It’s Nibbles’ turn!

These hammock swings are Nibbles’ favorite toy. The way she swoops around on them reminds me of a little kid playing “Superman”. 

Summer is a good time for sitting in the porch swings, and it’s never so much fun as when we let the goats join us on the deck.

Stale hot dog buns are the best!

Almost gone…

A well-fed and satisfied goat!

Nibbles prefers grapes.

Our home’s previous owner had a favorite spot to dump ashes from the wood stove. After years of use, it got buried in pine needles. Cuzco and Nibbles found it. They dug it out. They now have a six-inch deep soot pit to lounge in, roll in, paw up clouds of black dust in, and tussle over. Nibbles likes to bury her head in it, which means I’ve had to take a wet washcloth to her face a few times, but she has to wait until Cuzco is done napping there because he takes up the whole thing.

Tonight I had the rare treat of watching Cuzco and Nibbles genuinely playing. I wish I’d had the camera! Nibbles had her head tucked in behind Cuzco’s horn while they wrestled and it was so cute! Cuzco was incredibly gentle with her. Nibbles would put her whole weight into trying to push him, and to my great astonishment, Cuzco actually took steps backward to let her “win” for a few minutes until he retook the ground he’d given. I’ve only seen him boss her (especially over dinner), and I’ve never seen him pretend to give her the upper hand, even for a second. They conked heads a few times, Cuzco being careful not to hit her too hard.

Then, it happened. Cuzco gave Nibbles an uppercut just as she came down from standing on her hind legs. His horn slipped right through her collar. Poor Nibbles! As the collar twisted around, her eyes bugged out and she started choking as she was lifted off her feet. Of course, I instantly dropped what I was doing and began to hustle, thinking “Cuzco, please don’t break her neck!” and “Drat, Nibbles can never wear a collar again!”

But then the most incredible thing happened. Cuzco very gently and very carefully lowered Nibbles back to the ground, staying perfectly calm, then deftly executed a tricky little maneuver involving a complicated head twist. The horn slid right out of the collar and Nibbles was free. All I could think is how lucky I am to have such a wise old goat.

Phil and I went back to western NY a few years ago and visited the farm where we’d bought Cuzco. It was amazing how much the herd had grown in a few years! There were a lot more dairy goats, most of them crosses. The lady had also added a few Boers, and these were some of the few obviously purebred animals and also the only horned ones except for Cuzco’s twin sister, who had been retained as part of the dairy string. It’s easy to see the family resemblance. She was easily the biggest doe in the herd.

I don’t know if Cuzco’s mother was still alive, but this doe looked just like her minus the horns. But when I remember back, I believe Cuzco’s mother along with all the other goats in that herd had bands on their horns at the time we bought Cuzco. I’m going to pretend that this is Cuzco’s mother anyway. 

Then there was this Nubian doe who I swear had to have the same father as Cuzco. There was an uncanny resemblance in the balance of the markings, the roaning, and something about the head and neck and the rangy body type. She was quite pretty and reminded me too much of Cuzco not to be related somehow.

I haven’t gotten any new photos of my goats since Nationals, mostly because they haven’t been looking their best. Nibbles brought home a cold and gave it to Cuzco. He got it bad, probably because he’s never been exposed to goat germs in his life and had no resistance. I’ve watched carefully for any rise in temperature or sign of pneumonia, but it seems to be staying in his nose. It sure is lingering though. He’s a lot better than he was, but two weeks later he’s still blowing white snot (just not as copiously as at first).

Nibbles recovered quickly from the cold, but then she started with diarrhea for over a week. I’m not sure what caused it, but she seemed fine otherwise, so I dosed her with Pepto-Bismol for a few days until she got over it. Then just as Nibbles recovered, Cuzco got diarrhea and I was very nervous that his would last for a week too. It’s easy to force medicine into Nibbles, but Cuzco is another matter altogether. I gave him Pepto-Bismol for two days and there was pink stuff everywhere–on me, on the goat, all over the back patio, the basement door and window. I was beginning to think that the cure was worse than the disease and we would all be happier to just let the problem run it’s course when it ended as quickly as it began. Phew!

On the sadder side of things, Cuzco has been diagnosed with arthritis. He came up very lame about a month ago after he’d followed me on a horse ride the day before. His left foot was hot and ouchy between his toes. I took him to the vet for x-rays, and he has a bone spur growing between the toes. I was told to make sure he took it easy for a few weeks, give him Bute on the bad days, and start him on Cosequin. Well, it’s been about a month and he’s only had to have Bute a few times, and the Cosequin seems to be helping. But then the other day when the weather was changing he came up lame again. I guess we’ll have to be careful how far he’s allowed to hike from now on because it might cause a flare-up.

Even with all these ailments, though, Cuzco hasn’t lost one bit of his feistiness. He’s in excellent weight, eager for his food (a little too eager most days), wants to go for walks, and won’t stand for any nonsense from Nibbles. He’s such a goofy goatie, it’s hard to watch him growing older and having to slow down. I think the coyote attack took a lot out of him. He still starts coughing if he runs even a little bit. The vet checked his lungs and said they sound great, but I know there’s got to be damage there somewhere if he still can’t trot without coughing. Of course, lately his cold has been exacerbating the problem, so it’ll be easier to see how he’s really doing once he kicks the virus.

Here’s a goofy photo of Cuzco from last spring, before he was troubled with coyote attacks, arthritis, colds, or pesky young goatlings named Nibbles. It’s all out of proportion… his ears look small and his nose looks huge, but the goat grin is unmistakeable.  

