Our little Moon Pie is currently a 'house goat' while we bottle feed him and socialize him in hopes of having a friendly pet goat that we can show as a 4H project and maybe use for parades and PR.
It's surprising to me that just last week his original owner had trouble getting him on the bottle and also said that he was shy and a bit skittish. He's sure come a long way! Moon Pie is a serious snuggle bug who would much rather be sitting in our laps then hanging out with other goats or being left in his kennel. He seems to appreciate being petted, scratched and snuggled all the time and cries if we have to leave him. We all take turns cuddling him on our laps while we read or watch TV and Moon Pie is so darn cute when he snores. hehe
He's also learning to be house-trained by only peeing when we take him outside for a walk on the leash. And he walks so well on the leash, always keeping up with us so we don't have to tug at him. We take him for walks several times a day, and so he doesn't forget he's still a goat, we also take him up with us to the barn while we feed all the critters. Moon Pie gets along great with everyone, especially Pepper, which is just what we had hoped for. Moon Pie also seems to like the chickens, too and likes to hang out with them when I go in there to feed and pet them or gather eggs.
Little Rock Climber
(And yes, I know, that's my son wearing a heavy coat but no shoes. I mentioned in an earlier post that once the weather gets abover 40, both of my sons prefer not to wear shoes. Drive me a little batty.)
10 comments :
Oh my gosh! He is such an adorable little guy. We found out today we get our girls on the 26th for sure. Can't wait!
Oh so many questions I've got...
First, though, Moon Pie is gorgeous. Absolutely delightful. I love all your animals - you've done a wonderful job creating your farm family. Your post are a delight to read.
So my questions:
1) What is your overall plan here? You are adding new farm family members almost faster than I can keep up (lol)
2) You mentioned using Moon Pie for P.R. P.R. for what?
3) How long will Moon Pie be kept in the house? (I no longer feel strange at all for having my 12 chicks in my downstairs bedroom) :-)
4) Am I allowed to ask how much Moon Pie was? I'd really like to get an N.D. wether as a pet (a Boer, too, actually) (see what an example you are to me?) :-)
5) How many more babies will you be adding to Laughing Orca?
That's probably enough questions for now, huh? :-)
So I have some homework for your kids. Since you might want to have Moon Pie in 4H now is the time to get him used to having his legs picked up and moved about. Practice stacking 4 square and having him hold that postion and have someone go over him. Start with only a few seconds and build on that. So much easier when they are babies. Mimic what you saw at the goat show with him and he will be ready for the fair! Can you tell I'm a 4H leader:)
He is adorable.
P.S. I understand the barefoot thing. I drove my own dear mother batty with my need to ride horses barefooted. I was barefoot all the time. I remember my mom saying that I couldn't drive a car barefoot so I asked my driving instructor and he said there is no law against it. Imagine how thrilled my mom was when I gave her that info.
I am glad you don't insist on shoes. I say pick your battles.
Can't say "aawwww" long enough. He's got y'all tightly wrapped around his tiny little hooves. Don't you love the way they say "Maaamm"?
My kids are forever going barefoot when it's cold. I tell them to put some socks on because they are making me cold just looking at them.
Hi Sea2Shore,
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your goatie updates after April 26th! woohoo!
Hey goatgirl,
Thanks a bunch for the 4H tips! We'll start working with him this week. It shouldn't be too hard at this point because he lets us do anything to him. He's very 'pliable' and 'malleable'! hehe
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with barefoot kidlets running around with winter weather still scraping at our doors. Like you, I prefer to choose more important battles to assert my parental persuasion on. I think both of my sons are going to go live in Hawaii when they grow up, just so they can run around in flipflops and t-shirts. They are summer kids wholeheartedly.
They even got bored with the mulitiple snows we had this year.
How about your kidlets?
Hi farmgirl,
Thanks for stopping by for a visit and leaving such sweet comments. I always enjoy hearing from you.
Now to answer your questions:
1) What is your overall plan here?
~hehehe. Plan? What plan? I admit I do have a soft spot for the unwanted critters, so some may still find their way to live a happy life here on our farm. But the main plan is a small Fiber Farm, hence the llamas and angora goats. I alrady knit, but I want to learn to handspin and card. And I have folk art crafts planned for the fiber, too. I'm excited to try my hand at being a fiber artist.
Pepper arrived here because he was unwanted, but my plans were to try my hand at training a goat to pack to take on hikes. We'll also show him in parades, too.
Moon Pie arrived here, because Pepper is not the best candidate for 4H and Pepper needed a friend because the Angoras tend to exclude him and boss Pepper around. Moon Pie is a blank slate for a 4H career, farm pet, and PR goat.
Our horse, Baby Doll was a long-time dream and was well-planned. We'll ride her western as a trail horse while learning more about good horsemanship and skills.
Our chickens were brought here to provide eggs, humor, manure and enjoyment.
2) You mentioned using Moon Pie for P.R. P.R. for what?
~Public Relations as a representative of his breed and for goats in general. It's important to me to let people know that all animals have wonderful attributes and one part of that includes education and entertainment. Not only we will take some of our critters to parades, 4H, agility trials, hiking/packing, and homeschool gatherings, we'll also have children and adults come here to visit the critters and experience what a joy they can be.
I'm sure you can relate to that, though, with your hands-on experience at the Farm Rescue where you donate your time and work. All the animals at the Farm Rescue are PR animals.
3) How long will Moon Pie be kept in the house?
~Nope, don't feel strange about the chicks in your house. hehe!
I suspect that we'll keep Moon Pie inside for at least another 2 weeks, depending upon the weather, and how far we move along with training. I think if it were up to Moon Pie, though, he'd choose to be a permanent 'House Goat'! hehe
4) Am I allowed to ask how much Moon Pie was?
~Sure. Moon Pie was $50.00 and Pepper was, too. That seems to be the going rate for any wether goats...except for Angora wethers, which are still very valuable for their fiber/mohair.
I'll be anxiously reading you'd blog's future posts that involve new goatie members. How's the goat barn cleaning and renovations coming along?
I bet the chicken house is taking up alot of your time, as it did for me and my hubby, too.
5) How many more babies will you be adding to Laughing Orca?
~I don't mind the questions at all. That's how we learn, right?
At this point, I don't foresee us getting anymore babies, unless we decide to purchase a LaMancha doe kid, instead of one already in-milk. But that may or may not een happen until later in the year or next Spring.
Hi Ceecee,
I'm so happy your back from 'Naw'leans' hehe I can't wait to read all about your visit.
Yep, Moon Pie has got us terribly wrapped around his tiny hooves. He's such an icorrigible love bug! I think I am hooked on Nigies! Who'd a thought?! hehe
I think for us Mamas, seeing kids barefoot at anytime of year brings back images of being poor and barefoot, or possibly being called a 'bad mother' for not taking proper care of our kids.
I try to ignore those thoughts and think instead of how free and comfortable my kids look, instead.
But I agree about the chilly lack of socks. As I've gotten older my feet ache is they are cold, and even looking at barefoot feet make my feet ache!
I love your blog, I have to say that first.
I just read all your old posts(I haven't been on to read them)...Congratulations on Moon Pie! He is SOOO adorable! What a cutie! Can't wait to hear more about him!
Hi Mell!
Thanks for stopping by to read my blog and leave such a friendly, sweet comment. I like your blog very much, too.
I want a Moon Pie just like him. Shhhhh! Don't tell my husband that I said that because he will buy up every goat and animal he can if he even thinks I will go for it.
Post a Comment