Well, some of you may remember the pregnant goats that I had rescued from the slaughterhouse back in February. My intention was to get free babies out of the deal, but my son decided to "liberate" the goats the day after I brought them home. Of the five, we caught one right away, another ended up in a neighbor's barn, a third got picked up by animal control and taken to the dog pound (you may remember that story) and we never did find the remaining two.

As it turned out, only one of the three that we recaptured was pregnant, and I was out 200 bucks on the two that were lost.

That was three months ago.

Last night I got a call from someone who lives about a mile away from us, and he said that he had been riding his four wheeler deep in the woods, and had seen some goats out by an old abandoned bank barn. I knew the one he was talking about, so this morning, myself and two friends hiked out there at sunup. We snuck up on the entrance to the barn, and looked in the door, and there they were! Our two missing goats, and two week-old kids! It was easy to catch them, as there was only one way out of the barn, and we had them cornered. They have been living in there, safe and comfortable, since February.

We tied leashes on the mothers, picked up the babies, and brought them all home. One of the females is VERY pregnant now, and will probably deliver any day.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

'We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began. Luke 15:23

-- Chuck (woah@mission4me.com), May 07, 2002

Answers

YEAH , i had a prodigal goat story a few months back too, and yep we ended up getting her back , i havent heard of losing them for so long and finding them healthy though , so big congrats to you chuck , thats just great.. get them milking hands ready:)

-- Beth in ND (famvan@drtel.net), May 07, 2002.

That's great, Chuck! Hope the next kidding goes as well as the unattended one did. Goats are great...your kids will love it. Cara

-- Cara Dailey (daileyd@agalis.net), May 07, 2002.

That is soooo cool, Chuck! We just got 2 pygmy goats from animal control last week. Poor things were in a kennel surrounded by barking dogs. They were upset & had the runs (no hay just huge bowlfuls of goat chow). The Director of operations had no idea what their needs were. He said they could not be adopted because they have to auction off livestock after running an ad for 3 days looking for the owner and then run another ad after 10 days to auction them off. Well, I told him that they would probably be dead from the stress by then and that they had to have a proper diet. I offered to take them to my farm for no charge. He said really? Why would you do that? I said because it's not their fault they are here and they shouldn't be around all those dogs upsetting them and I really do care. So, he let me take them home. They had lice. So we took care of that and wormed them and gave them vaccines, trimmed their hooves, etc. They are so happy and healthy now! The director told me to charge them for everything and for board and I could bid that amount on them at the auction. I hope no one wants to bid $282.00 for these goats because that's what the bill is up to now. :) You are so lucky to have found those goats. Let us know when she delivers!

PS. How'd you get your mug on your signature?

-- Cindy in IL (Ilovecajun@aol.com), May 07, 2002.

What a great story! When I first got into goats, I didn't know the difference (in temperment) between "dam-raised" and bottle raised...I bought two young Pygmy kids, wilder than March hares. They levitated out of the box stall and left the barn within moments of their arrival. One was caught quickly, the other vanished. It was February and cold. Two days later the Great Dane was barking at the horse tank. Now this could actually be normal for that Great Dane, but I looked inside anyway. There, in about 6" of water, was the lost pygmy, wet and cold but no worse for the wear. Where she'd been for two days in coyote land I'll never know. Julie in OK

-- Julie (okwilk213@juno.com), May 07, 2002.

just a snippet of html code in the signature that points to an image on my website. Nothing to it. :-)

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), May 07, 2002.

My neighbor told me this morning that it was better to milk the doe and then feed it to the kids from a bottle after pasteurizing it. That sounds strange to me. Isn't nature's way the best way?

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), May 07, 2002.

Chuck, the reason they say to do that is because of CAE, a goat disease. At this point it is really a moot point, as they have already nursed from their mother. If you are a goat breeder and have registered goats and want to be able to sell the kids for a higher price, then people expect you to practice what they call CAE prevention. However, if you were doing that, they would never have been allowed to nurse from the mother. If you want milk though, you will have to bottle feed or get very little milk for y'all. Also, if you do bottle feed a kid, they become to think of people as their mama and they get very tame and love to be handled, petted, etc. So, it might be more fun for your children.

-- Marci (Marci@amazinggrazefarm.com), May 07, 2002.

