Goat kids grow up too fast. They want to go out to pasture with their mothers. That can be turn into a goatkeeping nightmare.
There are four kids here. The oldest ones are close to a month old. They are lively and their mothers want to go out to graze.
One Consideration
Later in the year I would not let them go out as the grass blooms with stalks taller than they are. They get lost in the grass.
These stalks are so tall, only the ears of the adults are easy to see. Hunting for a lost kid is close to hopeless as I have to almost step on the kid before I can see it.
Second Consideration
One evening my herd came in minus two kids. The grass wasn’t very tall yet, so that wasn’t the problem.
Kids, even when they know me and my voice, will often not answer me when they are lost. So I put a lead rope on their mother and drag her back out to where I think the kids might be. It is important to know where the herd went that day.
We went out across the bridge and up to the hill pasture. The doe was bellowing and Nubians are very loud.
Reaching the edge of the pasture, we stopped to look around. I looked down and those two kids were curled up sleeping totally oblivious of their mother’s bellows from three feet away.
Goatkeeping Nightmare
This last week one of the four kids did not come in. I’d noticed earlier he was missing and had been out looking. I didn’t find him.
I dragged his bellowing mother out. We went to the areas I thought the goats had been. We heard and saw no sign of her kid.
That evening I went back out looking and found nothing. It was starting to rain.
This storm continued through the next day dropping six inches of rain. The temperatures dropped to forty, not real low, but dangerous for a young, wet kid.
Surprise
This kid was lost. I had no ideas where to look and thought he hadn’t survived.
As I mentioned, Nubians are loud. I heard a kid calling. It kept calling so I went to investigate.
My lost kid was standing at the pasture gate. He was hungry, but fine. His mother was glad to see him. So was I.
