April 08, 2008

Goat Therapy

I have always considered goats to be the clowns of the animal kingdom. While they may not have the horse’s power and speed or the dog’s popularity, there is no animal with a better sense of humor than the goat. If the horse is king; then the goat is his court jester. Not a day goes by that one of my goats doesn’t do something to make me laugh. There are a lot of reasons I raise goats, but it would be less than honest not to say that one of the reasons is because I know that every day I put on my boots and head outside to do chores that those goats are going to do something that makes me smile today.

It may be the defiant kid that gets in trouble by his dam only to jump up and “mock” her…right after she turns around and her back is to him; they don’t call them “kids” for nothing. In the springtime the kids run and bounce around the pasture like their legs are made from pogo sticks. "King of the Tree Stump" is a favorite game around here and sometimes a dozen goat kids jump, play and mock head butt each other trying to be the king on top of that old mulberry stump. I can sit outside and watch their antics for hours. Sometimes the adult goats play with the kids, sometimes they just come up to me for a pat and neck scratch. Such as this morning when my dairy goat Dym brought a smile to my face as she likes to use me as a human scratching post, after almost knocking me over she put her long, expressive face up close to mine, looking at me with soft, brown eyes filled with affection...then she promptly cud burped right in my face.

Let's also not forget about the buck goats, those big ‘ol clowns standing at the fence, their tongue sticking out, staring at all the “girls” in the other pasture; not unlike some men, they really make fools out of themselves to try and impress the ladies. Let a doe walk up to the fence and they are pawing the ground, making their wup...wup...wup sound as they stick their tongues out and flap them around. (No, I am not making this up, they really do that!) It is certainly quite hilarious but somehow their strange antics always seem to impress the female goats. In short, no matter how bad of a day I am having I know my goats are going to make me smile, just sitting outside watching them is a great stress reliever. Laugh if you want too, but I bet there are quite a few people that could benefit from some “Goat Therapy” in their lives.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice blog Jennifer!

Jennifer said...

Thanks Amy!

Anonymous said...

You're welcome.

Tammy said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog Jennifer! I thought I would come over and check yours out. Very nice, keep up the interesting posts. I hope you don't have any further 'two legged' troubles. People are just so weird anymore. Most of my sheep are Shetlands, and I think they tend to be more goat like than some of the sheep. They are very inquisitive, full of humor and quite crafty. I just had my first spottie lamb last night and am thrilled! Tammy

Jennifer said...

Glad you stopped by Tammy! Congrats on the new lamb!

KatBouska said...

Awww...they have little personalities! I love it!!

Karen, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry" said...

I never realized how funny goats are. I love how you describe them as the clowns of the animal kingdom.

Congrats on your SITS day!

Serendipity said...

That's a brilliant picture!

Elizabeth D. said...

Wow, I love that they personalities, I never knew much about goats before, other than their herding tendencies. Thanks for the education! Happy SITS day!

glenna said...

Your goats sound like they have the same personality as my Airedale.

Marie said...

I've heard that goats are really friendly wonderful animals. I have a friend who keeps some goats on land owned by a nursing home. The goats keep the grassy areas under control AND the nursing home residents love to watch them play. WIN-WIN for everybody.

Michelle said...

Oh yea, ours always cracked us up too...even if we did think they were stupid.

Sherri said...

They are just adorable little characters:)

Enthusiastic Bookworm said...

Its amazing how you have gotten to know each of your goats and their personalities.

Karen

said...

Goats are great. We lovecd seeing them at petting farms when the kids were small.

Congrats on your SITS day!

Holly @ Domestic Dork said...

I love goats!!! I've never owned one but I think they're great!

Kerri said...

I LOVE goats. I live on 30 acres in Michigan, and we will probably end up with some...I like the little black and white ones. I dont' know much about them yet. And I do LOVE the goats milk soap! DIVINE!!
Happy SITS day!

Holyoke Home said...

Wow! Love it! Happy SITS day!

Anonymous said...

Ahhh! That is too funny. In my only exposure to goats, I have found them terribly entertaining.

Happy SITS Day!

Young Wife said...

Cud burped? Oh, my goodness! Animals really do bring so much joy to our lives. Stopping by from SITS.

Angelia (Texas) said...

You bring back such good memories of when my mom had goats. Very entertaining indeed. I don't think people realize they are very smart animals and very much jokesters.
Very cute post!

sweetjeanette said...

How precious! I always just thought of goats as stubborn, and prone to meanness. You've given them a new light in my eyes! That pic is absolutely adorable!!!

Stopping by from SITS. Congrats on being the featured blogger!

sweetjeanette.blogspot.com

Julie {Angry Julie Monday} said...

That picture is adorable. I love hearing about people who work with animals. I would much rather deal with animals than people. I hope you enjoy your special day.

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Yeah, I get it! I've got "the dude" therapy. My toddler always makes everything better!

Monica said...

Goats are great. My brother has a farm (mostly cattle) and has a few goats. They are quite entertaining. My brother keeps several sand piles and there is always one standing on top...and 3 more trying to knock him off...we call it "playing king of the mountain" The babies are to precious for words.
I enjoyed this blog very much!

KimMalk said...

I never knew they had such personalities!

Unknown said...

I TOTALLY agree! We have 3 pygmy goats as pets at our house! We about 15 minutes frmo downtown atlanta and everyone is always so suprised that we have goats as pets but we think they are the BEST! Loe the blog I will have to subscribe so I can get up with your kids!

Allison aka Scooty's Mom said...

I'm a little late after your SITS Day but I really enjoyed your blog. I grew up on a farm in Illinois where at one point we had Pygmy goats and one rather human-like Nubian. Your posts brought back so many memories.