I guess it really depends on alot of factors. What your intended "use" for the goats, how much time you are willing to devote, etc. etc.

Pulling kids off the does is done for a number of reasons. CAE is common in goats and this is good preventative management, for that, as well as other "ailments" that could be passed through the milk. But, you can easily have them tested. Also, it helps to keep tabs on what the doe is milking, udder health, general health, as well as be able to have alittle milk for family consumption, if YOU are milking her. Weaning is easier, the kids are generally much tamer and more easily managed...as is the doe, (they usually fall right into the routine, and come to LOVE milking time!)

But, alot of folks dam raise, or a combination. Some, say, pull the kids off half the day and keep that milk for themselves...

It's like anything... I wouldn't say there is a "right" way. I have done it both ways... and for me a more aggressive management has worked best. But we were really big into producing milk, cheese and show stock.

Are those Nubian...Alpines? Cute pics! What flavor are the kids? So great you found the girls, safe and healthy...amazing really!

I'm sure the goat experts will be along and fill you in properly! Good luck!

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 07, 2002.

The babies look half Boer to me.... good eatin', Chuck! If ya don't want to eat them they are still lovely to look at... How are you going to prevent the Liberation Army (Chill-Ren) from releasing the goats, Smithers? Good Luck and EXCELLENT find-em-alive!!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), May 07, 2002.

Bottom line on bottlefeeding is tame goats. The reason your older does are wild, deer eyed, running away from home fools is because they were raised on their dam. It's easy the first couple of kiddings with lots of cute children to play with them all the time, but when the newness wears off and the children don't care as much for playing with the kids, the kids will be wild like mom and dad. How about finding someone to disbud these kids for you so they don't have horns like mom. Tame, disbudded goats are so much eaiser to deal with, don't let anybody fool you! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 07, 2002.

That makes sense, Vicki, except why do people disbud them? I rather appreciate the God given handles on their heads when it comes time to move them somewhere they don't want to go. Is there a benefit to no horns? Does it make them more docile? It certainly makes them harder to catch! (in my experience). You are the expert with goats, so I respect your opinion, now help me understand it! :-)

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), May 07, 2002.

They really are much safer without the horns Chuck. Even just swinging their head from a fly and those horns can pop you in the face. And even the baby horns hurt when they get you. No horns here anymore. Plus they get stuck in all the fences and hurt the other babies and goats with them. Sooo great you found them.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), May 07, 2002.

Okay, so no horns then, but what is the best way to catch a goat that thinks it's a gazelle, if it doesn't have horns to grab?

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), May 07, 2002.

My first two does were horned; I bought them from a guy who didn't believe in disbudding. They are great for catching onto! but I wouldn't have a horned goat again. There's too much trouble they can get into with them, such as getting caught in fences, and harrassing pen mates, butting children, etc. We like to disbud the babies by the time they are a week old, so this is something you will want to check into right away.

We keep collars on all the goats, for leading them about. I prefer the plastic break-away collars, since once in awhile a goat will get it caught on something, and it prevents strangulation by simply breaking when her weight is on it.

We've bottle fed and dam raised, and I find that dam raised kids can be just as tame and gentle, if you take the time to handle them, and keep them in a smaller pen for awhile, up close, after they are weaned. Always pat them and talk to them when you tend to them.

Goats can be a lot of trouble, especially until you get the fencing down! but they are an awful lot of fun, too. I hope you enjoy yours. Very cute children, by the way:)

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), May 07, 2002.

Those four kids in that picture are adorable! I was just wondering about your missing goats just yesterday. Wierd!

-- corky wolf (corkywolf@hotmail.com), May 07, 2002.

I am so glad your prodigal goat story has a happy ending:):0 I wondered what ever happened to them. They look adorable a sdo your children, loved the pics. Take care.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), May 07, 2002.

I read that the reason goats have horns is to cool their brains. I did notice that The horns feel real hotin the summertime - and I D) know that the horns are FULL of blood. My billy broke one once - sheish!

covered in red.

-- Elizabeth Quintana (rockshelter@webtv.com), May 08, 2002.

Really cute kids (human and goat) :>). I vote for disbudding and collars. Those horns can be oh so dangerous around children, and even adults.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.