| A friend and I went to visit the babies today. They were two days old. The baby girl stayed out of sight the entire time. The baby boy, Clark, was out and about but a bit difficult to photograph, as he was often trying to nurse or had his back to us. When he did face me, he usually wanted to investigate me and my camera, making him impossible to photograph.
One of the babies, laying in the flower cover from a palm tree. Baby #2 was in a pretty good hiding spot, taking a nap.
The two adult goats are the most mellow animals I've ever seen. I'd rather have them next door to me than most dogs I've met. They barely make any noise, ever. When you visit, they just stand there, silently, and let you pet them. They don't bite like a dog can. Their poop doesn't stink like a dog's. Their poop is useful, unlike a dog's. And they make milk. I really, really, really want a goat - but I will say that following my friends' adventures with their goats has made me more cautious about getting some of my own, if I ever do.
Since only females and neutered males are allowed by law, the goats had to go away to "camp" to get pregnant. Flora, the older goat, has been to camp twice and failed to get pregnant both times. Fauna went once and got knocked up with these twins. It's certainly not the same as having chickens, who start laying eggs at a certain point whether there's a rooster around or not. Another concern is that goats can catch a disease when they go to camp. My friends have probably had their goats for a year now, and they are just now about to get some milk - and only from one goat, not both.
Usually, when I visit, the goats barely take notice of me, although they don't mind me petting them. But they don't seem to enjoy it much either. This time it was different. With Fauna's babies getting all the attention - and Fauna nearby protecting them - Flora felt left out. I got many gentle head-butts from her to let me know I'd better pet her because she's cute and interesting too.
Milk!
Now that the babies are born, all of the milk Fauna produces is for them for about the first month. After that, once they need less milk, my friends will start milking Fauna to help themselves to whatever the babies don't need. Sadly, by law, after two months have passed, they must sell the babies, because only two goats are allowed on any one property. In my opinion, this is cruel, since it will be distressing to the mother and the kids.
The babies' fur is much softer than the adults. I think they must be smaller than the babies of full-size goat breeds since they are a miniature breed. I've seen a newborn baby goat before (just a few minutes after its birth) and I swear it was bigger than this. I think one of my cats is bigger than the baby I held.
The cutest thing Mama and Baby did was when the mother would get separated from her baby, she would "Baa" and the baby would hop over. It didn't walk or run, it bounced! The baby doesn't have great coordination of his legs yet, and it was clear his legs aren't very strong yet either. When Mama called him, he would make a tiny little "Baa" too. So cute! |
