Genipher's Journal

[Genipher]

Love the pictures! The white one looking at the camera is cute! Do they have horns, too?

We have a 2-tiered yard. The goats love to hang out on the cement stairs (photo is my 4-year-old sweeping goat poop to the bottom tier) and now, the patio.

I had to trim their hooves once, right after I bought them (they were pretty curled under for only being 2 months old point!). Since then (2 months later), they haven't really needed it. I was wondering if all the cement they're walking on would help keep their hooves down. Glad to know it helps some!

 

[CntryBoy777]

If ya have an older broom...just keep it handy and sweep the pills off the steps first....a hoe and bucket will help....sweep it off into the bucket and the hoe will get around steps on the ground....dump the bucket in the garden or compost........really nice "girls" ya got there and I believe it will be Fun watching them develope....they like to get to the highest spot, so put something close by that is higher than the step and they will go there instead of the step.....they will jump and "spring" to other places....so be careful just how close it is to the top of the fence, let's say..........ours would get "spirited" and run thru their house...around the deck....into their back area.....then dash back into the yard and up the steps to the deck and back thru the doors....we had one that would "spring" like a deer and would rund around the deck and "spring" off the side of the bldg and about 10' into the air.....it was hilarious.....all sides of the house was fenced, so even if he got on top he couldn't get anywhere else.....

 

[CntryBoy777]

.....this is them at 3yrs old....the white one was the comical one....and he was the top rung of the herd, but Star was the herd queen....here she is
.....I grew ryegrass in their yard during winter and they would walk on the concrete squares to eat it....ya can see Lightning standing on some blocks that gave us footing on the slick clay soil we had....this is their house and deck...there is a middle wall with a hole cut in it....it was an old chicken coop....so they could run in one door thru the wall and out the other door.....the door was a toy for them and loved swing it back-n-forth....
.....they did have horns....they were meat goats....with dairy goats....tbere are others that have had bad experiences with them....if they are used for milk, then handling them everyday....day in and day out...I wouldn't want to face it.....they are also "competitive" and will use things to their advantage....luckily, ours never used their horns against us or towards theirselves.....but, each has challenged me with their horns....but, if they are there...ya better pay attention to them....cause ya never know.....

 

[Genipher]

Goats are mostly loud if they’re in heat, hungry, lonely, bored, their routine is interrupted or if there is a problem. Some will cry if anything new is happening, rather similar to a dog barking at strange sounds or intruders.
That said, there are some individuals that can be loud for absolutely no apparent reason, so it’s possible that your friend came across one of those rather obnoxious individuals. I can understand lack of sleep souring someone to an animal they were probably neutral about beforehand.
I value my sleep too

Okay, I admit it... I enjoy my sleep, too. Though I don't think I've slept through the night for about 15 years now, so I tend to shrug off "excess noise" by outside critters.

 

[Genipher]

Some people do not want to have dogs or cats, also. But - here we pretty much enjoy any animal. Well, snakes, skunks, possum, coon are subject to an "uninvited" status but --- only if a nuisance or predatory to our animals.

You can always post here. We've heard & seen most anything. But we understand !!!!!! That's the difference and why we bond together -- you're not nuts. Enjoy those goats.

I draw the line at mice. We have an old, hundred-year-old house and it draws mice in every winter. Never had to deal with mice until we moved here, 2 years ago.

I enjoy all other animals, though I'm pretty at our younger dog, Toby, right now. I just found out that he fought a mighty battle against the plastic swimming pool that I bought YESTERDAY, and won. sigh. He's a year old now and gets plenty of things to chew on... shouldn't he be out of the "destroy anything left in the yard" phase?!

 

[Genipher]

View attachment 63180 .....this is them at 3yrs old....the white one was the comical one....and he was the top rung of the herd, but Star was the herd queen....here she is
View attachment 63181 .....I grew ryegrass in their yard during winter and they would walk on the concrete squares to eat it....ya can see Lightning standing on some blocks that gave us footing on the slick clay soil we had....this is their house and deck...there is a middle wall with a hole cut in it....it was an old chicken coop....so they could run in one door thru the wall and out the other door.....the door was a toy for them and loved swing it back-n-forth....
View attachment 63182 .....they did have horns....they were meat goats....with dairy goats....tbere are others that have had bad experiences with them....if they are used for milk, then handling them everyday....day in and day out...I wouldn't want to face it.....they are also "competitive" and will use things to their advantage....luckily, ours never used their horns against us or towards theirselves.....but, each has challenged me with their horns....but, if they are there...ya better pay attention to them....cause ya never know.....

Yeah, ours will be milkers. Already the sisters use their pointy heads to shove each other aside. They haven't used their horns against us (though Alice nipped me a week or so ago when I took my sweet time getting her a helping of alfalfa pellets!) but I worry my children will accidentally get poked or "stabbed"... especially since my 2-year-old is right at their level and she loves to hug'em around their necks.

I like your goat house. Mine have a shed to go into but I'm debating about letting them move to the back porch.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Something that can help ya out some if ya get a shop vac with the metal bucket and it will get quite a few pellets in 5gal bucket.....course, the more there are the more there will be....and be prepared to battle rodents closer to your door....pellet crumbs and grain will certainly draw them.....the shop vac hose will reverse and ya can use it as a blower too......

 

[Baymule]

Google bucket mouse traps.

 

[Bruce]

My sister comes to my place and is terrified by them, lol...some people just don't "get it"

YOUR goats?? Most of them barely came up to my knee! They were all quite nice.

 

[Genipher]

Something that can help ya out some if ya get a shop vac with the metal bucket and it will get quite a few pellets in 5gal bucket.....course, the more there are the more there will be....and be prepared to battle rodents closer to your door....pellet crumbs and grain will certainly draw them.....the shop vac hose will reverse and ya can use it as a blower too......

Do you mean use a shop vac for storing alfalfa pellets or for the spillage those Dreadful Wasters create?

Last year we had a problem with mice (that was without owning goats) I'm a bit nervous about this next winter, now that I've got a shed full of hay, etc. My girls might get their wish for a cat this year!!