Goat-O-Rama Kids of 2020

[Nanno]

Boy... we've had such a crazy summer that I basically forgot about updating this thread and now my babies are all growed up and ready to wean! I had the unpleasant task of tattooing everyone yesterday, and I banded three of the boys. Two are still intact in case I need them for breeding later this year. I plan to keep at least one and maybe both of the two intact boys for our own packers. Finn and Sputnik are six years old this year and we want to make sure we have some "up and comings" who will be ready to rock n roll about the time Finn and Sputnik slow down. Actually, Sputnik is already slowing down. I was hoping his huge size/poor conformation combo would wait a couple more years to catch up to him, but he's been mincing around like an old man since spring and I wonder what his future holds. He looks good, but he lays down a lot and occasionally even gets left behind when the herd goes off to browse. I started him on some supplements that seem to be helping, but I'm just not sure how things will go with him. It makes me sad but not surprised. He was always a bit of a ticking time bomb with those weird legs of his, and the fact that he got so enormous didn't help at all. If he'd stayed smaller and about 50 lbs. lighter it probably would have made a huge difference in preserving his joints, but it wasn't in his genetics.

Anyway, I've fallen in love with Sonic and Scout. Sonic went from being a shy, nervous little baby to the most friendly, curious, and outgoing buckling in our crop this year. He's really gotten gorgeous too. He has a beautiful face and very soft, kind eyes. He still tries to climb in my lap even though he's way too big. Scout is also my little buddy. He's very outgoing with me but unlike Sonic, who will trot up and greet anyone, Scout is a little more reserved with strangers. He has a stunning cou blanc color, but unlike Butterfly who has a stark black/white contrast, Scout fades to a charcoal gray then black. His face has some of the prettiest markings I've ever seen (well, except perhaps Zelda's). I don't know... we have some really nice babies this year and it's going to be hard to part with any of them!

George is probably our nicest baby all around. He's got a friendly, curious personality but he's not all up in your business like Sonic. He's by far the biggest and leggiest kid this year and he's shaping up to have very athletic conformation with excellent feet and legs. I really like George, but I also prefer goats with flashy colors so I'll end up selling him. The two other boys, Skipper and Tom are still coming along. Tom is Finn's grandson so Phil has a sweet spot for him. He's extremely stout and is going to be an incredibly strong goat when he's done growing. He's also got a very silly and bold personality. Skipper is just Skipper. He's rather plain to look at and his personality hasn't really started to shine yet. He was skittish of us when we came back from South Dakota two weeks ago and I'm not sure why, but I've been spending a lot of extra time with him each day to encourage him to come out of his shell. He's got a super sweet face like his mom with very gentle wide-set eyes and soft, curious-looking features. He's already warming back up to me after I tattooed and banded him yesterday. He recently discovered that he loves treats and this is making it much easier to repair the friendship.

At some point I'll eventually post photos of all these wonderful young characters!