Last winter we got the most precious baby goats. When we brought them home they were just a few days old and it was frigid outside. So......I did what any farmer would do....I put them in a laundry basket and kept them with me at all times.
We named them Junebug, Finnley, and Annabelle. We bottle fed them and I cuddled them and let them sit in my lap
Then they got comfortable and wouldn't stay in their basket. So..... I did what any farmer would do....I put them in our shower.
Within a week they were stronger and needed to be in the barn, It was still cold.... so just to be safe we stacked straw around their stall and I checked on them hundreds of times a day ( OK.. maybe only ten times)
This is where all the was cuteness drained from them. I had spoiled them. They cried and screamed and wailed every time we left the barn. I said "Surely this wont last forever"
Then they became escape artists ....it doesn't matter what I did they found a way out of their enclosures. If that wasn't bad enough they were mischievous and destructive.
One morning I found them loose in the barn with a mess that cant be forgiven. Lead ropes and halters taken off hooks laying in piles of poo. My treat jar smashed on the ground and the peppermints that used to be inside were either thrown about or half eaten with the wrappers still on. Hay forks and shovels toppled over and a big bag of mineral powder ripped open and spread everywhere. They spent the night laughing at me while they danced on my saddles and dented my grain bins with those little hooves. I was furious.
Now they are a little older and have calmed down quite a bit. No more jumping on me while I try to do my chores. No more screaming at me as soon as they hear the screen door open. No more running in circles when I try to catch them.
They are sweet and gentle. They are calm and for the most part pretty quiet. They are like my little frolicking dogs and are content to just hang out with me as I work.
I'm so glad my goats are past the terrible twos.
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