractor? It's a portable pen that helps protect your chickens from predators while still letting the chicks get outside in the sunshine, eat bugs and grass, and get out in the fresh air. This is considered free-range, though it's a little more limiting. We will move the tractor (we're sure to be building more as we grow our flock) routinely to get the chicks to fresh grass and new areas frequently.

We built our chicken tractor using scrap wood we had around the farm. It was, generally speaking, not too difficult but it took some trial and error before we came up with the right materials and right set up. We wanted to make sure that the tractor was light enough to move yet sturdy enough to protect the chicks from the elements and predators.


Frames, corner posts. Our first go we build the tractor 4 ft high...that's waaayyy too big! We're going to use it as a winter coop next to one of the sheds. This way the chickens will be protected as they go outside and we won't need to redo it. Our second was a 7x7x2 tractor. Much better.

We used scrap paneling on 2x4 boards. I was able to move it on my own without a rope or wheels, but both will be added soon to make it easier.




Here's the chicks enjoying their tractor. We'll keep them in their brooder during the evenings but keep them in the tractor during the day as frequently as is possible until they are fully feathered. Now all they have to do is take their driving test to get their license to drive the tractor!

Chick feeding frenzy

The chicks are growing exponentially and they are staying warm despite the unseasonably cool temps we've had. I may have worried for nothing but I think the addition of tarp covering the brooder may have made a big difference. To date there have been no additional deaths since the one lost during transport. And did I mention they're growing fast and huge!!!

I think that they're growing because they love to eat...I mean love it! I've particularly enjoyed the morning feeding frenzy. I recorded a short snippet from my Blackberry but I must say, this doesn't do it justice.

Piranhas would be jealous of such skill, such grace in utter gluttony, a beautiful dance of carnage...well you get the picture.