Goats

[Byrdee ★]

Ahh, thanks for that! I have checked my local requirements and learned that Pygmy goats are legal to keep in my town. And I have started clearing space to keep them. Do you have any diet tips or tips on how to make sure they get the right nutrition?

[yesterday.]

so glad cs has a goat thread! I will be getting 2-3 Nubian (or Nubian mix) kids in the next week or so. I'm so excited (and nervous)! i have about two acres fenced off for them, for when they are ready to be put outside. any tips for a first timer?

[Byrdee ★]

so glad cs has a goat thread! I will be getting 2-3 Nubian (or Nubian mix) kids in the next week or so. I'm so excited (and nervous)! i have about two acres fenced off for them, for when they are ready to be put outside. any tips for a first timer?

ho man thats cool! those are a pretty rad type of goat. :3
personally i haven't owned one so I dont have ant tips but.. i just thought i'd say that cool cx too keep the thread moving and such ahh

[.:FarmGirlAtHeart:.]

Hello everyone! I could use some help with one of my girls, Persephone.
Tonight when I was milking her, I noticed that her milk vein is very enlarged. It wasn't like this around 1 this afternoon. The vein is not hot to the touch, and didn't seem to be bothering her at all. Any ideas what could be wrong with her?

[The Mean Kitty]

Hello everyone! I could use some help with one of my girls, Persephone.
Tonight when I was milking her, I noticed that her milk vein is very enlarged. It wasn't like this around 1 this afternoon. The vein is not hot to the touch, and didn't seem to be bothering her at all. Any ideas what could be wrong with her?

If you're on facebook, may I suggest a group called Goat Vet Corner? It's a fantastic group, filled with lots of vets to help you with questions like this, and they don't just help with goat related things! They'll help with about anything, as long as it's not cats or dogs (unless the dog is a LGD, like a Great Pyrenees) as there are many dog and cat vets.

[.:FarmGirlAtHeart:.]

Today life at Cottontail Acres changed forever. What started as a normal, beautiful day turned tragic as I ventured into the barn. Only having been up for a few minutes, I saw my goat, Persephone, collapsed in the corner. I laughed a little, asking what in the world she could be up to. I quickly realized things were bad however, when my question didn’t get even a twitch in response. I ran over to find my little girl stiff and in eternal sleep. I quickly got my mom, begging her to do something. My mom called my dad, and he rushed home. We lifted her into the van, and took her on her last ride to Homeward Bound. I turn on Pandora, and what song would greet me? Why, by Rascal Flatts. “Oh why, that’s what I keep asking. Was there anything I could have said or done?” I let the music fill my soul, letting my mind wander. I think back to the first day I ever saw her. Just another goat at my summer camp, another nervous wreck. Around the middle of the week, I found out her and this other goat were only alive because the owner hadn’t gotten around to going to the butchers yet. “You always played with passion, no matter what the game.” It seems so wrong. When I first adopted her, I sat in the back of the van, getting trampled by two goats, but steadying them as well. Now, I can hear her body sliding back and forth on the tarp. I don’t know why it happened, or even how. All I know is that my parents checked on the goats earlier that morning. Persephone was running around, playing with the other goats and eating. She even ran over to my parents, rubbing against them. Forty-five minutes later I went out and found her. I’m just so thankful we bred the girls. If we didn’t, Aurora would have been all alone. I also have to thank her for waiting until her babies were weaned and could be sold. I don’t know how this happened or why. The average lifespan for a goat is fifteen to eighteen years. My little girl was two. “God only knows what went wrong, and why you would leave the stage in the middle of a song.” I don’t know what I’m going to do. Everyone who knows me knows that those goats are my best friends, my babies, my light at the end of the tunnel, my life. Those goats got me through the worst times of my life. I guess we’ll never know why she had to leave. “Now you’re gone, and we cried.” I pray that whatever stole my girl is not contagious. I don’t think I can handle much more. We are already in so much of a danger zone. It’s not uncommon for goats to get so depressed that they stop eating, drinking, and living if they loose a friend. These goats didn’t just loose their friend, they lost their mom, sister, and aunty. I know everything will turn out how it’s meant to, but right now, I’m having problems seeing the light. It’s kind of ironic she passed on the second day of fall, however. For those of you that aren’t familiar, this is the myth.
Persephone was titled Kore (the Maiden) as the goddess of spring's bounty. Once upon a time when she was playing in a flowery meadow with her Nymph companions, Kore was seized by Haides and carried off to the underworld as his bride. Her mother Demeter despaired at her disappearance and searched for her the throughout the world accompanied by the goddess Hekate bearing torches. When she learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction she was furious, and refused to let the earth fruit until Persephone was returned. Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Haides--a handful of pomegranate seeds--she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. Her annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain. Her return to the underworld in winter, conversely, saw the dying down of plants and the halting of growth.

[The Mean Kitty]

Oh my... I am so, so sorry to hear what happened. She was a beautiful goat, and sounds like she meant a lot to you! I know how you feel, I lost several of my goats at a young age years back due to a toxic weed they had eaten. It was horrible, I lost my first 2 goats as well as the daughter and grandDaughter to one of them thanks to that weed. Now that we know about it, we cut it down every year. But I sure wish I would've caught it sooner, I miss my girls so much. I sure hope your other goats will be fine, and I hope things get better for you as well soon! <3 Keep your other girls close, I'm sure you and them both could use some comfort right now! I know my animals always seem to know when I need some cheering up, they're good at sensing those things...

[.:FarmGirlAtHeart:.]

I'm really sorry about your goats! Its hard enough losing her, I can't imagine losing more around the same time. What weed was it, if you don't mind me asking? I've actually been spending every minute with the other goats. Orion and Chloe keep calling for their mama, not understanding why she isn't answering. They've been suckling our fingers almost constantly. Aurora keeps running around looking for her too. Even faylinn seems to be really confused. It's really sad to watch them.

[The Mean Kitty]

Pokeweed. I was like 12 at the time, didn't think much of it, as I didn't know it was toxic back then, plus it didn't actually grow in their pen which made me think even less of it. But it grew close enough that when it got really big, the goats could reach their heads through and snag it. Darn stuff still grows in the same spot every year, plus it grows in what is our new buck pen. So we have to go through pretty often and pull it all up, it's a pain! I sure don't want to loose another goat to it though.

Poor girls, that sounds so sad. I know my goats get upset when I take away one of their herd mates, even if it's just to milk them! Are you keeping any of her kids, or are they all sold?

[.:FarmGirlAtHeart:.]

Hmm, I'll have to make sure we don't have any of that. I'm really sorry about your goats. It's good that you're pulling it all out.

Yeah, all of my goats panic when I take one away for milking. I'm keeping all of the babies. It's hard because the wether is incredibly sensitive. He's been taking this really bad, resulting in me spending every second of my time holding him. Even though he is at least 90 pounds now, he still thinks he's 7 pounds and able to curl up on my lap.