When we got to Nationals, we noticed a camera crew walking around taking video and doing interviews. They were wearing “Promote the Goat” t-shirts and passing out buttons. We found out they were doing a documentary on goats, so we cornered them and started talking about our dream: big, beautiful, colorful working goats. We told them about Cuzco: the $25 dairy herd cull that sparked a passion. They wanted to meet him. I told them that wethers are not allowed at Nationals but that maybe I could still bring him up when I came back later in the week if I kept him in the parking lot. So that’s what we did.

We had quite the set-up in our truck. I built a run-in shed that fit behind the cab for Cuzco to take shelter in. It actually worked really well! I also installed the igloo we’d gotten for Nibbles when we transported her up to the show because we would be coming home with both goats in the bed, and I wasn’t sure Cuzco would allow her to share his shelter. Then the cart was crammed in behind everything else.

We were quite the Beverly Hillbillies and got an awful lot of strange looks as we drove down the interstate. A few people even passed, slowed down, then passed again, some with cameras clicking on the second go-round.

Cuzco was surprisingly happy with the whole set-up. When we got to the show I put the igloo up top to give him more room. It was cooler out in the parking lot than it was in the show barns, and as this was the end of the week, the air was definitely fresher outdoors than in!

The camera crew came out later that day and did a lengthy interview with Cuzco. He strutted up and down the street with his cart, and each of them also took a ride. He also did his tricks (although not very well… he was pretty cranky about being hauled to a strange place on a hot day and forced to drag total strangers around a parking lot). But despite is lack of interest in doing tricks, Cuzco still posed for the camera with all his usual dignity. The documentary probably won’t be finished for another year, and who knows if Cuzco’s part will make the final cut, but if it does I’ll post a link. 

July was insane! It broke down into 1.) Getting ready for Nationals and cramming in Saddle Club and a horse show. 2.) Going to Nationals in Loveland and cramming in Saddle Club in Rye (these things are a good 3+ hours apart). 3.) Recovering from Nationals and catching up with more Saddle Club.

Because of the driving distance and the fact that I had to keep traveling back and forth, Nationals was an exhausting experience despite the fact that I only brought one goat. Actually, by the end we had two up there… more details on that later. It was a BLAST though! I think there were about 2,500 goats, which is more than I could possibly have imagined! This is a view of about half of one of the three big barns, plus they had three big tents set up outside for yet more goats. It was amazing!

The lighting wasn’t good, so I didn’t get very many photos. I didn’t even get a photo of my favorite goat at the whole show. She belonged to Olentangy Alpines from Tacoma, WA. I wanted her so badly I almost cried when we had to leave without her. But she was also the owner’s favorite and he wouldn’t part with her. She’s not in this photo, but this was her herd:

I probably made a nuisance of myself, hanging around their pen the way I did.

There were so many cute babies it was almost unbearable not to climb into their pens and cuddle with them. I especially loved this pile of Nubians:

I had a friend of mine show Nibbles since I’d never even watched a goat show and she knew what she was doing. Also, I didn’t have any white clothes and she did. I took a video but it didn’t come out very well, so not worth posting. Nibbles did not behave very well for my friend. She kept trying to turn and bash the goat behind her in line and then wouldn’t stand still. She didn’t place, but I had a lot of fun watching and I learned a lot. Nibbles also got a lot of compliments from people as we walked around the show grounds. She’s a very flashy little thing, even if she didn’t win any ribbons. My “favorite goat at the whole show” didn’t win any ribbons either, but her twin sister won 1st place. They were both in Nibbles’ class. Too bad the one that didn’t win is the one that both me and her owner are in love with. I hoped he would change his mind about selling after the results of the show, but there was no convincing him.

As Nibbles’ shaved show coat began to grow out she got this funny little whirligig on her head:

Nibbles is learning basic goat tricks!

She dances very well right now, walking forward, backward, and in circles on her hind legs. I wonder if I’m going to regret teaching her this next week when we go to Nationals. She’ll be the one goat who steals the show by strolling into the ring on her hind legs like a person.

And then she’ll probably offer to shake hands with the judge.

Also, it’s official: Cuzco actually likes Nibbles now and feels it’s his duty to protect her. When Phil and I took the goats for a walk the other day, Nibbles kept asserting herself by walking directly in front of Phil. So Phil would bump her with his foot every time she got in his way. After about three times, Cuzco noticed and got mad at Phil for pushing “his” kid around. As Phil’s foot bumped Nibbles’ side, Cuzco charged in, swinging his horn menacingly at Phil. Of course, we put a quick stop to that, but we were very happy to see that Cuzco is finally feeling a bit of paternal instinct toward Nibbles.

Phil and I were out last night and came home to this happy little scene:

I had put the goats in their pen before leaving, but forgot to lock the basement door, which they have access to. I know it was Cuzco who opened it but we saw no evidence that he came in. I think he knows his boundaries. The grain bin was knocked over but not much was taken. For Nibbles, exploring (and defiling) our house was a far more interesting prospect. There were goat pellets on every floor, basement to upstairs office. She also spent time dancing around on one of our end tables (all the remotes were on the floor) and left a present on the couch. For the record, it’s a lot more fun digging between the couch cushions for money than for goat pellets. Thankfully she did not figure out how to rifle the kitchen cabinets, and nothing in the office was destroyed (I’m sure the IRS would love to hear that “the goat ate our tax returns!”).

Not only do I need to be a lot more careful about that basement door (I’m lucky the goats did not gorge themselves on grain!), but I should probably change out the doorknobs. We have the handle kind and Cuzco knows how to open them with his head. A proper round knob would probably stump him even if I stupidly forgot to lock the deadbolt.

Cuzco has been missing his porch visits ever since we got Nibbles. She refuses to quit pooping when she’s up there, so we put a gate up; which isn’t quite fair to Cuzco who has very good potty manners. But sometimes we let Cuzco come up and we lock Nibbles out. It makes the old goat happy to have special privileges.