Our Beautiful, Bouncing Boy
February 6th, 2015 · No Comments · Posted in farming
It’s probably just farming myth that you can tell when goats have had sex when you see them emerge from the goat shed smoking cigarettes. But we are always looking for signs of caprine love making because baby goats for us are, in the end, the payoff for all the work we do to keep these critters fit and hardy.
That places the center of attention on our boy goat, Tigger. Have you ever seen a handsomer buck? Remember, he’s the guy who disappeared just minutes after we brought him onto the farm some 15 months ago, disappearing into the woods after squeezing under the bottom wire of our perimeter fence in a moment of panic. We later found him camped out at a vacant home nearby and coaxed him back. He spent the next year with the sheep, going crazy in frustrated rut until we finally introduced him to his own kind.
The goats have been moved off pasture into their winter digs surrounded by electric netting closer to the house. In addition to the little goat shed, they now also have the run of a small building where we store tools and feed. Adding to our two original female Kiko goats–Dolly, the seven-year-old dame, and Tanner, her two-year-old daughter–we recently acquired a six-year-old Nubian milk goat, Sal.
We’ve witnessed Tigger making advances toward Tanner and Sal. The signs are fairly unmistakable. The female will usually signal she’s in the mood by wagging her tail and pointing he rear quarters in the male’s direction. The male takes a good whiff, and announces his interest by tilting his head back and curling his upper lip. Yo, baby!
Last year we didn’t know our sheep were pregnant until the guy showed up to shear them and saw the swollen udders. Duh! I suppose we’ll use the same method this year with the sheep as well as the goats. We try to time breeding to coincide with the grassing coming up in the spring. Gestation is five months, so the math is fairly simple. Many breeders prefer “hot house” lambs and kids–meaning birthing in January and February–to market the young around religious holidays such as Easter and Ramadan.
So, we are hoping for the best. Dolly is looking awfully round these days. But that could just be from stuffing her face with hay. In addition to the hay, we give the goats a generous handful of grain each morning along with a mineral mix that contains the proper dose of copper they need to thrive. Tanner hasn’t made any announcements yet, and Sal–well, she’s just getting to know Tigger on more intimate terms.
For his part, Tigger can’t help trying to rule the roost. When I set out the bowls of grain, he scampers from one to the next, pushing the females away and turning the feed into a game like musical chairs. The ladies nibble, Tigger wolfs down his food, smearing the grain all over his face and beard. As far as humans go, he still likes a good scratching around the ears and a pat on the back, but you have to keep an eye on him because he’s till a boy goat who defends his territory by butting with his head and horns.
As long as he does his job, we tolerate a little mischief.
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