Saturday morning, Mom, Dad and I went on a field trip. A Myotonic goat breeder in Sandersville (who just happens to be the aunt of my cousin-in-law, April) told Mom about the Goat-A-Rama that happens yearly in Tennille, GA, which is just a few miles outside of Sandersville. We have a history of visiting odd sounding festivals and a serious love for goats, so it seemed a near thing that we'd try it out. There were WAY more people there than we thought there would be, first off, which was a nice surprise. They sold goat merchandise and souvenirs as well as dishes made with goat meat and the usual fair type foods. We didn't win any of the door prizes, but did get a look at some neat types of goats and some cuddly looking alpacas, which are much more expensive than I ever thought! $20,000 for a mom with a baby!!! Yowzers! That made the goats at $250-$400 for most breeds seem pretty reasonable.
Right at the first Mom and I fell in love with a tiny teensy little Nigerian Dwarf baby goat who was still on the bottle, but she was too rich for our blood and we don't really want a doe of a breed other than Myotonic right now. The lady who was selling her also had Nubian milk goats and said that she would sell one of the boys along with the Dwarf as a companion because he wasn't show quality, or she would sell him separately as a pet. Poor baby, she said his ears are a tad too short and his face is a little feminine. At TEN days old!!!! I couldn't believe it and asked to hold him, and of course, after that all was lost! That's what I get for taking the little cage in the back of the car for "just in case." I did put him back and walk around to look at the other goats, but my heart wasn't in it because he's the guy I wanted! We got to see he and his friends being bottle fed later in the day and that was terribly cute, too.
We signed up for a raffle to win a meat goat or some feed, but didn't win which was all right. The meat goats looked mean and had been shaved so that they looked like they were wearing velour suits! After that, we saw the pygmy goats who were amazingly cuddly little guys, too, and were WAY less expensive than the larger breeds. None of them appealed to me as much as the bottle-baby Nubian guy though, so back we went. I got him for peanuts, basically, and am now the proud "mother" of a currently 12 day old Nubian boy goat whom I have named Pancakes. He is the exact color of the cinnamon pancakes that Jason loves to make at home.
We put him in the little cage with hay to lay on, and as soon as I left him, that's when the bleating started! This little guy has got some serious lungs on him... He sang and he whimpered and he bleated and he yelled to beat the band. It was the most pitiful, heart-wrenching sound I have ever heard. We couldn't take it and thought if he had a friend that he would improve, which proved true. Mom picked out Sugar Baby, who is a two month old male Pygmy (the only one that wasn't solid black or white). They settled in together and now seem inseparable, although Pancakes is much bouncier and more playful right now. He's been better socialized, we feel.
They're settling in, and I'm sure there will be "goat tales" coming soon. Goats really are joyous, frolicking creatures that are full of springs and hyper energy. We've gotten little dog harnesses and are using a horse lunge line to teach Pancakes to go for walks, even though right now he pretty much walks us. We want him to be comfortable with the harness and being led around before he gets too big. His eventual home will be our back yard where he'll hopefully be a fun pet for us, a good companion for our dog, Otis, as well as a "redneck lawn mower." I'm VERY excited!
Right at the first Mom and I fell in love with a tiny teensy little Nigerian Dwarf baby goat who was still on the bottle, but she was too rich for our blood and we don't really want a doe of a breed other than Myotonic right now. The lady who was selling her also had Nubian milk goats and said that she would sell one of the boys along with the Dwarf as a companion because he wasn't show quality, or she would sell him separately as a pet. Poor baby, she said his ears are a tad too short and his face is a little feminine. At TEN days old!!!! I couldn't believe it and asked to hold him, and of course, after that all was lost! That's what I get for taking the little cage in the back of the car for "just in case." I did put him back and walk around to look at the other goats, but my heart wasn't in it because he's the guy I wanted! We got to see he and his friends being bottle fed later in the day and that was terribly cute, too.
We signed up for a raffle to win a meat goat or some feed, but didn't win which was all right. The meat goats looked mean and had been shaved so that they looked like they were wearing velour suits! After that, we saw the pygmy goats who were amazingly cuddly little guys, too, and were WAY less expensive than the larger breeds. None of them appealed to me as much as the bottle-baby Nubian guy though, so back we went. I got him for peanuts, basically, and am now the proud "mother" of a currently 12 day old Nubian boy goat whom I have named Pancakes. He is the exact color of the cinnamon pancakes that Jason loves to make at home.
We put him in the little cage with hay to lay on, and as soon as I left him, that's when the bleating started! This little guy has got some serious lungs on him... He sang and he whimpered and he bleated and he yelled to beat the band. It was the most pitiful, heart-wrenching sound I have ever heard. We couldn't take it and thought if he had a friend that he would improve, which proved true. Mom picked out Sugar Baby, who is a two month old male Pygmy (the only one that wasn't solid black or white). They settled in together and now seem inseparable, although Pancakes is much bouncier and more playful right now. He's been better socialized, we feel.
They're settling in, and I'm sure there will be "goat tales" coming soon. Goats really are joyous, frolicking creatures that are full of springs and hyper energy. We've gotten little dog harnesses and are using a horse lunge line to teach Pancakes to go for walks, even though right now he pretty much walks us. We want him to be comfortable with the harness and being led around before he gets too big. His eventual home will be our back yard where he'll hopefully be a fun pet for us, a good companion for our dog, Otis, as well as a "redneck lawn mower." I'm VERY excited!