We have three adorable, young does: Maggie (pictured below), Maple, and Jelly Bean. They are myotonic or fainting goats, which means that they have a hereditary condition that causes them to stiffen and fall over when startled. Though it is comical to watch, we really try not to startle the goats. They sometimes startle themselves, especially Jelly Bean. Our goats were raised by their mother, not bottle-fed by a human. So, they were pretty skittish of us when we first brought them home. Since we needed to get them used to people in general, and specifically us, we allowed them to sleep in our house for the first few weeks. What a mess! But, it was worth all the cleaning because they now run up to enthusiastically greet us when we enter their paddock. If we want to move them to another part of the farm, they trot behind us wherever we go.
Our goats are pets, but they also help us maintain some of our overgrown land. While our pigs do this too, they are much harder on the ground than our goats. The three little goats love to eat weeds and vines! Too much grain is not good for goats, so we make sure they have access to unlimited quantities of browse and pasture.
Before getting our goats, we heard all the horror stories about goats escaping and wreaking havoc around the farm - everything from climbing on prized automobiles to paying visits to unsuspecting neighbors. But, luckily, that has not been our experience. The goats are easily contained with wire fencing. They do love to play and will climb on anything, but we have not found it to be destructive. All in all, they are one of my favorite additions to One Sip!
