Archive for May, 2010

Answering Goat Questions: Part II

Following up Answering Goat Questions: Part I, here is Part II:

6. “why do goats poop berries” – This has to do with the way their digestive system is set up (hint: nothing like ours) and what they eat, but you can read all about it at The Straight Dope.

7. “coffee discovered by goats” – Well, yes, kind of. Read all about it at The Legend of Coffee and the Dancing Goats.

8. “training goats” – Hah! Good luck with that. No, seriously, depends on the kind of training you want to do. Goats are highly intelligent, but they can also be stubborn. We’ve taught two of ours to walk on leashes. I don’t know about house-training, though…those little trap doors seem to open and drop a load of goat berries whenever they damn well please.

9. “who is pasqualina” – OK, I don’t know for sure that you were actually looking for *my* Pasqualina, but you can find lots of photos of her on Flickr, her kidding story on this site, and various posts about her at Bleeding Espresso.

P.S. She looks like this:

10. “michelle fabio” + paolo” – OK, pretty sure you were looking for us on this one. Congratulations! You are here.

That’s all until next time; thanks for finding us!


Happy Mother’s Day to All You Goat Maaaaas!

I hope all you goat maaaaas out there are having a wonderful Mother’s Day!

I know I am.

And check out what the kids got me:

A goat scarf!

Soon to be all the rage.

Maaaaaaa!


Answering Goat Questions: Part I

Those of you with websites know that far too much fun can be derived from looking through the search terms people used to find your site.

The searches for Goat Berries have been extra interesting to read as they let me know what fellow goat people want to know.  I’ve noticed some questions I haven’t yet answered, so I’m going to answer some here (mostly about the kidding process) and then more in Part II, forthcoming:

1. “lover of goats in Italian” –  Literally, it would be “l’amante delle capre,” but in Italian you’d more likely say someone is “appassionato (or appassionata if it’s a woman) delle capre.” It’s safe to say I’m one of those.


2. “should I separate goat when kidding” – Most things I read on the Internet and in books talk about kidding stalls to separate the mom from the rest of the herd when she’s about to give birth. In fact, we did separate out one of our moms because we thought she’d be more comfortable that way.

The other two of our dams, though, gave birth in the same pen with the other present (and one even had another kid present). Everything went fine, but I imagine this is something you get a feel for regarding specific goats and their preferences.

3. “goat how long after water sac birth” – When Pasqualina gave birth, her water broke, she had about two minutes of rest (if that), and then she started pushing. We had a kid within five minutes or so, with the whole birth taking not more than 15 minutes.

4. “goat kidding – fresh blood” – This is an interesting query. I actually expected more blood with the birth of the kids, but there really wasn’t any during the actual birth. Lots of goo, yes, but not blood.

The moms *did* however pass fresh blood the following day (usually in clots) and also for the following two weeks — *not* constant streams of blood by any means, just every once in a while. In sum, if you think you’re seeing too much blood, you probably are, so call a veterinarian. Better to err on the side of caution.

5. “what if the goat doesn’t deliver the placenta” – You could have yourself a problem here. A new goat mom should pass her placenta within 24 hours or so of giving birth, but if you weren’t watching the whole time, she may have eaten it. Or a dog may have eaten it, if it had access.

Our three goats all passed the placenta completely within two or three hours of giving birth (in all cases it started to come out almost immediately). If yours hasn’t done so after a whole day, you may have a “retained placenta” on your hands, and you should consult a veterinarian. Basically the vet is going to have to give her something to start contractions to get it out.

Stay tuned for more questions and answers in Part II!

Buon weekend!


Three Baby Goats Standing on a Ledge…

Sounds like the beginning of a song, doesn’t it? Nope, just a regular day in the goat pen.

And also my Goat Berries entry for the She Who Blogs 3rd Anniversary Photo Contest in which contestants are asked to submit their take on the theme “3” or “THREE” if you prefer.

Up for grabs is a $33 Amazon gift certificate; you still have time to submit your photo (contest ends May 8th), so get snapping!

And good luck!

P.S. I also put up a “3” photo over at Bleeding Espresso.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

You Know You’re a Goat Ma When…

Come add your reason(s) as to how you know you're a goat ma or goat pa or just a goat lover!

Subscribe to Goat Berries by email:

Sponsor the Old Goats of Apifera!

Sponsor the Old Goats of Apifera

Categories


GoatSpotting!

Goats that readers have spotted out and about. Send your photos to michelle(at)goatberries(dot)com! 

Baby the Goat in Georgia
Anguillian Goats
Goats in Central Park Zoo, NYC
Goats goats goats galore!
Tuscan goat
Goat on donkey (no not in that way)
Oman goat
Goat in tree in Africa
Testa Dura Goat Cheese
Goat at Maine Fiber Frolic 2011