#goatblr
It’s BABY SEASON!!
I recently was lucky enough to find a few very adorable product testers!
Find these goat-tested/goat-approved stickers here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/643655745/halloween-goat-vinyl-sticker-sheet
Nicknames for my baby goat, “Funyun”
- Fun boy
- Fungi
- Funko pop
- Funkly
- Funkleton
- Funkleman
- Funky man
- Sweet n sour nugget
I recently said something on neighborhood’s Facebook group about my goats, apologizing for any weird noises or weird screaming sounds because “my buck is in rut”
Cue people being confused because they thought I had a male deer for a pet
After months of milking my goat and giving all the milk to the babies, I just tried goat milk for the first time.
I honestly wouldn’t know the difference from cows milk lmao it tastes identical. I know it’s higher in fat but I couldn’t tell that either, which is weird because I drink 1% cows milk… She’s ND too, so in theory she should have 6-10% fat. Up to ten times the fat I’m used to.
Can’t wait to use this in my cereal…
I hear people call goats “hardy” animals.. and..
Well, once they’re full adults they’re usually fairly hardy. But honestly I find their nutritional needs more finicky than that of horses or other animals I’ve had. And the babies?? Good lord, every baby I’ve ever had has tried to die on me at least once. And don’t get me started on parasites..
if you know what you’re doing they’re pretty hardy, but they are NOT beginner friendly.
And there is SO MUCH misinformation online. I thought that I’d done enough research! I was experienced in animal husbandry!! I’d cared for livestock! I’d worked at the goat yard at the zoo! But then I got goats and realized that I knew nothing at all! It took years to realize that
MOST of the information online is ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!
When you use Google and online forums, you just come across bloggers and fellow beginners. NONE OF THEM KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING!!
That means all the research I’d done was USELESS! And it made me think I knew what I was doing. What actually helped me was talking to FARMERS and VETS. And when I say vets, I mean GOAT VETS. Most large animal vets don’t know much about goats!!!! I got a goat specialist and it was like magic.. she solved several issues that we’d spent years trying to solve with other vets. And, of course, farmers often follow outdated traditions, such as routine deworming, so you need to be careful in taking their advice as well.
Honestly, the ONLY useful online resource that I’ve found so far is, shockingly, Facebook groups. Most of them are awful, but I found 2 that are.. less awful. Those are Goats Tips & Tricks, and Goat Emergency Team. And even in those groups, there is a lot of misinformation, so take everything with a grain of salt.
When I started finding these resources… Suddenly my goats stopped having mysterious illnesses. I got a better mineral supplement, cause signs of illness earlier, and improved their husbandry… And now my goats are, indeed, “hardy”.
But keep in mind, I’ve had exotics since I could remember, and I work with animals professionally! I have since I was 17!! I’ve cared for horses, dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids, ponds, freshwater fish, marine fish, coral tanks, the list goes on!! I’m NOT A BEGINNER! Knowing what I do now, I can usually diagnose and treat most of their issues myself without a vet. I save the vet for emergencies. But if I wasn’t already a professional?? I don’t think I could do it! The skills I’ve learned in working with animals professionally come in handy every single day! It helps me with identifying problems before they worsen, and it allows me to keep the herd healthy as a whole. Without these skills there’s no way my herd would be healthy.
I hear people call goats “hardy” animals.. and..
Well, once they’re full adults they’re usually fairly hardy. But honestly I find their nutritional needs more finicky than that of horses or other animals I’ve had. And the babies?? Good lord, every baby I’ve ever had has tried to die on me at least once. And don’t get me started on parasites..
if you know what you’re doing they’re pretty hardy, but they are NOT beginner friendly.
We got a surprise baby last month. The other day she laid in my mom’s lap for over an hour while my mom took a well-deserved nap. She’s the most personable baby I’ve ever had; she LOVES people!
The record for highest temperature in our area has been broken 3 days in a row. Today’s high is 117F.. our animals aren’t used to it and they’re struggling, but we’re doing our best to keep them cool with shade, cool water, frozen treats, and keeping their area wet. The goats with especially long hair have been clipped.
It’s so weird to talk about goat husbandry with someone who isn’t an animal person. If I use typical terminology I have to give a vocabulary lesson every other sentence, if I use lay terms then I end up sounding awkward and have to pause constantly to reword everything in my brain
Our goat Han is gay.
The first kid born on the property, Han is the most peculiar goat I’ve ever met and I love him, and now as he’s maturing it’s become quite clear that he’s gay.
He chases the wethers constantly. When a doe goes in heat he gets excited and sniffs their butt, but then a wether will walk past and he’ll get even more excited and mount them instead. He’ll drink the wethers pee, too, then pee all over himself. There’s one wether he loves more than the others, but he’ll chase and mount any of them.
Most bucklings will begin mounting their mom very early on. Not Han. I’ve seen him mount her maybe once. Early on, he did mount a couple girls here and there, but as soon as he discovered that he could mount the boys too, he lost all interest in does.
He is also the prettiest goat on the property, a beautiful light buckskin. Here’s a picture of him with his mom the day after he was born
Met a guy on tinder that is making my heart melt PLEASE god don’t ghost me
In my bio I said I’m writing a book on goat husbandry and in his first message he said “ive never considered having a goat husband but I’m open to options” LORD HELP ME
What would i do without her to supervise???
