Genipher's Journal

Genipher

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Life as a homeschooling mother of seven just isn't chaotic enough...I'm getting myself some goats!

Being in the city, I had to get permission (and pay a $52 annual fee) to fulfill this dream of mine. With our lot size here on the Oregon coast, I'm now allowed to have "up to 3 goats" and "12 fowl". Anyone think the city will mind if we invest in a dozen emus? o_O

Seriously, though. Once I get an established routine with the two doelings I'm getting this month, I'm hoping to get a dozen chickens and, eventually, a few rabbits.

Now, when we lived in the Willamette Valley a couple years ago, I had permission from our landlord to have backyard goats. However, the city said we could only have one. ONE! Yeah, they didn't have a clue about how goats are supposed to be raised. So I got two Lamancha doelings, brought them home, and promptly had our next door neighbor complaining about the noise. sigh. Since we weren't "legal" having two, I decided to return them to the seller and bide my time until we could move and I could live my goaty dreams!

Since then I've been researching, snooping around here to learn as much as I can, and annoying my husband with all the goaty facts I've been learning.

Soooo...I find it rather fitting that I'll be picking up our two Nigerian Dwarf doelings this month, as it's my birthday month!! :weee I'll be turning 37!

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We have a (let's see if I remember this correctly) 10x20 shed on our property that I've adopted as my "goat shed" (the plastic has been ripped off by one of our 2 dogs...there are plans to put up siding...maybe this summer).

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After being enlightened here at BYH on how to protect the wood and cement of this shed, I stained and sealed the area the goats will actually be sleeping in. By the way, I hate the color of the stain I used. It looks orange in this picture but it's really red and reminds me of that part in 101 Dalmations (the book, not the movie) where Pongo and Misses (in the book Pongo's wife was named Misses and Perdita was another female Dalmation that had lost her pups and was nursemaid to Misses's pups) and their owners first meet Cruella de Vil. They're invited into Hell Hall and the walls are all red, which reminds the dogs of "slabs of raw meat". Ew. I love meat but I wouldn't want all the walls in my house looking like bloody hamburger. :sick
But, hey! The goats won't care, right?

IMG_20190315_152232023.jpg IMG_20190315_152215695.jpg (My 4-year-old, F, hard at work!)

Anyway, that's what I think every time I see the walls I stained. I really wish I'd picked another color. But, being my first time ever staining anything, I wasn't sure what to buy. I'm just relieved that I figured out how to apply a paintbrush to the walls and got it done!

Okay, I have to admit...I had to stain twice. :oops: The first time, apparently, I didn't stir the stain long enough or well enough and I think I basically "oiled" the walls. When I went back the next day to finish the job, I quickly discovered my mistake. That just shows how much of a newbie I am...

Back to the shed: The Goaty Sleeping Quarters is roughly an 8x7 room. There's a shelf that I imagine the two ND will love to sleep on. Behind the main door (which is open in this picture, I'm standing with my back to the yard to take the photo), there's a window.

Question: I've "heard" it may be possible for the goats to break the window with all their playful antics. Do I need to protect it in some way? Also, do I need to cover the plug-ins?

The second room (which I'm planning on separating with a baby gate) has another, larger shelf that I'm planning on using as a milking stand. This room has plenty of space for hay (in fact, we just bought a dozen bales from a local farmer), it holds my metal garbage cans of feed (alfalfa pellets, whole oats, goat minerals, BOSS, etc), and still has room for our ladder and other "odds and ends".

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I'm not exactly sure of the date I'm supposed to bring our two new kids home. They were born February 22 and will be ready to leave their mom sometime this month. Their owner is keeping in touch...sending me texts of the kids playing, etc. So cute! Pictures, of course, will be shared as soon as possible!
 

CntryBoy777

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You can put the light bulbs up high enough that they can't reach and any open electrical wires should be covered or contained in conduit as it runs thru a wall or area the goats will be in....they will butt heads and chase each other and when they are bored, they will find something to entertain themselves with....just like kids.....:).....oh, and I've never heard a goat complain about anything, especially color....but, interrupt the rohtine and they surely will.....:lol:
 

Genipher

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You can put the light bulbs up high enough that they can't reach and any open electrical wires should be covered or contained in conduit as it runs thru a wall or area the goats will be in....they will butt heads and chase each other and when they are bored, they will find something to entertain themselves with....just like kids.....:).....oh, and I've never heard a goat complain about anything, especially color....but, interrupt the rohtine and they surely will.....:lol:

Hmm. The wires are all in the walls and protected. Bulbs are waaaaay up high. It's just the plug ins. I should probably put covers on them as they're currently "bare".

I'm going to have to get a better routine. That's one of the things I'm going to have to (quickly) fix about myself. Getting up in the mornings. Ug, I HATE mornings. They always come too quickly! Right now, my minions, er, children can pretty much fend for themselves in the mornings (helps to have teenagers around!) so I don't always feel rushed to get out of bed. But once I get these goats...no more sleeping in! :hit It's a bittersweet emotion.
 

CntryBoy777

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Wellif ya have some fencing around the bldg, ya could have a pen that they could be contained in....if it is where ya can allow them to come and go from the bldg to the pen....ya could sleep in a bit....whatever time ya take them some feed, treats, hay, and/or water they will expect it to take place at that time....Everyday!!....they will want ya to stop the rain, also....I didn't have heavy predator issue when we had goats, so the design of our building and pen allowed us the ability to leave the doors to the house open and they could come and go as they wished.....I didn't have to meet the sun coming up.....:)
 

Genipher

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Wellif ya have some fencing around the bldg, ya could have a pen that they could be contained in....if it is where ya can allow them to come and go from the bldg to the pen....ya could sleep in a bit....whatever time ya take them some feed, treats, hay, and/or water they will expect it to take place at that time....Everyday!!....they will want ya to stop the rain, also....I didn't have heavy predator issue when we had goats, so the design of our building and pen allowed us the ability to leave the doors to the house open and they could come and go as they wished.....I didn't have to meet the sun coming up.....:)

Being in town with tall fences and a large yard for them to wander...this would be totally doable! Nice, I'll be able to get more sleep! :)
 

Genipher

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Why do people look at me funny every time I mention I'm getting goats??

Today I bought a TALL baby gate to block one side of the goat shed, but still give me access. The chatty (older) lady at check out asked what I was going to use it for so I said, "Goats."

She stopped ringing up my items, peered over her glasses at me, sighed, and proceeded to tell me about the wild goats she had been "gifted" that could jump 8' fences. I tried to explain the gate wasn't to keep them in the yard but to just keep them from getting into one part of the shed, but she didn't seem to hear me.

Seems every time I mention getting goats, people either laugh at me or look at me like I'm crazy!
 

CntryBoy777

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Probably a "fear of the unknown".....whenever an answer changes from a "normal response"....and it contains something "unknown"....it just leaves ya "clueless" sometimes....for, ya certainly can't "teach", what ya don't "know"......:)
 

TAH

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I have never seen a goat desperate enough to jump more than 4ft.

So excited for you though... I am sure you will enjoy them.

We may try to come visit later this year... So I actually might get to see them.

We just got 3 rescue Nigis but they are my first time owning any. You are going to have to post pictures of yours!
 
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