thisnthat

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First, to answer the question of whether goats make good pets. Depends on your patience level, and how scrupulous you are about housekeeping.

I'm totally impatient with humans. Animals, I can forgive almost anything. It's not their faults they're captive and dependent. It's not their fault I put creatures with predatory natures in with prey. So, I feel it's my responsibility to accomodate them, secure them, assure them and teach them to live peacefully together.

Goats can't, as far as I know, be house trained. I've heard of people putting goats in diapers when they're in the house. hmm...

BABY goats, or kids, are very different from adults. They'll nibble at things to taste them, but their ruminant stomachs are dormant until they're weaned. The nibbling is just curiosity, play and practice. They can't actually eat anything while they're young.

Baby goat pee is almost pure water; it has no hormones, scent, etc. In fact, it smells a bit sweet, like the lambs' formula I'm feeding them. Their baby poo is an inch-long pellet, slightly moist, which is easily discarded in a paper towel. They always pee and poop right after a feeding, so it's easy to know when to throw their butts out into the yard.

I'm currently washing my bed linens. The babies spent their first day on my bed. Much soaking of blankets resulted.

But, the day I got them, they'd JUST been removed from their dam and were being taught bottle feeding. They'd been removed from the property where they'd be born and taken to a pet store, full of strange noises and sounds and a concrete floor. Even the people feeding them were different-smelling than their previous owners.

Then, I bought them, dragged them into a CAR in the bright sun, and brought them to yet ANOTHER strange smelling and -sounding place, with a dog and cats in it! That's a lot of predators around newborn prey.

So, I put them in my bed. They cuddled with the teddy, when I wasn't around. I fed them in bed. I let them evacuate in bed. I let them sleep beside me the first night.

Yesterday, I brought in my dog carrier, with shredded paper in the bottom, and set it on the bedroom floor, with the door open. The goats went right to it, smelled it all over, and practiced going in and out of it. It smells different than the one in which they were transported to the feed store, but isn't a strange concept. Last night, they slept in it with no fussing. In fact, they "slept in" this morning, as the inside is dark and warm (it's sitting near my heater).

For the first time, the goats followed me all the way to the front driveway, where I've erected a garage-sized tent with our bikes and stuff inside. I brought their bottles, my cigarettes and a cup of coffee. I was able to hold both bottles in one hand and smoke and drink my coffee in the other. They drink about four ounces of formula/cows milk at a time.

They're frantic, at first, searching for the alien nipple. Once they latch on, they only let go periodically, to catch their breath and let air back into the bottle.

But once they're full, they walk away. They show no more interest in the nipple. Now, it's time to play, pee and poo.

They're beginnning to gambol, climb and trot. They loved being out in the front yard, where there are rocks, logs and steps to climb and plant materials to nibble.

The girl is the instigator. They boy lags behind. He's whinier than she. He's also smaller and less aggressive. This will radically change as his testicals mature and descend.

I'm going to buy some anesthesia from a vet. supply place. I have some hypodermic syringes I saved from the trash when a diabetic got evicted, back in the War Zone. They're new and they're sterile, although I'll clean one in alcohol.

If you go to that goat site I posted yesterday, you'll see step-by-step instructions for castrating goats. I'll be using the "cutting" method, as it's quick, cheap and generally the less likely to cause complications.

I can't let him mature with testicals. Read the section about bucks, to see some of the problems. Beyond aggression, they piss on their front legs and head to smell very ripe. It can cause skin irritation and infections. And you can smell them from a block away.

And my goats are brother and sister: I don't want weak and deformed kids. If I decide to breed her, I can put up ads in feed stores.

So, yes, goats make excellent pets, if you keep in mind their biology, intelligence, limitations, predilictions, etc. Just like any other animal.

People get very angry at animals, even dogs and cats, for behaving as nature and evolution have intended. They want their animals to behave as THEY want them to, not as they do naturally. It's stupid, imperialistic, egotistical and often cruel.

As my goats mature, I'll be leaving them out more. They won't be able to come in without supervision, or they'll eat and break things.

They'll never be large. Pygmies are tiny, compared to standard goats.

But they're strong, smart, active creatures. And I like my glassware, book- and record collections. I also like my sanity.

The goats now know this is home. They now know I'm the mom. They follow me and listen to me. They trust me. They're not frightened, insecure, etc.

I can expect more of them now than laying all over my bed, peeing on it. And they WANT more now! They LIKE going outside! They like the dog carrier.

So, that's my story.

I had other things to write about, but this ended up pretty long, so I'll wait 'til later.