April 22, 2018

How To Spoil a Goat Kid

My little preemie goatie girl is 4-weeks old now and thriving.

Miracle

However, we've developed a habit that I don't think I can break now! For her first several days she was bottle fed on my lap because she couldn't grasp a teat. After a few days I taught her how to nurse from her mother by laying her on my lap and showing her where the teat was. We did this several times a day until she caught on and could nurse on her own.


Now she expects to nurse this way every morning. She follows her mother into the milking room and paws me to be put on my lap for breakfast!


Once her tummy is full she wiggles down and stands for her morning scritches.


Then I put her out with the other kids until the adults are done with their breakfasts.

It's only in the morning that she expects this; the rest of the day she nurses normally from her mother. Initially she wanted to follow me instead of her mother, but she's gradually accepting that she's a goat instead of a human. But she still comes running when she sees me and will follow me around for as long as I'll let her.

Developmentally, she's about two weeks old, although two extra weeks of milk has meant good weight gain. I'm just happy she's doing so well.

Just need to mention that I'm having a problem with blogger since this morning. I can only sign into my dashboard. When I view my or anyone else's blog I'm signed out, so I can't comment. When I try to sign in I'm directed back to my dashboard. Hopefully I can get this corrected soon!

How To Spoil a Goat Kid © April 2018 by

19 comments:

Jean said...

Awww! Such a cutie - sometimes you just need to spoil one!

Ed said...

What a burden every morning! Hah!

Gorges Smythe said...

My dad once had a similar experience with a Hereford calf. - lol

Fiona said...

It’s wonderful how she is doing. They are so smart about what they can train us to do.

Caroline J. Baines said...

Spoiling them is half the fun, Leigh! :)

I'm glad she's thriving.

Mama Pea said...

Breakfast time is going to be interesting as Miracle continues to grow in length . . . and width . . . and weight! (Think Hereford calf!) ;o)

Paula said...

Oh my goodness, she is such a little cutie. I would be so in love with that little one. Glad to hear she's doing so well!

Mrs Shoes said...

So adorable, but I notice that her rear legs are already hanging off your little lap. I'm thinking she's going to outgrow your lap before she thinks she's too old for it. So cute though.

Goatldi said...

And some folks say "it's only a goat."

Dawn said...

A lovely way to start the day, our first kids of the year arrived last night, so nice to have youngsters around again.

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Awwww Who cares if she is spoiled! What a sweet goat! Nancy

Leigh said...

Okay, I think I can comment again!

Jean, this one was made to be spoiled! Or at least her circumstances led to it. It helps that she's irresistibly cute. :)

Ed, oh it is! LOL

Gorges, oh my! I can't imagine feeding a lap calf, LOL, although I suspect your dad didn't lay it across his lap to nurse. :)

Fiona, it's a relief. So much so that I don't mind the training, LOL

Caroline, every now and then one of them grabs your heart. I'm kinda glad I don't see them all that way, although I love and enjoy each one. But otherwise I'd want to keep them all and we don't have the space for that!

Paula, thanks! Yes, she's a sweetie. I don't have favorites often, but this one definitely is. :)

Mrs. Shoes, I know! They get pretty good size by weaning time.

Goatldi, but we know better! ;)

Dawn, Congratulations on successful kiddings! Always a relief, isn't it?

Nancy, you're right! She's a sweetheart.

Susan said...

She certainly has thrived under your caring touch. She looks wonderful!

Rain said...

That's so cute Leigh...she taught you well ;)
Oh Blogger...sigh...

jewlz said...

I love that girls coloring- and personality lol.
My preemie was sold at 10 days, and is the epitome of spoiled! Really need to get a post up about him!
Weirdly, though, his littermate has been with her mom all along, and yet is also bonded to people. She nuzzles, jumps onto my lap 100 times in a row, and in general treats me like her favorite auntie. Very very weird

Leigh said...

Susan, we do everything we can, right? It's a joy when things turn out so well. :)

Rain, she did indeed!

Jewlz, she's definitely a favorite! Glad to hear your preemies have done well too. It's funny, but people commonly think that dam-raised kids aren't friendly whereas bottle babies are. That really isn't true and I think it depends a lot on their individual personalities. And if they are bottle fed from a rack then they get little human interaction anyway. I do find that even the shyest kids eventually warm up. It just takes a patience and sneaky petting when they aren't looking. :)

Constance said...

I'm so glad she is doing so well and getting so spoiled. She is adorable.

The Wykeham Observer said...

So good to see how well she's done. I've bottle fed a couple kittens almost 3 years ago, and to this day, they follow a kind of ritual of dependence on me. They sleep close-by and in the morning eat after I go thru a ritual of making a noise in the dish with food, carrying them to the dish (when they might be only 4-5 feet away) and make sure they are deposited by the correct side of the bowl. Everything must be perfect. They just love to have that routine, and I see that with your preemie. It makes a good memory. Phil

Leigh said...

Constance, it's hard not to cater to her since I was so worried about her making it. Of course it's cute now, but tends to become less cute as they grow up!

Phil, that is so funny! Our cats are very particular about things as well. Our oldest cat Riley, seems to think it's his job to find us things to do. If we're just sitting around, then we need to be assigned a job! Usually it's top off the food bowls or pet him (of course. :)