Animals
What seems like a forever wait has finally come to a close and our goats have arrived. After a several-day trip across country in the back of a horse trailer, our O'Malley, Jack(a wether), Jill, Missy, Myrtle and a yet-to-be-named buckling arrived on Friday night at 10:30. How exciting! We carried them one by one from the trailer and introduced them to their new home. They curiously scoped out their "barn" and pasture and began munching on the thick green grass. They appeared unscathed by their arduous journey and settled in for the night.
The next morning they gave a display of their myotonia in unison as one of the dogs ran barking from the house to their pen. Almost as if on cue, they all fell over onto their sides. This is the unusual behavior that is the characteristic of this particular breed of goat. They don't actually faint, but when they are startled, their muscles stiffen and they fall to the ground. They were bred to be used as "sacrificial lambs" for the rest of the flock. However, our goats are going to be bred for use as "yard ornaments".
Next year we will breed our girls and begin selling their kids. Our one little buckling is going to be a very busy guy when he grows up!
Here is a picture of our youngest.....O'Malley. She is a little redhead who was born St. Patties' Day week this year. She is so little and absolutely adorable!
Here is our little Buck....what a lucky guy. He is already sweet on O'Malley...can't wait to see their "kids".
This is Missy. She is a yearling.
This is Jack and to his left is Jill's back end.
Last but not least is Myrtle...notice the Mickey Mouse head on her side. She has one on each side......she should probably have been named Minnie instead of Myrtle!
- Not For The "faint" Of Heart
Our fainting goat "kids" have become quite adept at "fainting". For those of you who are new to the breed Fainting Goat, this is a genetic condition known as myotonia that causes this type of goat's muscles to stiffen...causing the goat to...
- Turf Wars
Well, the girls have had a bit of a dispute this past week. It seems that Jill will not let Missy into the maternity ward. Our three pregnant does are housed in their own goat yard with a luxury goat house. This goat house is big and wide open until the...
- Happy News
Missy is pregnant with twins!! This is especially good news for the farm. About a month ago we did pregnancy checks on the three female goats that were bred this Fall. Myrtle and Jill both had babies on board, but we could find no evidence of fetuses...
- Babies On Board
Becky and I braved the frigid temperatures and checked our female fainting goats for pregnancy. This involves shaving a patch of fur on their underbellies and applying a conductive jelly (brrrrrr, cold!) and then moving the ultrasound probe around against...
- The Face Of Fear
Let me first say that we don't espouse cruelty of any form on Bee Haven Acres. However, we were forced to participate in an activity that felt cruel in the end this weekend. You see, in order to register fainting goats, so that we can breed them and...
Animals
Finally, the long-awaited arrival of Fainting Goats
What seems like a forever wait has finally come to a close and our goats have arrived. After a several-day trip across country in the back of a horse trailer, our O'Malley, Jack(a wether), Jill, Missy, Myrtle and a yet-to-be-named buckling arrived on Friday night at 10:30. How exciting! We carried them one by one from the trailer and introduced them to their new home. They curiously scoped out their "barn" and pasture and began munching on the thick green grass. They appeared unscathed by their arduous journey and settled in for the night.
The next morning they gave a display of their myotonia in unison as one of the dogs ran barking from the house to their pen. Almost as if on cue, they all fell over onto their sides. This is the unusual behavior that is the characteristic of this particular breed of goat. They don't actually faint, but when they are startled, their muscles stiffen and they fall to the ground. They were bred to be used as "sacrificial lambs" for the rest of the flock. However, our goats are going to be bred for use as "yard ornaments".
Next year we will breed our girls and begin selling their kids. Our one little buckling is going to be a very busy guy when he grows up!
Here is a picture of our youngest.....O'Malley. She is a little redhead who was born St. Patties' Day week this year. She is so little and absolutely adorable!
Here is our little Buck....what a lucky guy. He is already sweet on O'Malley...can't wait to see their "kids".
This is Missy. She is a yearling.
This is Jack and to his left is Jill's back end.
Last but not least is Myrtle...notice the Mickey Mouse head on her side. She has one on each side......she should probably have been named Minnie instead of Myrtle!
- Not For The "faint" Of Heart
Our fainting goat "kids" have become quite adept at "fainting". For those of you who are new to the breed Fainting Goat, this is a genetic condition known as myotonia that causes this type of goat's muscles to stiffen...causing the goat to...
- Turf Wars
Well, the girls have had a bit of a dispute this past week. It seems that Jill will not let Missy into the maternity ward. Our three pregnant does are housed in their own goat yard with a luxury goat house. This goat house is big and wide open until the...
- Happy News
Missy is pregnant with twins!! This is especially good news for the farm. About a month ago we did pregnancy checks on the three female goats that were bred this Fall. Myrtle and Jill both had babies on board, but we could find no evidence of fetuses...
- Babies On Board
Becky and I braved the frigid temperatures and checked our female fainting goats for pregnancy. This involves shaving a patch of fur on their underbellies and applying a conductive jelly (brrrrrr, cold!) and then moving the ultrasound probe around against...
- The Face Of Fear
Let me first say that we don't espouse cruelty of any form on Bee Haven Acres. However, we were forced to participate in an activity that felt cruel in the end this weekend. You see, in order to register fainting goats, so that we can breed them and...