- new additions

Last week I responded to an ad and purchased two more goats.  These ones are different than our others; primarily because I bought them with the express intent of slaughtering them as soon as they hit the 1 year old mark.  Despite knowing my plan, the children could not resist naming them; they came up with Bud and Temple, I refer to them as Dinner 1 and Dinner 2.

The white one is about 7 months old so he should be ready for me to butcher in the spring, the smaller one is only 4 months old so he has a way to go.  It is a little sad, but amusing to watch them try to fit into the existing order of goats.  As soon as they were placed in the paddock, the head butting began.  It is their way of determining where they will rank in the “pecking order”.  It was also very interesting to watch our turkey (yes, she is still alive) respond to the new-comers.  She puffed up like a Tom and actually chased the new goats around the paddock.  For days, she would run up to the new goats and “challenge” them with all sorts of interesting clucks and trills.  She seems to have accepted them finally, but even today she was challenging them again.

The little goats were treated cruelly, by the older goats, for the first couple days, but every day they accept them a little more.  As for Bud and Temple, I mean Dinner 1 & 2, I hope they enjoy their lives here at Liberty Pastures; at least until it is time for them to fulfill their purpose.  :-)