Well, these first pics are two weeks old already!
We brought Sally home on July 19th...I don't who was more excited-me or the boys! We transported her in a dog kennel w/ hay, and she did great for the ride home. She cried for about 10 minutes, but not another peep after that. We stopped at T's to let her out to go potty, get a drink, etc...but she wasn't interested in even getting out of her kennel! Then we stopped at my mom's to have lunch before heading home. Because she didn't know us well yet, I was very worried that she would run off and we wouldn't be able to catch her. So we put her on her new leash and collar for a potty break and to run around a bit. At first (thankfully while I was holding the leash, and not Jacob) she raced around the yard frantically, presumably looking for Lucy and Belle. So sad! Mark and I had to head into the house to get everything packed up from spending the night, and my mom, bless her heart, couldn't stand to have Sally out all alone crying in the yard. I'm sure that she never, in all her days, expected to be cuddling a goat! But, Sally's so sweet, she makes you want to hold her! Then she was quiet the whole way home, but very nervous in her new home. She was "shivering" and didn't want to come out of the kennel. So I think for the first night we left her in it, but with the door of the kennel open, in the stall. And though I was anxiously listening for any sound of trouble through the baby monitor (yes, we had to get a new one for the goat since the whole dryer incident), she did okay through the night.
And then there's Abby!
This pic is exactly how Abby spent the entirety of Sally's first three days! Just watching her every move, not aggressive or mean...just very curious! At first, if Abby tried to creep closer when Sally was near the fence, Sally would quickly hop through the hole in the wall into her stall! But after a few days they were sniffing noses through the fence, and Sally didn't seem nervous at all around her.
Well, after about 4 days, Sally was getting pretty lonely. We spent lots of time out in her pen, and walking her on her leash around the yard. Sarah had always had cheerios in an old margarine tub for treats, so we did the same to signal Sally to come. Well, she would recognize the treat bin, but wasn't so fond of the cheerios! We tried several different kinds of cereals, and finally hit on the treat she goes nuts for: peanut butter oat "cookies." (Just PB, honey, vanilla, and oats that I bake as "cookies" for breakfast). Once we found a winner, we started letting her off her leash to explore, and except for the fact that she likes my irises, it works great! She comes right away for her treat!
Anyway, she's definitely a momma's girl, and will follow me around everywhere...even tries to follow me into the house. And she was just, well, so lonely, poor little herd animal with no herd yet, and just out in her pen crying for me to come get her while she watched us sit at the table for dinner, that, well, I couldn't just leave her sad and dejected out there all alone! So there were a few occasions that I would just bring her in, holding her and letting her sit with us at the table while waiting for the boys to finish dinner! One night she actually was falling asleep on my lap!
Well, after a few nights, she started trying to jump out of her stall to follow me after I would put her to bed. The stall walls are about 4 and half feet high, and her head was visible above the top with every jump. So, we added a plank for height to it. Still, she would try to jump, and sounded soooo sad! So, we experimented with the dog. At this point, I was far more nervous about Abby being around Sally than Sally was. So we shut Sally up in the kennel, and then put Abby in the stall for companionship. Problem solved. Worked like a charm. No crying, no trying to jump out of the stall (after a few nights we did leave the kennel door open with Abby in there, too). So far, all two of the animals on the farm getting along well!
