We used to wear clean clothes (most of the time). We used to brush our hair (well, to be honest, some of us not so much). Jonny and I used to be able to use the phrase, “Were you born in a barn?” without the offending child being able to look around at the straw strewn around the floor before replying, “Ummmmm, apparently, so.”
But then we brought home a couple of nubian alpine cross bucklings (because I know some of you will want to know their breed–and yes, they will soon become wethers, losing their ability to reproduce). They are proving to be the ultimate distraction, and the reason behind the (more than usual) disheveled appearance of our family.
When these guys were born in all their cuteness at my friend Jaime’s farm a few weeks ago, she gently suggested that we might want them, and I quickly remembered that we needed a couple of goats to help us clear brush on our property. We had briefly discussed the possibility last summer. Jonny was on board from the start, and all of the kids, save Silas, are thrilled to have the goats. Silas liked them at first, but now seems to view them as competition and is acting like he just got a new baby sibling. I’m hoping that passes quickly, because he is making me crazy. I’m doing my best to give him extra special attention, so he doesn’t feel upstaged (again.) Thank goodness Job is too young to be worried about such things. He just wants to hug the goaties.
The babies were with their mamas for their first two weeks and now we are bottle raising them. Part of that equation involves Keats and I heading over to Jaime’s farm every morning so that he can help her milk. We bring home the milk to feed the babies. (For those of you who aren’t into goats, bottle raising is a very common practice for several reasons. In our case, one of those is that we want these guys to be as friendly as possible.) Four times a day, I warm milk on the stove to feed them.
Right now, the babies are sleeping in a large dog crate in our house at night, and we are trying to figure out daytime still. My kids walk them around outdoors, playing shepherd, and we let them run around the house too, which feels a little bit nutsy. We’ve discussed the possibility of diapering them, but goats in diapers, really? Our short term plan is to move them outdoors into our former hen house and enclosed chicken run, but we need the weather to warm up a bit first. Right now there is a snowstorm dumping more snow on us, so today there won’t be romps outside for the goatlings. Seven human kids plus two goat kids getting stir crazy should be lots of fun!
Oh–names! The smaller baby, mostly beige, was the runt of his…litter? I don’t know the correct term. We call him Robin Hood, or Robin for short. His half brother, who was a giant from day one and is white with a beige head, is called Little John. Robin is the sweetest, and Little John is the most entertaining.
Lana P. says
This is just the cutest thing! Like seriously! This is something I’d love to experience on my own! 🙂
I’ve been wandering through the corners of the Internet in search for homeschooling mothers, and I’ve stumbled upon your blog, and I’m forever grateful! I’ve been thinking about getting my boy to an alternative high school, when they have different approaches to life and their students, but then I found your blog and seeing that you are a mother of 7 and an amazing wife, cook and teacher, I’ve started changing my mind.
So thank you very much, I’ll be your regular reader now and I wish you all the best with these cute little goats!
TarynKaeWilson @ WoolyMossRoots says
So much fun! I love it!
Your kids will forever remember those goats in the house, what great memories are being made. 🙂
Stef says
Incredible. They are so sweet and I love how you have just plunged into getting them. I cannot even imagine how chaotic your house is right now, but I am strangely jealous (as always!).
karen says
congrats on your goat adoption looks like you will sail through the dreary days of winter now with so much busyness going on! I bet they are fun to watch and pet 🙂
Spalva says
My highly um rhythm and order loving 9 year-old was very um astonished at seeing goats on the couches. And she did question what would um happen if they didn’t have something like a diaper.
:-))
stephinie says
How fun! I truly think there is nothing more sweet or entertaining (in the barn) than a baby goat. We just played with some at my in-laws and the kids loved them! Bottle feeding makes all the difference in making them people friendly – at least in all the goats I’ve met. Enjoy! They are so much fun. And so much naughty! haha!
Ashley says
I raised a lamb as a kid (great experience!) and we diapered her any time we needed to take her somewhere. We didn’t have a truck so she just rode along in the minivan. We used depends and then covered them with a pair of tight shorts to keep her from ripping at them. I even painted her name “Jazzy” along the backside. Ha! Some f my best memories.
