Archive for the ‘Uniquely Goat’ Category
Reader Question: Double or Y-Shaped Teats
Questions? by Valerie Everett on Flickr
I got an email yesterday from a reader who has recently agreed to take on two kids (male and female) with the hopes of perhaps getting into small scale cheesemaking and soapmaking someday.
The rub is that they just discovered the little doe has Y-shaped teats. As there isn’t a whole lot of useful information out there on the Internet about this situation, I was wondering whether any of you with more goatie experience has some advice or info to share? The reader really wants to know whether it would still be a good idea to keep the little ones — perhaps pros and cons?
Any and all responses welcome! Thaaaaaaaanks!
Also, if you have a goatie question they’d like to post to Goat Berries readers, please feel free to contact me!
The Real Goats of USA Soccer
For those of you not following the World Cup, the United States has a big game today against Algeria.
Yes, I live in Italy and am an Italian/American dual citizen, so I also root for the fighting Azzurri of Italia. But you know what they say: you can take a girl out of the USA (OO-sah as it’s pronounced in Italy), but you can’t take the USA out of the girl.
Apparently, my divided loyalties have rubbed off on my goats, because they can’t wait to get their hooves, well, teeth on any and all things red, white, and blue — and these girls really aren’t usually clothes nibblers, honestly!
You can’t see it from the photos, but my t-shirt has on something like this:
And so USA soccer/calcio/football fans, the next time you need a goat, we have your goats right here. You know, I’m thinking there’s a great marketing opportunity in there somewhere…aha!
The Real Goats of USA Soccer.
Bravo? Call me.
Let’s bleat.
Goat Feeding Time Video
Here’s a video I made the other day as I was bringing some borlotti bean pods to the girls for the first time. They obviously knew a treat was coming because they started calling me just after I shut the door of the house.
Also making guest appearances are our bantam rooster and hen, our two other hens, a call from our quail, our Ape 50, and the gorgeous view of the Ionian Sea and rolling Calabrian hills from the garden area. Enjoy!
Don’t you just love Pinta’s screams? What a sweetheart!
Smiling Goats: Say (Goat) Cheeeeeese!
One of the reasons many people love goats is because they looks like they’re always smiling.
I have to admit, whenever I’m feeling stressed, sad, upset, or otherwise blah, it’s pretty hard to stay in that mood when I have smiling goat faces staring back at me.
Say (goat) cheeeeeese! Or, I guess formaaaaaaaaggio since we’re in Italy:
Yes, this is what you get from two smart ass goats when you tell them to smile pretty for Maaaaaa.
What’s New on Pasqualina’s Plate?
Last summer was our first summer with goats, and my first experience with goats, so I wasn’t very adventurous in what to feed them. They were only between five to seven months old at that point, so I was nervous I’d give them something that would upset their digestive tracts. We stuck to feed, fresh grasses, and hay.
Now that lots of fruits and veggies are coming into season, though, and we have a big strong Mamma goat, I feel like it’s time to test Pasqualina’s palate. Besides, there are also a lot more peels and shavings and even the errant strawberry that’s going off, so it’s a great way to recycle the food, so to speak (if the goats don’t eat it, it goes to the chickens).
So after making sure the food is not poisonous for goats, I’ve been trying new samples with Pasqualina, always a little at a time as you never want to give goats large amounts of any new food as it can, indeed, upset their digestive systems.
You’ve already seen some results of our new experimenting with pea pods and cantaloupe; Pinta hasn’t shown interest in anything but the pea pods and prickly pear cactus so far, but we’ll keep an eye on that too.
One huge surprise for me has been the strawberry. Pasqualina won’t even take one! How can you not like this fresh from the garden?
It’s been a fun experience for me, so I’m now keeping track of what Pasqualina (and eventually Pinta) likes and doesn’t like to eat on a page called “Goat Eats,” which you can always find in the upper right corner of every page.
Please feel free to tell me what your goats like and don’t like in the comments!
Letting Your Kids Cry It Out
I know this topic is something that mothers of human babies deal with all the time, but did you know goat maaaas must deal with this as well?
Inevitably there are times when goats, especially kids, cry for their humans. They may be hungry, they may be thirsty, or they may just want some company. Goats are *very* social creatures and hate being left alone, which is why they say you should never have just one goat. Indeed, it’s the reason we added Margherita last year around this time, so Pasqualina wouldn’t have to be alone.
Before we found Margherita, Pasqualina would WAIL when we left her. And I don’t just mean quaint little bleats. She actually sounded like she was in pain — and quite frankly, she probably was, emotionally. Poverina! She was just a wee lass at the time, so it’s not surprising that she wanted us around.
But then along came a buddy, and she was fine ever since.
Now, though, since we’ve taken out the others, it’s just her and her daughter Pinta in the pen . . . and she again cries when we leave. Not all the time, not as dramatically, and not for nearly as long as she used to, but ask any mother (of humans or otherwise), and she’ll tell you just how heartbreaking it is to hear their kids cry.
And although I don’t know that I could let human kids cry it out (taking after my mother in this respect), with goats, you just have to walk away — assuming you can’t play in the goat pen all day.
Sponsor the Old Goats of Apifera!
GoatSpotting!
Goats that readers have spotted out and about. Send your photos to michelle(at)goatberries(dot)com!
