Goat baby update

The kids are now almost 2 weeks old!

They are growing fast. Jackie, the buckling (photo to right), has been renamed Dreamer. He is a cautious contemplative little buckling, and the action star name just didn’t fit his energy level. His colors have darkened a bit, and no horn buds so he is polled. His eyes are hazel.

Carlotta, the doeling (photo below), is very different than her brother. She is very active, more shy, the first to try everything but less trusting of people. She is also much smaller. She has remained a true black with no horns (polled) and hazel eyes.

Both kids are still nursing but also eating timothy hay and just starting to become curious about mom’s grain.

Guy has proved to be a tolerant “uncle” to the kids even playing a bit with them.

Mimosa is still getting the basic Dynamite program I outlined in previous posts. She also continues to get Waiora Natural Cellular Defense to neutralize any heavy metals or toxins before she passes them on in her milk. I have also started her on Dynamite Excel in the evenings.

Dreamer is hard to photograph, as he tries to jump in my lap for petting or nibbling my clothes as soon as I enter the pen. He is a real love, and enjoys petting, especially scratching under his chin and under his chest.

I’ve started researching goat training and handling, as I want to teach them both to lead and stand and maybe carry a pack. I found some interesting goat training sites.

http://www.scinternet.net/~smillers/Pack%20Goat%20Manual.htm#Training%20Your%20Goat

http://www.northwestpackgoats.com/training_tips.htm

http://www.napga.org/links.asp?PageID=2&LinkID=106&menuID=

I haven’t tried the methods yet, so I can’t comment on their effectiveness.

In my next post, I’ll introduce one of the other animals.

Carrie