Kerri says
Total cuteness! I am hoping my daughter’s goat is pregnant so we can a cutie around here soon! Just an FYI, you do not need to bottle feed goats to have friendly goats. Our first two goats were bottle fed, and any of the babies that followed were allowed to be with their mama’s. We let our goats raise their kids for 3 months before letting them go to their new homes. I have a brood of children as well, that dote on all the babies. Basically our goats are well “socialized” to humans from all of the interaction they have every. single. day. with my children. We always get a ton of comments from people buying our goats that they are the most interactive and friendly goats they have ever met. Don’t get me wrong my kids loved bottle feeding our first couple of goats! It was necessary since their goat mama lived 3 hours away. But to have friendly goats you need them to have lots of fun human interaction….which I think you have down pat 🙂 Enjoy the new babies!
Blessings,
Kerri
Ginny says
Kerri, that is our plan when we start with dairy goats (keeping babies with their mamas). It’s really good to hear your experience. This bottle feeding thing wouldn’t have been my first choice, but it was the only way for things to work out with these two.
Sara McD says
Your goats are so cute it’s ridiculous. I want some but… I’m halfway through reading Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats and I think I shouldn’t have. It’s a little like reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting in that it just makes everything seem too difficult and scary. Euthanizing newborns? Disbudding? Even the cleanliness measures and chemicals. Oy! I should have read something else. I am so discouraged.
Ginny says
Maybe get one of the less thorough books?? I agree though, and I think that the reason we were able to dive into this is that we started reading about some of that after we made the goat decision. We decided against disbudding for these guys, but we kind of regret it. We only had twenty four hours or so from learning about it and what it is to make a decision before it was too late to do it at all (my friend doesn’t disbud so we didn’t even know it was a thing!) I didn’t sleep that night! Anyway, it is going to make fencing a little more complicated. I feel like all I’ve been thinking about for the past few days is finding the best portable fencing for horned goats….
Ramona says
Silas is so cute and funny when he pouts!
It’s not: “I want a toy, presents etc etc”, it’s “I want to bottle feed a goat!”
Sooo sweet, he made my day :)))
Sue says
Most amazing fun post ever!!!:) Made me laugh and smile lots! The combination of children and baby goats — how adorable! Can’t wait to see more antics! Awesome!
Molly says
So, did you get to see them do that cute little thing where they literally spring up into the air on all fours and give a little shake? Maybe it’s a just a newborn thing, but my mother in law’s baby goats did that, and I got a huge kick out it. That and their tendency to just go bounding off to the side, like they couldn’t quite control their muscles!
Lynda Kling says
Anything to distract us from this awful winter weather! Glad to see you all love the goats so much. My kids were raised in the barn, and got dirty frequently….much better than the sterile world so many children grow up in, with little resistance to many germs….
Enjoy! My friend’s goats kept her property beautifully weed free, including poison ivy!
Eileen says
What fun…..you and Johnny are great parents to have baby goats and lots of children, oh and 2 dogs in the house in winter! You go girl!!!! So cute!
Amanda says
What fun! I don’t mean to spoil the cuteness, but when those fella’s are 175 lbs and want to be in your house and on your sofa, you will be powerless to stop them as they barrel through your door at the slightest hint of your opening it! The sooner they are outside the better!
Rebecca says
One of my favorite memories is when we adopted a rejected baby sheep from my Grandpa’s farm. All six of us kids, from high school down to 3 or 4 years old, helped bottle fed and love on “Ramses” for his few week stay in our unfinished basement. He did wear a diaper for a bit and then there was newspapers down on the floor. I think your goats will be a similar treasured memory for your kids. Enjoy!
Shelley says
Ok, I think you need a big warning/disclaimer at the start of all posts that have unbelievably cute goat photos in them. Something along the lines of, “Warning – incredibly cute goat photos ahead – if you continue to read this blog you will want to run out and buy baby goats!!”
Ginny says
Oh man, you mean like in addition to the “snake warning system” that I already have in place? https://gsheller.com/2014/07/many-things.html Ha ha!!
Kay says
Love your sentence: “I’m going to sleep w/ them”! Your humor is marvelous.
& love your blog………thank you.
