No one told me how awesome goats would be…
But they are. Really. They are.
Have you ever wanted a pet deer…that acts like a puppy? Well- that’s exactly what goats are. A deer/dog mix.
Not kidding.
They have the hair, tales, and hooves like deer. They are fast-as-lightning like deer, but they LOVE human attention, follow you around like puppy, and can be a bit mischievous.
All welcomed here on the nameless farm.
We chose to get Nubian goats because:
- their milk has a high butterfat content (great for making yogurt, cheese, and soap)
- they are extremely affectionate, and
- they have floppy ears (total deciding factor)
The Naming of Our Nubian Goats
I remember the day we picked them up like it was yesterday (because it was almost yesterday– a week ago to be exact). Our family was so excited to go pick up the girls. We had been arguing on names, naming the goats, and then renaming the goats for the entire week prior to their arrival (read how we got the goats HERE).
We went through a long list of names. We pleaded for help from friends. Our friends were gracious enough to share their ideas with us, but of course we didn’t choose any of their names ;). I actually liked Gertie (thanks Molly!) but it was a no-go with the kids. Ultimately we named the goats Pippy and Lilly (AKA Pipp and Lill).
Pippy and Lilly are 8 week old Nubian goats. I have no idea what day they were born. I was so excited about getting them that I didn’t even ask. I know. I know. Don’t worry- I will call the lady we got the goats from and ask her what day the goats were born on. It’s only appropriate that we know when they were born so we can have an awesome 1st year birthday party for them.
Our First Week With the Girls
Oh…the first week. Let’s start with the first day shall we? Here we are unloading them out of the truck.
In our never-ready type personalities we only had the goat pen half way built. Beau had to work later in the day so we put the girls on the porch and got to work.
All joking aside the girls were frightened. I had so much empathy for them because it was their first time away from their mother. All I could think was ‘at least they are together.’ And then that maternal instinct thing crept in and I got all emotional on how mommy goat must feel. But, I put all those emotional feelings aside to help Beau finish the pen.
One hour later the girls were enjoying their new pen (with two makeshift doors until Beau could finish them on his next day off).
Two hours later the girls ESCAPED through one of the makeshift doors. Here’s some funny pics from their escape!
The girls never left the yard when they escaped! When it was time to go to bed they wanted back into the pen.
The rest of the week was super fun with them! We found out that Pippy LOVES her some banana peels and Lilly prefers veggie scraps from the garden. One night we all walked down the hill, to look for deer in the holler by the creek, and two minutes later the goats appeared! They had followed us and were “yelling” for us. They scared the deer and ruined our deer watching but it was so darn cute we didn’t care (see…they are like puppies!).
During the week we made it a point to be outside with them throughout the day so they could become acquainted with us.
And acquainted they became! They call for us if we aren’t in sight. They now walk up to us and let us pet them. They really are great goats!
So great in fact that the kids had a picnic with them today…
I am also happy to report that we are officially GOAT EXPERTS! 😉
Stay tuned for awesomely funny goat updates (and some how to’s too since we are total goat experts now!),
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love the goats!
I’ve got to get me some to add to my 4 ducks, 2 cats, 6 sheep plus 2 new lambs , and 14 chicks
Oh, yeah and 3 little pigs
But goats are so much cuter!