Maine

[longgrove]

Welcome, Mick820!

 

[longgrove]

SCG, your nubians are adorable. Goats do tend to get loud when they are alarmed; they will settle down quickly when they realize that they will not be harmed and will have lots of food. ( you know that old saw about "the road to the heart is through the stomach", must have originally been written about goats,) Hint, my caprine friends would go anywhere for an animal cracker or two, tho it sometimes takes a few tries to introduce them to the idea.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Thanks for the tip, I'll stop tomorrow and get some animal crackers. I'm open to any and all goat advice at this point!

They're currently chowing down on hay and maple leaves and I fed them a small amount of grain from my hand so they could feel more comfortable with me. So far, so good.

 

[hoppy]

is vomiting an issue with goats?

The chickens are already eying their hay... meet Amos and Augustina.

They screamed the ENTIRE way home. We had to go through "downtown" Gardiner and Augusta... we got a lot of attention.



No projectile vomit, so far, but it is early in the goat game.

 

[MustardTiger]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I will consider the peepers if I do not see improvement. So the drama gets more interesting:

Yesterday we were cutting up a few trees we downed the other day getting them ready for the splitter...It would seem as though it spooked the girls who were out ranging. They are totally used to the loud as hell riding mower so who knows. Anyhow, after we were done we heard screaming, chicken and human. uh oh. Looks like the chickens went too close to the neighbors property (though they were still on our side) and their hounds, who usually are kept in place by an invisible fence got out. Turns our their collars have been broken for some time :/ All the chickens were able to escape but while my husband was standing there talking to the neighbor she let the dog go for some reason that will always be a mystery to me and she got one of the orps. I was hoping it was Betty (ugh does that make me evil?!) but sadly it was not. Later I found Betty wedged to far under the burn pile, covered in pitch, I dont think she would have been able to get out on her own. We had the unfortunate one for dinner. It makes me very angry that the neighbors were so irresponsible. I will now forever be scared to let them free range!

Today, by chance we picked up two year old hens from someone close by since we wanted some eggs NOW and our flock was dwindling! Another orp and a golden comet. They are still great layers and I think they may help put Betty in her place. I already put Betty up on CL but no bites yet. I don't want to let anyone have her without them knowing she can be a bully so I doubt there will be many takers. If not we will use the peepers.

gah, this is better than daytime TV!

 

[Mick820]

Make sure your lovely Nubians have a little hay before their morning grain it helps their rumen get up and running. I lost my Nubian Timmy about 4 years ago and still miss him a ton.
Nubians are very noisy but I loved it about him. Good luck

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Thanks for the advice on the hay first. They've already stolen my heart, they are sweet as can be.

 

[ashandvine]

Thanks for the advice on the hay first. They've already stolen my heart, they are sweet as can be.

Yes, I am laughing AT you. Too good.
I am a huge fan of goats and never heard of projectile vomit! Please. Nubians are the fashion models of goats: long legs n pretty but not always bright. I love them! Never had one with spots. How old did you say these were?? Very skinny.

 

[ducklucky]

So sad, but a funny story in a sick kind of way. Leave it to Betty to come out relatively unscathed. You should keep a diary, you might have book material there. Could be a good children's book about bullying!!! LOL It's always sad when neighbors that you would usually get along with do dumb things, but it happens. Our 1/8 mile away neighbor has dogs that roam, they have been cited already, and they took down a very young fawn. So it happens. We are fortunate to live in an area where we all watch out for each other, even tho we live some distance apart. We hate to put up fences, ya know? Sure your neighbors "get it" now and will be more careful (we can only hope).

 

[superchemicalgirl]

No idea how old they are. They boy just had his last bottle Saturday, they're at least 2 months old. The girl's a fatty, the boy not so much. I've started feeding them in separate troughs so I can better monitor what goes in, especially cause apparently boys need some stuff to prevent stones.