Kay says
PS When the weather allows them to stay outside……will they be safe at night against any wild creatures?? They do look so vulnerable……..& totally adorable!
Ginny says
Don’t worry, I’m going to sleep with them! Okay, just kidding, but it’s tempting. I’d probably get more sleep than I do in the house though! Actually they will be locked in the henhouse at night and will be totally safe. Here’s a link to an older post with photos of it: https://gsheller.com/2009/08/our-little-summer-project-the-chicken-coop-is-finally-finished.html
Jessica says
Any chickens in there? Our goats (mini-Alpines) are able to destroy our hen shed by trying to “butt” the chickens (and steal their grain!). We bottle fed ours as well and they lived in the house with us for an entire month. So so cute in the beginning. More than a little bit messy and smelly towards the end (we tried diapers – they chewed them off). I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Ginny says
No, we’ve been chickenless for about 18 months now. Which is sad, but somewhat convenient right now! We’ve got our work cut out for us over the next month or so. Fencing, fencing, fencing…. Hoping to have these babies out of here in another week or so.
Kay says
Once adults, the stories your children will have! All those kids, dogs & now 2 kid goats in the house during a snowstorm! Hahaha ……… what an adventure.
You all are wonderful…………..!
Tonya says
Oh how fun! YOu guys really are a bit crazy – crazy is good!
We love our goats and I am sure you will too – these guys should grow to a pretty good size. They are also good to give the scraps of food that the chickens won’t necessarily eat and the ends of the garden – garlic and onion peelings (greens from them too), cabbage parts, etc…
Enjoy! A perfect winter diversion.
Elizabeth says
I want to cuddle up with those sweet little faces. They must be making baa baa noises too. What crazy fun!!!
Helga says
Hello Ginny,
my friend is bottle raising little lambs at the moment and they really used diapers in the beginning, because it was to cold to put them outside of the house…it worked well!
Carlin says
Oh my gosh, so much love. And work and cuteness too. 🙂 Great pictures.
Blair says
What fun! Great name choices, too.
seth says
Robin is also MINE.
Monique says
I love it!
The picture of the goats on your quilt on the sofa just cracked me up! You are truly living your life to the fullest by doing all these really cool things like bee keeping and adopting baby goats.
Have you thought about writing a book about your life experiences?
Kate says
Just to help you from going crazy with goat poop – I would think the kids would be fine in the hen house if you threw a couple of bales of straw down. We’ve kept our kids outside from birth with their mothers to keep them warm. It never gets below zero here, but it often drops into the teens at night in winter. Even if they don’t have their mamas, they can keep each other warm in the straw. Goats can stand a surprising amount of cold.
Charlotte S says
I thought you meant Ginny should keep her kids out in the hen house initially!!! I panicked a little! 🙂
Ginny says
I won’t pretend that we’ve never threatened one of the older boys with sleeping in the chicken coop. 😉
Lorrie says
What a happiness inducing post, along with some of the best ‘goatography’ ever!
Melissa N says
Okay, totally off topic, does Jonny have a British accent?
Heidi says
Loved all the photos…….especially the one with the “kids” on the sofa! It brought back such fun memories of our baby goats jumping off everything they could find……..so joyful a mix-kids and kids! Hopefully there’s stuff around your yard they can jungle gym off of when the weather is better cuz goats like nothing better than climbing and jumping! You are all in for a lot of entertainment!
Sally says
Love the pictures of the goats. My three kids are involved with a 4-H club that raises and shows cashmere goats. When a baby goat needs to be bottle fed for a long period of time we do put a diaper on the goat and keep it indoors (we live in an area of Colorado that gets below zero most nights in Feb and early March). My son is raising a wether and he loves how fun loving his goat has stayed while the does and bucks grow up (it also helps keep the boys from getting really smelly later on). Enjoy all of your kids.
Christine Laennec says
My great-grandmother raised goats in Northern California in the 1920s. She writes in her diaries about the arrival of “Billys” and “Nans”. She was kept very busy with them, and named each one even though she knew she would sell most of them. It’s lovely for me to see these photos – it brings her experiences more to life.
