I don't know if you have ever had any experience with goats but I have. My friend just did a post about her husband getting nine goats and how during a very busy week in her life they kept escaping and she would have to go out in the rain and try to catch them. Herding goats takes some skill. When I was eleven I lived on an island and my family had a small hobby farm. That year I decided to do 4H with a goat. That was my first real introduction to goats. I had a female Nubian goat and I named her Dancing She. She was not really a mischievous goat nor was she exceptionally loud. So I had no idea...I just thought goats were sweet and fun and sort of delicate. The next year I decided to do 4H again and this time I got a goat named Pumpkin. She lived in a horse stall in the barn. She however was not happy to be alone. She made friends with out dog and whenever she could she escaped. She was sweet and had a big personality but she was not trouble per say. This all changed when I was asked to 'goat sit' a male goat named Billy. A family had not been able to resist his sweet baby face at an auction and had brought him home. He had been bottle fed and coddled...and he really thought he was a human. He also was a slice of hell on hooves. I wasn't sure how long I was supposed to 'goat sit' for and so I settled in for the long haul. Looking back I realize that this family couldn't part with him cold turkey and needed some time apart before they could sell him. This goat was never silent. He was loud and persistent. He HATED being in his stall and literally chewed and climbed and tried to get out all the time. His energy permeated the walls of the barn. If this goat had any chance to get out he was OUT and he was also in...IN the house! He really REALLY wanted to be in the house. Our very back door was on a spring so he had no problem getting into the back porch but the other door that led straight into the dining room was different. However the day came when Billy was up on our dining room table. I have this table in my dining room right now and I had forgotten about the day the goat was on the table, but today it all came back. I was outside doing something and all of a sudden I heard my mom 'yelling' my name. I dont think I had EVER heard my mom yell before and have never heard her yell since and I am not kidding. But the day Billy was on the table my mom was NOT happy. She had endured chickens getting in the house, the mice, the leaking roof, the one bathroom with five small children, the well that dried up all the time, the flooding creek and many many more things that happened on that farm and she had never yelled...but Billy sent her over the edge. I am sure he had been getting annoying because he had to barred from the house every single day. We probably had the back door barricaded but somehow he had gotten through. I ran in the house and dragged him off the table by the horns. He was kicking and yelling the whole time. He had FINALLY got into the house and was exactly where he wanted to be. Anyway I eventually got him out and Billy did not enjoy time at our farm much longer. I am not sure what his fate was but wherever he went and whatever he did I am sure it was an adventure. After this stint with goats I retired my career in 4H but it is full of fun and lovely memories. This past year I made friends with someone I adore. Her and life and mine are similar in that there is always SOME sort of drama happening in our not so small families. I know if I call her crying about no sleep or a child doing something I feel in that moment is ending my career as a mother...she gets it. Anyway she was living in a sort of barn/shed. She had five children in one room and one bathroom and they were building a new house. Her daughter had some goats and they had been being 'goat sat' at someone's house but that sitter reached her limit. So to the new property they came. The goats were getting out left, right and center. Their new dog was attacking them, the goats were getting up on the roof of my friend's very high roof of their barn/shed where they were living and the goat drama was just not ending. They finally had to be sent away to a new home with a very strong fence.
Anyway I think if you are not someone that has had personal experience with goats...it is safe to say IF the day comes and you decide to venture out into goat owning....you will have some sort of wonderful (or crazy) adventure. They are escape artists. They are quick, mischievous and they are crazy. Some are a little sweeter and less persistent but most need things to do and places to be :) Thanks for the memory Larissa. I hope you survive this next chapter owning nine goats!
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