Sorry for the thumb!
Goyo the mischevious
Meet and Greet
The past few days have been wonderful. The animals are all basking in the sun and enjoying the warmth. I decided to separate the boy crias from their mothers today. They are about 9 months old now and have stopped nursing. In the first few months of criahood we decided not to force wean the babies and let nature take its course. I did some research and discovered that around 8-10 months crias typically wean themselves. Sam and I decided this was the best approach for our herd and our farm. However, Goyo has been a little bit aggressive and mounting the mommies of late. We thought it was time to move the boys into their own paddock. After graining this morning I kept the boys in and let the moms and girls go out. Delphine, Goyo and Quito were nervous being alone. I fixed up a paddock for them complete with hay rack and water, then turned them out. I put them next to the males for reassurance. Eventually the boys will be in the same paddock as the males. I was nervous that there was going to be pandemonium. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the boys were not overly distressed. They were delighted to see the males. The moms did not even notice the babies were gone! Whew!
The goats are another matter entirely. New goat is being bullied by Anna Nana and Juliette. It is driving me crazy. I want new goat to just fight back. Anna Nana is going out of her way to be annoying. I usually feed between 7-8 am while the kids are getting off to school. I cannot do that now because I feel obligated to take grain/hay to the goats and put the hay in four different areas so everyone has a bit to eat. I take the grain and give AN and Juliette first. Then put some in a pan for new goat. She usually runs into their little house and I put the pan at the entrance and sit on the ground with my back to her and ward off the other two goats. If I don't do this..she won't be able to eat anything. Today after she ate her grain I gave her one fourth of a flake of hay. I held in my hand and she and Juliette ate from it. Then AN got involved and the shoving began. And she stopped eating. Grr. I basically spent 30 minutes feeding this goat. And that was just at dinner! I don't really mind sitting with the goats. They are notoriously messy and have hay strewn hither, tither and yon. But it is clean and quiet. I scratch them and brush them. They love it. New goat pulls on my clothes until I rub her under the chin or on her back. She is really cute. I hate the animal pecking order!
This is Anna Nana..she seems so innocent.
Goyo the mischevious
Meet and Greet
The past few days have been wonderful. The animals are all basking in the sun and enjoying the warmth. I decided to separate the boy crias from their mothers today. They are about 9 months old now and have stopped nursing. In the first few months of criahood we decided not to force wean the babies and let nature take its course. I did some research and discovered that around 8-10 months crias typically wean themselves. Sam and I decided this was the best approach for our herd and our farm. However, Goyo has been a little bit aggressive and mounting the mommies of late. We thought it was time to move the boys into their own paddock. After graining this morning I kept the boys in and let the moms and girls go out. Delphine, Goyo and Quito were nervous being alone. I fixed up a paddock for them complete with hay rack and water, then turned them out. I put them next to the males for reassurance. Eventually the boys will be in the same paddock as the males. I was nervous that there was going to be pandemonium. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the boys were not overly distressed. They were delighted to see the males. The moms did not even notice the babies were gone! Whew!
The goats are another matter entirely. New goat is being bullied by Anna Nana and Juliette. It is driving me crazy. I want new goat to just fight back. Anna Nana is going out of her way to be annoying. I usually feed between 7-8 am while the kids are getting off to school. I cannot do that now because I feel obligated to take grain/hay to the goats and put the hay in four different areas so everyone has a bit to eat. I take the grain and give AN and Juliette first. Then put some in a pan for new goat. She usually runs into their little house and I put the pan at the entrance and sit on the ground with my back to her and ward off the other two goats. If I don't do this..she won't be able to eat anything. Today after she ate her grain I gave her one fourth of a flake of hay. I held in my hand and she and Juliette ate from it. Then AN got involved and the shoving began. And she stopped eating. Grr. I basically spent 30 minutes feeding this goat. And that was just at dinner! I don't really mind sitting with the goats. They are notoriously messy and have hay strewn hither, tither and yon. But it is clean and quiet. I scratch them and brush them. They love it. New goat pulls on my clothes until I rub her under the chin or on her back. She is really cute. I hate the animal pecking order!
This is Anna Nana..she seems so innocent.
The sunshine has been wonderful. I've had the same concerns about weaning. I let my girl self-wean and at 7 months she went in the other pen and my little guy is just now 6 months. I will be weaning him in another week or so...he's finally putting on his weight. Good luck with the goats.
ReplyDeleteWe are loving the sunshine here on our farm too! I like how you refer to the new goat as New Goat! Does New Goat not have a name yet? ; )
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