Trego's Mountain Ear

My grandson, Remi, gave me his first complete sentence about six weeks ago. “I need a goat.” I thought back over 65 years – and realized that, just before Dad retired from the Navy, my parents bought their first house – in Washington – then bought an additional acre of blackberry brambles, and goats to eat down the brambles. I realized that I had liked having goats around as a kid – so I messaged a great lady I met who had goats.

Long story short, she introduced Remi and I to a pair of Nigerian Dwarf does. Remi was enchanted, so I got him two goats just as soon as I got a small goat house set up for his front yard. There’s going to be a lot more work setting up the permanent goat corral.

I’m no expert on goats – but I started this project knowing you don’t get one goat. They’re a herd animal, and need a friend. So the deal was made for two little goats. The one pictured kept her original name – the other became ‘Stormy’. Which is a lot better than Sam referring to her as ‘that little black witch’ on her third escape the first evening we brought Remi’s goats home. The escapes were (I believe) just to show us she could do it – she might jump to the top of the goat house, and then over the fence, but leaving her friend wasn’t in the cards.

Nigerian Dwarfs are small dairy goats – and the breed page says that they are primarily kept as pets. Which is fine by me – I’m guessing the smaller of the two weighs about 40 pounds and the larger a little over 50 pounds. The average dairy goat weighs in at 120 pounds – these little does are tiny. And they have all of us feeding them – family and neighbors. After the first night, they settled in and are getting by fine.

I’m reading a post from the Brown Family Farmstead on Nigerian Dwarf goats: “Don’t let their small stature fool you, they may be small but they can still jump a six foot fence.” I thought a four foot fence was plenty. Sam and Jed have held out for a six foot fence. Now I realize the pair stay in the fence out of courtesy.

On Sunday, we took the little goats out on a walk. After maybe a hundred yards, they remembered their 4-H training and enjoyed the walk. Then came the recollection – small humans often have treats stowed in pockets. So Remi is checked carefully for grain, pellets, etc. Remi’s complete sentences have gotten longer – “I’m taking my goats for a walk.” is a frequent comment.