Part of Andrew's morning chores is now to let the goats out! (My clever husband built a door in the wall of the shed that connects the outdoor pen with the indoor stall). We shut them up in the stall at night just for an extra measure of security against stray dogs and bears. (Not stray bears, mind you. Well, maybe bears in a neighborhood would be called stray bears? Hmm). So, Andrew heads out first thing in the morning (finally-something that gets that boy out of bed without saying "But I'm too tired to get up") to open the door, stays to pet them and chat a while, checks that no poop has fallen the in the water bucket, etc! He loves it! (Jacob doesn't have goat chores yet. While he likes them and all, they're, well, not quite as at ease around him...but can you blame them)? :)
We brought Sally home on July 19th...I don't who was more excited-me or the boys! We transported her in a dog kennel w/ hay, and she did great for the ride home. She cried for about 10 minutes, but not another peep after that. We stopped at T's to let her out to go potty, get a drink, etc...but she wasn't interested in even getting out of her kennel! Then we stopped at my mom's to have lunch before heading home. Because she didn't know us well yet, I was very worried that she would run off and we wouldn't be able to catch her. So we put her on her new leash and collar for a potty break and to run around a bit. At first (thankfully while I was holding the leash, and not Jacob) she raced around the yard frantically, presumably looking for Lucy and Belle. So sad! Mark and I had to head into the house to get everything packed up from spending the night, and my mom, bless her heart, couldn't stand to have Sally out all alone crying in the yard. I'm sure that she never, in all her days, expected to be cuddling a goat! But, Sally's so sweet, she makes you want to hold her! Then she was quiet the whole way home, but very nervous in her new home. She was "shivering" and didn't want to come out of the kennel. So I think for the first night we left her in it, but with the door of the kennel open, in the stall. And though I was anxiously listening for any sound of trouble through the baby monitor (yes, we had to get a new one for the goat since the whole dryer incident), she did okay through the night.
And then there's Abby!This pic is exactly how Abby spent the entirety of Sally's first three days! Just watching her every move, not aggressive or mean...just very curious! At first, if Abby tried to creep closer when Sally was near the fence, Sally would quickly hop through the hole in the wall into her stall! But after a few days they were sniffing noses through the fence, and Sally didn't seem nervous at all around her.
Well, after about 4 days, Sally was getting pretty lonely. We spent lots of time out in her pen, and walking her on her leash around the yard. Sarah had always had cheerios in an old margarine tub for treats, so we did the same to signal Sally to come. Well, she would recognize the treat bin, but wasn't so fond of the cheerios! We tried several different kinds of cereals, and finally hit on the treat she goes nuts for: peanut butter oat "cookies." (Just PB, honey, vanilla, and oats that I bake as "cookies" for breakfast). Once we found a winner, we started letting her off her leash to explore, and except for the fact that she likes my irises, it works great! She comes right away for her treat!
Anyway, she's definitely a momma's girl, and will follow me around everywhere...even tries to follow me into the house. And she was just, well, so lonely, poor little herd animal with no herd yet, and just out in her pen crying for me to come get her while she watched us sit at the table for dinner, that, well, I couldn't just leave her sad and dejected out there all alone! So there were a few occasions that I would just bring her in, holding her and letting her sit with us at the table while waiting for the boys to finish dinner! One night she actually was falling asleep on my lap!
Well, after a few nights, she started trying to jump out of her stall to follow me after I would put her to bed. The stall walls are about 4 and half feet high, and her head was visible above the top with every jump. So, we added a plank for height to it. Still, she would try to jump, and sounded soooo sad! So, we experimented with the dog. At this point, I was far more nervous about Abby being around Sally than Sally was. So we shut Sally up in the kennel, and then put Abby in the stall for companionship. Problem solved. Worked like a charm. No crying, no trying to jump out of the stall (after a few nights we did leave the kennel door open with Abby in there, too). So far, all two of the animals on the farm getting along well!
Part of Andrew's morning chores is now to let the goats out! (My clever husband built a door in the wall of the shed that connects the outdoor pen with the indoor stall). We shut them up in the stall at night just for an extra measure of security against stray dogs and bears. (Not stray bears, mind you. Well, maybe bears in a neighborhood would be called stray bears? Hmm). So, Andrew heads out first thing in the morning (finally-something that gets that boy out of bed without saying "But I'm too tired to get up") to open the door, stays to pet them and chat a while, checks that no poop has fallen the in the water bucket, etc! He loves it! (Jacob doesn't have goat chores yet. While he likes them and all, they're, well, not quite as at ease around him...but can you blame them)? :)
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