There's A New Kid In Town

On Sunday, we made a major change to our farm family. Ace, our handsome and sweet buck, went to live with our friends, Abigail and Dylan. Abby and Dylan will give Ace the best forever home one can imagine. It is a sweet life for our sweet boy. In exchange for Ace, Abby, and Dylan gave us one of their Nubian bucklings, Elijah Wood, aka Woody. Woody is a GORGEOUS moon-spotted little boy with a sweet disposition and unique coloring. I am very excited about Woody's offspring.

We can only keep a buck for a few years because, with a closed breeding program, eventually you will end up with undesirable situations, such as fathers breeding daughters or sons breeding mothers. The best part about beautiful Woody is that he is not related to anyone. Although some farmers choose to breed closely, we feel it is unnatural and undesirable. I hope that little Woody gives us a whole herd of beautiful spotted little girls who are good mothers and great milk producers.

Ace, our three-year-old buck, gave us a lot of little boys. My hope is that little Woody is a girl daddy. I have come to accept that we cannot keep everyone, and our little boys will be the first to go when it comes time to thin the herd numbers. I struggle with this, however, if we don't maintain lower herd numbers, the outcome is sick goats, a heavy parasite load, overly grazed pastures, and less healthy, less happy, and less well-cared-for goats. None of that makes for smiling goats.

I despise the system and the animal auctions. It goes against everything I believe to send our little boys to the auction. However, we have tried and exhausted all our avenues for pet homes. We have attempted to sell them privately, but dealing with people is a challenge. One day, a person is committed to buying your goats and giving them a good home, you arrange a meet and greet, agree on a price, only to be ghosted and cut off from all communication. It is a frustrating waste of time. Unfortunately, until the system changes, we don't have many options for selling our goats. At least, when they are sold at auction, I can force myself to believe that they have gone to good homes and are living their best life. It could happen.

So, we welcome beautiful little Woody to our farm family. We can't wait to see the beautiful offspring he produces. Fingers crossed he bears more girls than boys. I am certain he is going to grow up to be one beautiful billy goat, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him and his new herd. We wish Ace a long, happy life with our friends Abby and Dylan. I know our sweet boy is in the best hands and he will live a long, happy life.

On this lovely summer's day, stay safe, be smart, welcome new family, look forward to future generations, and keep washing your hands.