CockadoodleMoo.org

Dianne:

Anyone who has read this blog knows that our goat Festus has been an only goat for over a year. There had been a few sheep that were close to becoming his friends but they actually all found forever homes with other families. Plus sheep can't eat the copper found in some goat feed so this would need to be managed.

Festus was a lonely goat and so this spring we started searching for animals in need. I was at Farm Sanctuary when they had a large rescue of goats and I thought that this might be just the thing. To this date we still have not heard back from them but we all know how busy summer is.

A couple weeks ago, the Nevada Humane Society notified us of a woman who was going to surrender her two goats because she could no longer feed them. They are Boer goats, both female and both have horns. By the weekend they had become residents of Cockadoodlemoo.

Loretta is the older of the two and, although not related, she is kind of a big sister to Kitty. I had a big sister growing up and I would follow her around, get picked on and occasionally get knocked around, but if anyone else tried to pick on me, my big sister would stand up for me "No one was going to beat up HER sister!" Now I find it kinda funny but then I worshiped her. This seems to be the relationship that these two have with Loretta getting between Festus and Kitty as he tries to lick and butt her.

The two female goats have not tried to ram us, are timid and sweet, and Festus, well, he likes to ram so we figured this might be a problem. The first time they met each other Fetsus ran from them so it goes to show he may not be as big of a bully as we thought. At one point Kitty reared up and so did Festus, but Festus toppled over and of course this scared the girls. They were shy and he was shy and it all seemed so nice. (See the video here.)

It has been 4 days now and Festus is ruling the pen. When I bring treats, he butts the girls and chases them away. Regular food is also a run-and-ram situation but as the leader he has to show some dominance over the new goats and with food being scarce in their previous home, the girls are very excited at meal times. Festus is also a mama's boy and although I don't like the ramming, it is hard to be angry with someone who is so genuionly happy to see you.

For now I am trying a few things to limit the amount of food-related  aggression. There is always plenty of food, the feeders are spaced at least 5 feet apart to prevent hoarding, and Festus is always fed first. In time they will learn that food is plentiful here and they can relax at meal times.

Festus seems happy with his new friends and the girls seem happy with their new home. Life is good here at Cockadoodlemoo. 

Kitty munches down on some hay

Kitty and Lorretta