I was out with the goats beyond the fence line for an hour or so this morning before the big, bad, drippy clouds rolled in. I hear we may  get a wintry day sometime in the next 24 hours for about the third time in the Pacific NW this year , so I’ve super-duper filled the shed with fresh new straw for the goats. (The old straw was still fine so I just put the new atop the old. They’ve rarely been indoors since I mucked it out last time.)

I have such a good time with the goat babies.  They eat for a while after they’re let into the great beyond and then , one by one, they come over and jump onto my lap for a snuggle and scratch. They’re so darned sweet I can hardly stand it. It’s going to be hard to let three of them go next month after mom goats wean them, but I have to.  Even by extending their pasture, there isn’t enough land mass carrying capacity here on our property to feed more than about three small breed goats… maybe four… so I have to part company with some of this year’s brood. Candace Thompson wants three of them (Merrill, Rocky and Juliet) and I know she’ll be a terrific goat mom because she’s already a terrific sheep mom.  Lisa Twining Taylor wants Romeo and perhaps Maggie.  That will leave me with Jazzy, Tillie (Jackie’s favorite) and Mr. Tumnus.

The boys are all neutered now so the females are safe from indiscriminate breeding. I know Lisa plans to get a goat herd again (a milking herd) so we’ll always be able to go sit with and spoil her goat babies if we decide not to breed Jazzy and/or Tillie.

After the five are gone (sometime between May and September, probably) we’ll see if just three small breed goats can keep our greenbelt/pasture area free of blackberry bushes and other encroaching bushes, vines and trees. If not, then we’ll know it’s feasible to have one or two more…

I hope it is. I love baby goats. (I also love adult goats. Don’t get a critter if you don’t love them at all stages of life!  That’s my mantra!)