Hamster

I had another goatie call last night. A woman in the 303 area code is looking for a doe kid. She's had Alpines and Nubians before... I told her that Lamancha's are similar but instead of the upright ears like an Alpine or the big, floppy ears like a Nubian, Lamancha's have a teeny tiny little ear called a gopher ear which makes them look like Kermit the Frog.

I told her they were bottle raised, they are eating a grass/alfalfa mix hay now because they were weaned. They are vaccinated, our herd is CAE free, they come from nice bloodlines and their dams are good milk producers.

She asked how much we wanted and said she'd call in a few days to maybe come look at them.

She called back 10 minutes later asking if she could come see them tonight. I think if she's driving up from the Denver area and called back 10 minutes later, there is a good possibility she'll be taking our doe kid home.

I filled out registration papers, made a copy of the CAE test results showing our herd is clean for her to take, and I enlisted Furry Husband to help me tattoo the doe kids. We put a number designating our farm on the right side of the tail and the letter designating the birth year 2009 (Z) along with an identifying number (1, 2, 3 etc) on the left side of the tail.

I scrub the goatie's tail with alcohol, stretch out the loose skin and I clamp the tail skin with my tattoo plier-like thing holding the metal numbers and letters made out of sharp pins. The kids jump and shout cuz, hello, who wouldn't? Then I rub a pasty green ink into the tiny holes I just made with a toothbrush. Why hasn't this been done to someone on Johnny Knoxville's Jackass?


And THAT my friends, is when the obsessive hamster in my brain came squealing around the corner on his hamster wheel going 300 mph.



The doe kid for sale is hairy. I mean REALLY hairy! She looks yak like she has so much hair! She acts normal and playful and healthy... she is well bred, she has pretty markings.

I started to worry that maybe something was wrong with her.... I called my goat contacts.... I fretted and worried and wrung my hands together. I just know when this woman comes, she'll take one look at our woolly, little doe kid, laugh and drive back to Denver... sans goat kid.


This whole time Furry Husband is going about his business shaking his head in wonder that I can go into a full blown tizzy over goat hair in .00001 seconds.

My goat contacts called back... MaryLou said the buck I used in this breeding ( her buck ) just threw woolly babies this year and she has several long haired, woolly little kids running around. Under the hair they are excellent goats and she's had them at shows where they've won their classes consistently. My other goat contact called and said she's had long haired babies before. It's not worms. She said when a goat gets worms, they act sickly and they lose their hair... they don't grow more!



I was reassured and told NOT to clip the baby's hair... which I was so close to doing... because it is getting too cold at night with all our weird, wet wether.... I mean... weather. ( a wether is a neutered male goat.... har har)



I will try to remain calm tonight when this woman comes from Denver and wants a doe kid only to find the ONE doe kid we have for sale looks like a woolly mammoth/yak/musk ox.


Oh, and our new feeder we rigged up to prevent so much lost hay? Yeah, it rubbed a bald spot in the middle of the doe's nose. Nice.

Excuse me?! You want HOW much for that hairy, bald nosed, doe kid?