Ever heard of a goat rodeo? That’s the expression I use at work when people are going off in their own directions and creating chaos (no one else at work lives on a farm, so they might not understand that phrase…) Anyway, we have had a real life goat rodeo the past 2 weeks. Sugar and Spice, our Nigerian Dwarf Goats, are both does (female) and entertain us daily.
We ended up with them in one of Ace’s intermittent bouts of spontaneity. We were at our first livestock auction and they were literally in the first lot up for bid. He looked at The Dreamy One (then 8) and The Literal One (then 6) and said, “Y’all want baby goats?” Sugar and Spice rode home with the girls in the backseat of the car. Since then, they have been like lovable, bouncy, outdoor dogs with horns, but they haven’t served a purpose on the farm.
I started researching goats and got enthusiastic about soap, cheese and everything else people are making with their beautiful, unprocessed goat milk. But, I had two big problems…Number 1 – milking. This is a huge commitment, and it is a chore that HAS to get done. My toxic trait of starting something and then abandoning it when I’m busy/tired/sick/celebrating/bored is not going to be acceptable. My solution to this problem so far, is telling myself I won’t do that this time. But I am also going to make sure my girls are able to milk so that I can delegate! (Homeschool science, right?)
The second problem – billy goats. In order to milk an animal, it has to have given birth so that it produces milk. In order to get a doe pregnant, there must be a male. Over the past year I have made a firm “NO MORE TESTICLES” rule – intact males are difficult to deal with on the farm. And billy goats require a special person to love them (no offense to those that do love them – you do you). They pee on their own faces – not kidding – they think that’s attractive! No thank you. So I knew I couldn’t acquire a billy.
The solution to that problem was taking the goats for a booty call at the Cornbread Homestead! Through a friend of a friend I found this amazing goat lady! She talked me through the process and we set a date. But now I had a new problem. Since that first car ride, Sugar and Spice haven’t left their pasture – how was I going to get them there? Cue goat rodeo. For two weeks, the girls have been halter training and leash walking the goats.
The won’t lead perfectly yet, but at least we got to the car! When we arrived for the mating session, Sugar and Spice immediately knew they were at a goat amusement park. And it was fun to see the billys act like billys, but I’m still glad I don’t own one!! Below is Jelly Bean – Spicey Goat’s new man. And yes, he is making that noise!!