Insanity... It Runs in Some Families

This weekend was a landmark weekend for our kids… goat kids, that is. Time has passed so quickly that we really didn’t realize how big they were getting until Sunday morning when we decided to put Gerie in the pen with the babies and see if anyone tried to nurse. 

Those little darlings are 4 months old now, and though Tess and Charlotte each gave it a single attempt, Aberfeldy didn’t  even consider trying to latch on and nurse.     A glimmer of hope did arise then that they would be moving in with their mamas and our morning processes would be streamlined. 

Next, in went Balvenie – she of butt biting fame.  Myra tried and Ophelia tried, then both gave it up when she ran off and they ran with her, bouncing off of her back, the ground and everything in the path all the while. 

RELIEF!!  Yes!  So we started with Aberfeldy, carrying him to the barnyard to supervise his first non-fenced interaction with the donkeys.  Lulu was her normal and wonderful self.  My little chunky-monkey was so good and so adventurous!  Lulu barely acknowledged him after a brief sniff.  Penny was intent on her hay, so paid him little heed until he got under her feet in an attempt to snag a wee bite… then she clocked him.  Well, not hard, but enough that he learned to stay out from under her when she’s eating. 

Next up were the girls who had a fairly similar experience.  Sweet little Charlotte (a.k.a., Lotty) even nibbled hay from the corner of Lulu’s mouth.  Penny was having none of that behavior though and became too aggressive.  She and Bill had a meeting of the minds, which he won.  Twice.

Then, Balvenie’s girls.  Keep in mind it was morning and I hadn’t bothered with a bra yet, they did their usual thing and climbed up on me to greet me. Myra likes to nibble on clothes, but she isn’t aggressive about it at all.  Ophelia did something she hadn’t done before.  She flat out BIT ME!  On the breast!  Missed my sensitive parts by less than an inch!  Oh Holy Mackerel that hurt!  Like grandmother and mother, like granddaughter and daughter.  Absolutely Freaking Insane!! 

So I grabbed the miniature nut-brain and Bill got Myra.   Once released to the protection of the donkeys it didn’t take long before all 5 little ones, now only about half the size of their mamas, were all capering about the pasture and running and jumping and in general being hilarious!  They learned that they can jump off of logs and that if Aunt Lulu tells them to head back to the barn, they’d better do it! 

And that insanity?  Balvenie is paying for her raising as much as I am.  Little Ophelia seems to express great glee in jumping on and off of her mothers back, just like Balvenie did on Cindy's back when she was a baby!