Sitting in the Echowood lounge with Sharon, Rob, and Ruben. We are discussing goat selling. That big ol’ crazy buck needs to go. He’s driving all the ladies crazy. Plus, he’s gross. Loki places his face in the doe’s stream of urine, licking it and letting it get on his lips. Then, he lifts his head, curls his upper lip, and smells the pee. I have also seen him urinate directly into his own mouth.
All of this urine-play has to do with mating: finding out if the doe is in heat, etc. There is a daily hot pursuit with Loki practically crying and chasing a doe. Loki keeps chasing and crying and blowing snot (or something) on the doe, and the doe runs away and cries as well. I can just imagine their dialog.
Yep, the goats must be sold. It’s sad. I have actually gotten to know them quite a bit. While Rob and Sharon were on a trip to California (to look at prospective places to live) Ruben sold three babies– two girls and a boy. These people must have been crazy. The babies were screaming as we handed them over to be loaded in the car. The momma goats were confused for about a day, but they seemed to get over it afterwards. Still, though, it felt bad taking two-month-old babies away from their mommas.
With the mommas– Frega and Aphrodite– sans babies, we had to “milk them off,” meaning manually milking them, so that their milk production can drop-off gradually, rather than a sudden drop-off after losing their babies. Frega was a good producer, but was very difficult to milk. Aphrodite was, in contrast, very well-behaved. She knew the deal: she gets to eat food out of her own special trough, and we get to touch her boobies. Ruben and I joked that she was a very good prostitute. We never came to an agreement with Frega, although she will now walk up to me and let me pet her. Each goat has such a unique personality. They are so beautiful. I’ve certainly become attached.
