Sunday, May 2, 2010

Happy Anniversary, Boys -or- The oral nature of goats


Bringing Pete and Reggie home, 5/02/09

Pete and Reggie, my Nigerian Dwarf goat boys, have been with me for one year today. They celebrated their 1st birthdays in March, but I didn't bring them home to Critter Farm until they were about eight weeks old. This was on May 2nd, 2009.

If I had to state the primary thing I've learned about goats in the last year, I'd say that they are the most oral of all my animals. Anything and everything they find, if they are able to get it there, will go straight into their mouths.

As a 1st birthday/1st anniversary tribute, I'd like to share with you some photos that will illustrate this fundamental aspect of living with goats.

And so, along the line of "a year in the life", I present:

"A year in the mouth of Pete and Reggie" (in chronological order):

Fanny pack strap:

Zipper on my jacket:

Daisies:

My hat:

Plastic food dishes:

My coffee cup:

My sports bra strap:

My watch:

Rope on a tree:

Scissors in my pocket:

My leg:

Again with the hat:

Garlic:

The ladder:

The rake:

My bandanna:

Paper and pens:

My finger:

Hose hanger:

A gate latch:

Silly hats the other is wearing:

Donkey tails:

Gate chains:

Plastic bags:

Anything on the barn workbench:

The chicken coop door:

Twine:

Dried garlic stalks:

and...
Hedge clippers and rubber boots:

Getting these boys was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I have ever made and I thank my beloved and oh-so-wise goat mentors (Maryann (Goat Philosophy 101) and Wendy (Life Beyond the Sidewalks)) for directing me, kindly and consistently - and over the span of almost a year - in this direction.

Happy 1 year anniversary, Pete & Reggie, my sweets. :-)

Roxy, the farm pup, welcomes Pete and Reggie to Critter Farm, 5/02/09

30 comments:

  1. The goat boys are so cute! I've been considering getting goats one day in the near future, and this makes me really want them! Thanks for the pics!
    ~Lynn

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  2. happy one year pete and reggie and i am sure you will continue to find many more things to put in your mouth!

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  3. OMG, those are the cutest pictures I have ever seen.....I love the one with the daisy, so so cute!

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  4. It has been proven here that a goat will try to eat anything they can get too. Pee Wee got in the building and ate a piece out of a trash bag as big as a paper plate. Worried me to death, I kept watching knowing for sure it would kill him. The plastic never made an "appearence" and it has been over a year, so I guess they must have one heck of a digestive system. We never let him run loose without someone on guard, but the girls will get to playing and he sneaks off. His favorite spot "was" my strawberrry patch. If you noticed I said, was. I am trying a new adventure this year with putting my strawberry plants in hanging baskets, to keep them out of his reach.

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  5. I'm not sure which is more amazing - that they've tried to taste all of this stuff or that you've photographed/saved/found all of these pictures for this post! I really enjoyed flipping through their baby book. May you enjoy many happy years together.

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  6. What a fun pictorial ! My donkey is like that but since you have donkeys too I assume the goats are that times 10.
    I just got back from riding and he tried to take the reins the minute they came off the horse, of course one time he took them while they were still on the horse and proceeded to lead the horse around the paddock. I've really got to learn to keep my camera with me like you do because these pictures you posted are so cute.

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  7. You don't know how pleased I am to be called a goat mentor. I am glad you know the pleasure of owning a goat that only comes with being prepared and doing your homework. You are an A plus student!

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  8. Great post, and you were there always at the ready with your trusty camera, documenting life with Pete and Reggie for all the world to see. Thank you Critter Farm Mama!

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  9. Awww :) Happy Anniversary to you and your boys! :D

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  10. Happy anniversary to the boys.
    Goats are the best!

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  11. Dear FarmGirl,
    You just don't seem to understand. They are not being 'oral' ... they are searching for PEANUTS!

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  12. Very entertaining!

    Out of curiosity, why did you decide to do goat boys instead of goat girls?

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  13. Love the photos! My favorite is the one with the daisies.
    One of my first memories of a goat was when we were on vacation when I was very young and we were at a petting zoo and the next thing we knew, a goat was eating the map out of my father's back pocket!

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  14. Yes, definitely the best decision you could have made, b/c now people like me, who love them, but don't have any, get to read about them and see their wonderful adventures in pictures! lol -- Inger

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  15. Congratulations on a wonderful year. Here's to many, many more wonderful years to come.

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  16. Awww! Such sweet pictures. They've really grown up, haven't they? Still sweet little babies though, I'm sure. Happy Birthday to Pete and Reggie! Those pictures are just precoius!

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  17. Once you have that goat bug, you can never shake it! :D Here's to many more years.

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  18. they're adorable. that's all there is to it! oh to live on a small farm.

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  19. Sniff. They are growing up so fast. Sweet boys. And you are the best goat mama. They are so lucky to have you taking care of them and watching over them....and loving on them. :-)
    I do have that other photo that I could have sent you...you know, the one where they got a hold of the tag of another type of clothing....silly boys. :-)
    Happy ONE year to you boys. Big hugs and pats from me. :-)

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  20. Why must you torture me so!?

    Thanks for sharing their one downfall so I don't run right out and get some. :)

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  21. Happy Anniversary! Great pictures, all. Especially loved the one with the daisies. Those boys are so darned cute - goodness gracious. Those boys look so happy there with you - they're right where they belong. :)

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  22. Happy Anniversaray to all of you! I'm sure the little guys have caused some trouble here and there, but I know they have also brightened the day of all of us at one point or another. I know they've made me smile on many a down day! They were definatly worth adopting!

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  23. Doesn't seem like a whole year does it? They just "nibble" their way into your life and chew you up with love so easily that you think you've had them forever.
    Happy Anniversary little boys. You found the right farm...

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  24. Your boys are very cute. I have pygmies and pygoras. I do wonder if the oral thing is mainly a boy thing? My buck is like your boys, but my does aren't very oral. My buck can be very, very annoying about it!

    Happy Anniversary to you and the boys!

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  25. Very cute! We don't have any goats but we do have cute calves.

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  26. Wow, what a wonderful photographic display. What great companions Pete and Reggie must be!

    How amazing it is that you always seem to have a camera at the ready.

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  27. I hate when they chew on my bra strap. They always get skin! But I do love my goats.

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  28. Ahhh they are so cute! Goats are certainly one of the sweetest and entertaining farm animals one can have...congrats on 1 year! Kim

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  29. I can't believe it's been a year Danni! Yay for the boys! I've loved seeing everything they've eaten or tasted! Keep up the good goat raising girl!

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