Bottle Kid Antics

Bottle kids are par for the course raising goats. My present doe bottle baby is doing well and is full of kid antics.

In the milk room this kid loves to stand up on me. She chews on my jacket zipper tag. I do know better than to let this become a habit, but…

Bottle time for a Nubian doe kid
Nothing, but nothing, is more important to a bottle kid than latching onto a bottle of milk. This little doe kid can spot me over a hundred feet away. She announces loudly she is ready for a bottle. And draining one does not mean she is too full to drink more a short time later, like three minutes, long enough to burp and stretch.

The kid antics really get going out in the pasture. First the doe demands her bottle. After all, she needs energy.

goat kid antics begin
My Nubian bottle baby is full of milk and ready to run some off. She ran up the log and paused to consider the leap to the other log.

Then it’s time to race around. Fallen logs are great places to play. Two old sycamore logs were rolled near each other in some flood a couple of years ago. Now they make a great place to race down and leap across to race back to bounce over and back up on the first log.

goat kid antics jumping
The Nubian doe kid is set and starting her leap across. The action then gets too fast for my picture taking ability.

Once the bottle doe gets started, the other kids join in. The problem is how fast they race by, faster than the camera can catch them.

The does were scattered around scrounging for grass bits and leaves. They think these are better than the hay. Besides, getting out and wandering around is much better than standing around in the barn.

goat kid antics on a log
This Nubian buck kid was having such a good time running up and down the log until he spotted the camera. It must be some monster. He stopped to consider his next move. He moved to the other log.

Agate decided the kids were having such a great time she would join in. Kid antics aren’t just for kids.

There was a problem. Agate is starting to get big as she is due to kid in a couple of months. Leaping up on the log was too much effort. So she shoved herself across it interrupting the kid race before wandering off.

Nubian doe Agate playing
Why should the kids have all the fun? Even at three, Nubian doe High Reaches Agate likes a bit of mischief now and then. But jumping up on the log was too much effort and it provided a good way to scratch her stomach as she slid over it.

Another storm is due in overnight. The kid antics will be confined to the barn for a few days to the disgust of the does. One result is how eager the herd is to head out the pasture gate as soon as the storm clears although melting snow may delay them.

Goats do lots of fun things. “For Love of Goats” is about some of them.