Meet Elanor, Lobelia, and Estella!

[dawn_felagund]

The kids are here!!! What a perfect way to celebrate Beltane. This morning, Bobby and I drove down to Stowe to pick up our two little doelings. Well ... you can see that "two" turned into "three" quite easily. We arrived to the farm and a pen of six little kids, all a week or two old: five does and a buck. The owner remarked that this is the time of year when it is hard to sell kids, so if we wanted three instead ... she then went away for three minutes, which was enough time for Bobby to look at me with eyes taking up half his face and remark how cute the little black one was for me to know: Yep. Totally going home with three.

I'm glad! They've only been here a few hours, and it is already hard to imagine not having one of them.

We named them after female Hobbits. I had initially suggested naming them after family matriarchs, but we're approaching the point where we might start selling what we produce here, so Bobby has been poking me about coming up with a name for our homestead. He would like a Tolkienish name. Naturally, I did not disagree. The Hobbit names fit better with that. Twist my arm.

So I am happy to introduce, from left to right, Estella, Elanor, and Lobelia.



Elanor and Lobelia were the two we had originally planned to buy. Elanor's mom is a champion milker. (They are Alpines, by the way, for those of you who care about breeds and such!) But when we saw Estella, the little black one, and were offered the chance to take her home too, it did not take much convincing. We named the beige one Lobelia because she is the ornery one. When we arrived, she was walking about on her back feet, trying to nibble on the heat lamp suspended from the ceiling. When Bobby posts his photos later, I'll post one he took of me: I leaned over to photograph him holding Elanor, and Lobelia clamored onto my back and stood there like I was a pile of rocks!

Estella is the smallest and very sweet. She likes to suck on our fingers. Elanor, the little white one, is also a sweetie and a little cuddlebug. Lobelia is the oldest--two whole weeks!!--which is why she is slightly bigger.

They all ascribe to the belief that, why walk somewhere when you can frolic?!

Here's Lobelia ... who thinks beards taste good! She also loves nibbling my hair. (They all do, but she was particularly enthusiastic about it!)





Cute man holding cute goats. (Left to right: Estella, Lobelia, and Elanor)




It was about an hour ride back from Stowe. I sat in the back with them to keep them from climbing into the front seat with Bobby. For 45 minutes of the car ride, all three squirmed around, trying to get into my lap/next to me. Then they all laid down and went to sleep.




First bottle-feeding is coming up in a few hours, so I'm sure there will be more pictures then! Bobby just went to hang their heat lamp, and they were all asleep, got up to see what he was doing, but then went right back to sleep. It's been a long day for such wee ones.

Comments

[narya_flame]

I am just squealing at how adorable they are <3

[dawn_felagund]

They are! And they are very sweet and friendly too, which will only increase once they realize that their bottles come from Bobby and me ... :D

[la_samtyr]

<3 <3 <3

[dawn_felagund]

Times 100! :D

[starspray]

Ahh they're so cute! And I love the hobbit names.

[dawn_felagund]

Thanks! I feel like they really fit.

[dragonlady7]

BABY GOATS
I want my sister's farm to get goats but they are apparently escape artists and she has put her foot down. Pigs are enough, and they can't even jump their own height, so. As I looked at the fence, which with winter muck is down to about a foot in height, I conceded her point; not a single pig had escaped from it.

BUT GOATS ARE SO CUTE.

[dawn_felagund]

I am already looking at everything from an escape artist's point of view! Bobby had a bale of straw in their stall for them to climb on. There is a small ledge that runs around the inside of the barn about 4 feet high. I moved the bale because I could already see them toddling along that ledge and out of their stall and finding them perched on top of the lawnmower! :D

It turned out to be a moot point as they climbed and jumped on and frolicked over that bale so many times that it was pounded nearly flat in an hour!

[hrymfaxe]

I can't even with their little antenna ears!

