When we finished the big barn on our property we wondered what to fill it with! We knew we wanted to start with chicks, and we did, but then what was to be next? We narrowed it down to goats or sheep. We have some relatives who raise goats (at Clark’s LMH Farm) and they recommended goats due to their unique personalities. I pictured small goats in my head, as in hold in your arms-sized goats. We got Nubian goats, with our two males weighing in around 200lbs!
The first round of goats we got totaled four: two newly weaned kids and two one-year-olds. We got a male and a female of each age (1 and just weaned), loaded them into our mini-van (you should have seen the stares from cars beside us!), and drove the three hours back to our farm. We named them after plants: Clover, Lotus, Lily, and Sunny. Clover behaves like a large dog, even stealing a lick on the cheek! Sunny likes my husband the best, often looking around me to see if he has come to visit, Lotus likes to try to head-butt anyone who will play, and Lily was our shyest girl for a long time. She has come out of her shell since!
No one at Dragonfly Farm had any experience with goats so we had some research and learning ahead of us! The first thing we did not know was that goats require a dewormer medicine when their worm/parasite load gets too high. Our Sunny girl had some problems requiring her to be in the animal hospital overnight receiving a blood transfusion and some medicine. Luckily we got her there in time and she is alive and well.
The next summer, after Sunny’s incident, we learned another lesson: withered male goats aren’t supposed to have too much grain as it can cause stones that stop them from going to the bathroom, which could cause their bladder to burst. Clover is large and a treat hog, so he had too much grain, causing a stone. The vet said to bring him immediately, and we loaded him into our van to take him to the hospital. Luckily the stone dislodged itself and all was well eventually.
The first winter, when I was just beginning to jump on the learning curve, I bought “goat coats” for them to wear and keep warm. They lasted all of two days before they got caught on things, ripped the straps, and dragged them around the barnyard. Since then I have learned that goats get a thick coat during the winter so they didn’t need my fancy purple and blue blanket coats! We do increase the amount of straw in their stall for warmer bedding, and hay for them to eat since there isn’t much outside for them to eat.
The spring brings lots of work like shoveling out their stall, but the compost we get out of it is worth it. It provides a nice rich compost that we then add to our garden!
Our goats bring so much joy and we have learned many interesting facts, like goats’ pupils are sideways so that their eyes let more light in, as well as more peripheral vision so they can see if prey animals are coming. The goats only have top and bottom teeth in the back. In the front, they only have a set of bottom teeth and a rough dental pad on the top.
In September 2022, my cousin had two older female goats who needed a new home. I asked my husband what he thought and he said, “What’s two more?” We welcomed Hope and Faith to our little herd, and four became six.
All six are the sweetest pets. They come running whenever they hear our voices and their favorite things to eat are pine trees (we give them our Christmas trees and they eat the needles and the bark!) and poison ivy. I didn’t know how much they loved poison ivy until one day my cheek began to itch. The oils get on the goats’ coats and then, when you “snuggle” the goats, you may get that poison ivy oil on your skin. Not a good lesson to learn!
Now they are spoiled and lazy, laying in the sun, and yelling, “Mooooom” or something that sounds like it whenever they see someone outside in hopes of treats!
We have enjoyed every goat here on Dragonfly Farm and, even though we had a lot to learn, they have become just like our other pets: a big part of our family.
Dragonfly Farm 