Cindy says
…best pets I ever had…they are SO kooky and fun…
Betsy M says
You remind me of the mom in the book “Mr Poppers Penguins” where she allows the penguins in the house. I am not going to show the kids this post because they will think I am a Big Mean Mom! We have been having frigid temps this winter so not much outdoor playtime. Thus 5 kids in the house is all I can take this winter, lol. Thanks for inspiring my household to have more fun though. 🙂
Naomi says
The combination of little kids and tiny goats together is the pinnacle of cuteness. Brings back fond memories of bottle feeding baby lambs that had lost their mother. You certainly won’t be bored, and will perhaps have torn out some of your hair, by the time warm enough weather rolls around! I want some dwarf goats tooooo!
Linda says
Now I officially name you the best mom ever!!! And even more I want to be part of your family! How fun is that?! I love it. As I have said before you are the family that I always wanted mine to be. Just so very wonderful.
Elizabeth says
now that is a lot of fun! poor Silas! God bless you all! hang in there, sounds like you have great plans and just have to weather the snow for now! 🙂
beth lehman says
the goats on the sofa??!! i LOVE it!! what beautiful creatures. i could easily spend hours just watching them!!
Barbara says
I officially declare that if you can handle seven human kids, two goat kids, two dogs and all your outdoor animals, in the winter, no less, you can handle anything.
Amy says
too cute… looks like a lot of hard work as well as fun. thanks for sharing this was a treat for me as well as my kids….
Vicky says
Thank you for such a wonderful post amd pics. Cheered me up today x
Amy says
We are bottle feeding three lambs we brought home. It’s so fun and never gets old. A dairy kid is coming next. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to have them in the house though. Yours are so adorable!
Denise says
Oh..I miss having goats!!! It seems like all our baby animals start out in the house too (which probably makes us both a bit crazy to most the world) but I love it! We bottle fed my cow in the garage and had to keep our doors shut in the summer otherwise she would walk right in…We finally bought a dutch door so she could stick her head in to visit without entering the house.
Keep the goat picks coming I love them!!
Denise
J.S. Oxford — The House of Muses says
Oh. My. Goodness.
Now I’ve just got to convince my fiance we need baby goats. This made my day.
Marty says
love your photos, such adorable baby goats – love seeing them wander all over all of you and the house! Have fun with them, what a great adventure for your kids!
Patricia says
Have you guys heard this? It was in a commercial and I fell in love with it… then searched it out on Google – seems there is a youtube video of Roger Miller singing it… You will LOVE it… And so perfect for your two little kids!
Oo-de-lally
From “Robin Hood”
Composed by Roger Miller
Robin Hood and Little John
Walkin’ through the forest
Laughin’ back and forth
At what the other’n has to say
Reminiscin’ this ‘n’ that
And havin’ such a good time
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day
Never ever thinkin’ there was danger in the water
They were drinkin’, they just guzzled it down
Never dreamin’ that a schemin’ sherrif and his posse
Was a-watchin’ them and gatherin’ around
Robin Hood and Little John
Runnin’ through the forest
Jumpin’ fences, dodgin’ trees
And tryin’ to get away
Contemplatin’ nothin’
But escapin’ and finally makin’ it
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day
Barbara says
That song originated (I’m pretty sure) in the 1973 Disney Robin Hood. All of my kids loved that film but especially my now-adult boys.
Sounds pretty appropriate for a couple of kids!
Amy says
awesome. I was just singing this the other day and my children look at me like I was strange…. then they remembered what movie it was…. just may have to watch this today…..
Gail says
What an amazing experience for your family! Great pictures, I like the one of them walking on your couch. 🙂
Gwendolyn says
Congratulations on your goats. What wonderful pictures. I’m looking forward to watching the video at home when I’ve got my “free” time for data usage.
Stacey Davis says
This is one of the best posts in the history of small things, and that is really saying something. First off, you should win some sort of Goat Photography Award. These are the most beautiful goat photos I have ever seen (along with the first set you posted). You have a real gift at goat photography, Ginny.
I think these goats are a happy adventure for your family. Your story reminds me of when we had all the baby lambs in Montana, had to feed them four times a day, and didn’t know what to do with them. It was so much fun. Love, love, love your goats! My kids are saying, “Awwwwwww….. they are so cute!” in unison so loud the neighbors can hear them.