Goatorama kids of 2014

[Nanno]

Sputnik was so funny yesterday that he got his own little series of photos. He jumped up on the water trailer to say hi to me...
   

...and then started posing for the camera in a manner way too reminiscent of Cuzco!
   

"Did you get my best angle?"
   

"Were my new collar and tag in the shot? Can everyone see my beard?"
   

[Taffy]

Lily's teats look like they'd be really easy to milk! I can see the white streaks on Finn's horns!

---

He really does pose like Cuzco! I think he must have studied Cuzco well to see if it gets him special treatment.

Sputnik was so funny yesterday that he got his own little series of photos. He jumped up on the water trailer to say hi to me...


...and then started posing for the camera in a manner way too reminiscent of Cuzco!


"Did you get my best angle?"


"Were my new collar and tag in the shot? Can everyone see my beard?"

[Nanno]

Lily's teats look like they'd be really easy to milk!

If only that were true! She started out fairly easy to milk because of the size and shape of her teats, but her orifices are small--especially the one on the left-hand side. Because that left teat is harder, Lilly's babies have religiously preferred the right (I can't blame them), and no matter how much I tried keeping her udder even, I'm no competition for a baby goat and she still blew out that left teat. It's huge now when her udder is full, which makes it really difficult to milk that side now. I can hardly get my hand around it. Still, other than that she's always had a healthy udder and she's a fantastic producer. If she had the support to match her production she'd be amazing, but unfortunately that's not the case.

[Nanno]

Finn is having a growth spurt. He and Snickers often compete for "tallest 2014 kid," but Finn just shot into the lead. He's looking quite manly in this photo, but that is all going to change next week. He might be sad, but Phil and I will not miss the bad habits and rich aroma!
   

Phil and I took Pac-Man, Snickers, and Sputnik for a walk today. Snickers and Sputnik got to wear halters for the first time! Snickers was especially unhappy about having it put on. "Like father, like son," I suppose. Pac-Man gave Phil a heck of a time getting his halter on as well. Sputnik was ok even though he's usually my worry-wart who goes into panic attacks whenever I restrain him for any reason. Go figure!
   

Phil has cookies!
   
   

[Nanno]

Finn says "Hi!"
   

Phil started teaching Finn to do the weave poles the other day!
   

[Taffy]

Look out dog agility trials - here comes Finn! Cookies, quick learner or both?

[Nanno]

Finn and Sputnik are both very quick studies. But cookies help the process along.

It is funny how different my boys are though. Pac-Man and Snickers just want cookies. They'll try every way they can think of to NOT do the trick or obstacle and still get the cookie. They're not dumb--they just lack the drive to learn for learning's sake.

Finn and Sputnik, on the other hand, try to figure out what you want and then do it (for the cookie, of course), but it's like those two just love to learn. Sputnik is wired 220 and has a hard time concentrating. He gets frustrated easily if he can't figure out what I want right away, so I have to jump around from one trick to another and do a lot of reaffirming with tricks he knows well if he gets "stuck". Finn is a lot more patient and keeps his eyes on you the whole time. You can almost see the wheels turning in his noggin. Finn learns things very methodically and you can actually see him making progress. He spends most training sessions with his eyes glued to me and his tail wagging.

Sputnik, on the other hand, spends most of his time backing away from me and stomping his front feet in frustration until he understands what I want. Then suddenly he's glued to my side. Sputnik learns in sudden explosions. Most stuff he gets immediately, but for harder commands I might work with him 3-4 times or more and make no progress. Then suddenly one day he executes the trick perfectly on the first try even though I left off the day before thinking he didn't understand at all. It's like he has to sleep on it. It took months for me to teach him to lay down on command even though it took Finn less than a week. Sputnik would panic any time I tried to lay him down (he dislikes being touched) and we'd have to stop for the day. Then suddenly about a month ago, after not working on that command for most of the winter, I asked him to lie down and he just plopped on the ground like he'd been practicing all his life. He's a funny little dude, and it's lucky for me that his greed usually overcomes his shyness or I'm not sure I'd be able to work with him. He's much too flighty.

[Nanno]

And speaking of agility, Finn's foot is feeling fine now, as evidenced by his return to his favorite activity--leaping! He's the only goat in my herd who jumps on top of the PolyDome shelters, who leaps onto spools without using the convenient stump I provided, who gets up on my truck (including the Dodge, which is so tall I have to get a stool to look under the hood), and who has managed to clear the electric fence on more than one occasion. Last night the weather was fine so I put the goats to bed kind of late. The change of routine made them hyper, but none so hyper as Finn. Phil and I watched as he raced up and over the top of the "goat castle," flying over the ramps, and then made a clear leap at full speed off the second-tier spool, which is about six feet high. It wasn't so much that he jumped from that height--most of the goats do that from time to time--it was the reckless speed at which he did it. He looked like those air dogs who leap into swimming pools. He landed at a full run about twelve feet from the spool. It was spectacular!

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

LOL great posts and good to hear Finns foot is back up to par

[Nanno]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd share something funny about Sputnik. We sold his twin brother, Snickers, about a week ago. The two hadn't been super-bonded since they were babies, so I didn't worry that Sputnik would miss is brother, and he didn't. But I had no idea removing Snickers would change Sputnik's personality. Sputnik has always been the least friendly of our goats (he loves treats, but he doesn't love people), and he's never liked being scratched, rubbed, or touched at all really. But the day after Snickers left, Sputnik turned a new leaf. He now comes when he's called (before he only came if he thought I had treats), and he even lets me pet him a little now. He doesn't stand still for ages to be scratched like most of my other goats, but he no longer bolts away the second I lay a hand on him. I think I've pet him more in the past week than I have in the previous several months. Sputnik also had no friends while Snickers was here, but now he and Finn are forming a friendly bond. It seems that having a good social life in the goat herd is helpful for improving his social skills with people.

The other day I also saw the first true glimmer of hope that Sputnik might make a good working goat. He's always been so skittish that I haven't been confident that he would make a good trail goat even though we've never had problems getting him to follow us, and he even has less than the average goat's fear of water. But I've always wondered if he might quit when the going gets tough. Our bridge encounter the other day was typical. It is a steel grate bridge where you can look through and see the river below, and the grates are large enough for a goat's hoof to slip through if he turns sideways. There are also several much larger holes where the joints of the bridge are, and any goat's hoof could go through if he's not careful. Finn paused only a second before he marched confidently across, skillfully placing each foot right where it should be. He never tripped once.

Sputnik was another story. He stepped cautiously onto the bridge, but in his timidity he did not walk in rhythm and one of his feet slipped through the grate and he tripped. He wasn't hurt, but he crouched low to the bridge and froze. He was afraid to go forward or back and afraid to stay where he was. I went back to to offer emotional support, and with a little encouragement he crept trembling across, placing each foot hesitantly in front of the next with his belly close to the bridge. He leaped off the other end and I thought he might kiss the ground.

It was on our way back that Sputnik gave us an enthusiastic sign about his working potential. I'd been thinking about the bridge as we headed back, and I was sure I'd have to either drag him across (not safe) or take him through the river. But as we approached the dreaded span, Sputnik shocked me by charging ahead of our group with a look of steel on his face. He paused for a breath, then immediately stepped onto the bridge ahead of us all. He kept his eyes focused on the other end and never missed a beat has he resolutely placed one foot ahead of the other in grim determination. His jaw was set and his face was a picture of concentration. He was determined to prove to himself that he could do this. I couldn't have been more pleased. This was our first sign that he has the guts and resolve to be a good packer, and that he's not a quitter.