Our first livestock

This week we brought three Nigerian goats to join the farm.

Aren't they cute?

Nathan found these goats on craigslist. Surprisingly they were free (goats normally cost $150 per head) to any good family that would keep them as pets. These were bottle-raised pets from a small ranch nearby. It was a perfect fit for us- we want live lawn mowers to keep down the weeds and poison ivy. And boy howdy, do these girls LOVE poison ivy! They snarf it down like there's no tomorrow. 

You'll have to imagine the comical way we transported these new friends to our house. We have no truck. (I can hear the local ranchers saying, "Gasp! How is that even possible in Texas? Shouldn't that be illegal?") 

Yep, it's the sad truth. Our trusty minivan is put through a lot of abuse as our truck substitute. (We've filled it to the ceiling with loads of compost, landscape rocks, fruit trees, boxes of chickens, furniture purchases, etc.) This was the first time we tried moving livestock in our Toyota Sienna. 

We took out all the van seats and lined the interior floor and sides with a ginormous tarp to protect the upholstery. The children were delighted at the prospect of riding in the van with goats. They went along with Nathan to act as a barrier between the driver and the livestock. (I could just imagine these goats trying to clamber into the front seats and causing all sorts of problems on the highway. Not happening.)

We had dinner guests arrive the same time Nathan drove up with his van load of goats. Let me tell you, there's a fantastic way to make a great first impression! (Just in case you can't tell, I'm dripping with sarcasm here.) 

As soon as the door opened, goats streamed out into the yard, bleating in panic and confusion. 

We had a lively evening chasing goats together to round them up into the pasture. The goats promptly discovered several weak spots in our fencing that needed to be immediately patched. Nathan repaired fences as the sun set while I served dinner to our guests inside the house.

The next day I ended up chasing goats twice as they broke though a gate and headed for my new fruit orchard. It was only after an hour of frustrating attempts to outrun and outwit the little goats that I had the brilliant idea of letting our Great Pyrenees farm dog, Bella, do all the hard work. (I have no idea why I didn't think of that before.)

She was very eager to help (being a natural herder helps a lot!) and made short work of it all. The goats thought they were scheduled to be Bella's dinner and were suddenly very eager to return to their pasture. Bella was invaluable in herding these rascals back to their proper space. Her position on the farm just went up a notch. How does one promote a dog?

Each morning before he left for work last week, Nathan and I spent each day working together strengthening fence lines to protect our orchard and vegetable garden.

Now that the fences are reinforced and gates are secure, the goats are happily mowing down our pasture.

Sarah bestowed them with new names: Paprika, Rosemary, and Cardamon.

Each day after school, our Littles eagerly pull on galoshes and tromp outside to the pasture, where the goats come running to greet them. Our kids love petting and brushing the goats or having races with them across the pasture. They have become delightful new friends on the farm.