[dawn_felagund]

I KNOW. I asked them, "Do you get HBO? So we can watch Game of Thrones??" :D

[hrymfaxe]

Especially Estella looks like she could received some long-distance radio signals!

[heartofoshun]

OMG! I cannot stand how cute they are! I far prefer goats to cats. And the babies are cuter than kittens too! Nevermind me. I never had a goat but lots of my family and friends did. They get up to mischief also--just you wait--which I tend to find entertaining. (One of the things I liked about my own kids children.) Not much of a huge Hobbit fan but I think the names suit the goats. If Bobby is going to be posting goat-pics I will have to spend more time on Facebook.

[dawn_felagund]

I also prefer goats to cats! My sole foray into cat ownership convinced me it was not for me ... even beyond being allergic (which I am, albeit mildly ... but still "mildly" is annoying when it's all the time when you're home), I was just not well-suited to a cat personality.

I suspect they will be very mischievous! Lobelia is already earning her stripes in that regard.

[heartofoshun]

I read something earlier this week that made me laugh--if you want to fence goats, you will need to dig a moat! They love to climb also. (This was the kind of thing that was covered in my hometown newspaper when I was little.) They chew on things too--including the clothes one is wearing. Not true that they eat trash, but they do taste it and spit it out!

[dawn_felagund]

We have had a lot of Very Serious Discussions with various people around goats and fencing in recent weeks. Lots of conversations started with, "So, can we talk about goat fencing?" :D The local debate is cattle panels vs. electric mesh. Currently, their outdoor area (which they're too little to access right now anyway) is enclosed in cattle panels with an extra layer of mesh at the bottom so that they don't try to squeeze through. As soon as we can get an electrician out to run electricity down to the barn, we're going to switch to electric mesh.

They already like to nibble on my hair, my jacket, shoelaces ... oh and of course the wood in their stall, their feeders, the straw bedding ...

They are curious little mites.

[heartofoshun]

"They are curious little mites."--of course, I tend to attribute that to intelligence--but I know nothing actually!

[dawn_felagund]

They seem pretty smart to me--but I am biased! ^_^

[keiliss]

New life for Beltane is perfect! And they are soooo darn cute. I've always had a fondness for goats, even the evil-eyed one at the local petting zoo.

[dawn_felagund]

We were thrilled when we realized that the pickup date coincided with Beltane! It is a perfect start to "the light quarter." (My favorite time of year. :)

Their rectangular pupils are weird! But then those little cute faces omg ...

[grundyscribbling]

Eee! Baby goats!!!
*dead from the cute*

[dawn_felagund]

I know! I feel dead from the cute many times over from today. They are precious--adorable and super lovey-dovey. Sitting in their stall with them is a guarantee you will have one of them asleep in your lap within a short while.

[independence1776]

They are adorable!

[dawn_felagund]

They are--and super loving too! I am trying to soak it all in because they are going to be full-grown in a blink.

[metimauresse]

oh i love them SO MUCH!!!!!!! please tell them hi for me

[ranunculus]

If you want to use electric fencing you should get some up ASAP so they learn they can't challenge it. That is about half the battle with keeping smart animals in. Once they learn they CAN get out it is way harder to keep them in.
You might be able to set up, or borrow, a solar electric setup for training purposes. "Shore" power is generally preferable though, it is way easier to maintain because shorts to ground don't kill the battery!

Baby animals are so cute!!!

P.S. Don't let a baby goat do anything you don't want an adult goat to do. Like stand on you....

[kaja_lakoka]

What a bunch of pure cuteness :D

[oloriel]

They're adorable! I'm a bit jealous, I gotta admit. I've been toying with the thought of keeping goats (and quails) for years and never got beyond the 'toying' stage. You talk about it and then half a year later you've got them! (Same with the house, really. You just... come up with a plan and then realise it? Magic!) I admire that so much.

And I admire your kids! They look charming and clever. Looking forward to reading about further goat adventures!