New Kid on the Block

The New Kid Sebastian

Our intentions in owning goats were always been clear: milk and meat. We had a great, simple plan in mind. We’d have our handful of milkers, a buck or two, and when kidding time came we’d decide who we may keep, who we may sell, and all the little boys would be wethered and sent off to freezer camp.

It was foolproof. Nice and easy.

And it really is. This year we had 7 kids and 3 lambs. Four kids and two lambs are going to the freezer this fall. We’ve already had tastes of both meats (some annoying wethers we got from neighbors a few years back and a yearling ewe who was having problems), and enjoyed it.

The two lambs have a huge daddy and are already bigger than their mommas. They’re bulking up quite nicely. But, the kids. They’re daddy’s a Nubian and they’re momma’s are all dairy breeds. So even though they aren’t truly skinny, they aren’t quite bulky either. It’s not too big a deal- they’ll still be good eats. It’s just not ideal.

So, we contacted a nice lady who owns Tennessee Fainters, a meat breed. We scheduled the day, found a good time, and drove up to get the little boy, and the solution to our problem. The plan is to still use the dairy mammas who produce great milk, and have half-meat kids that are better suited for dinner.

I’ve never dealt with fainters before, and I honestly expected to faint more easily than they did. (The whole time we were there only one froze up- and it was just her hind legs as our truck rolled up.) Call me an amateur, but I might as well have expected a penny dropping to flip them over.

Anyway, we stood outside the pasture fence, and she showed us our options. I had our little buck picked out before my mom could get a word in edgewise. He had horns (which I just then learned grew to be like those really cool cashmere horns!) which I wanted because of their beauty. And, he had remarkable blue eyes! Ah, the beauty of them!

Catching him was quite simple. The lady let us into her pasture, and tossed some feed. The little guy was between the fence and feeder and was trapped there by a bigger goat. I reached in and scooped him up, easy as that. I almost feel cheated out of my exercise. Goat chasing is the only real exercise I ever get. :P

Just look at those blue eyes! They’re sort of whitish, but so pretty! As a whole, the little buck is mighty handsome. We named him Sebastian.

The trip home was easy. He kept calling to his momma before we left, and then just flat calling as we drove away, but you can’t expect any different. Again, in my amateurism I expected the speed bumps and loudness of the city we went through to make him faint. He didn’t and I’m sort of proud of him.

In the picture, I was trying to pet on him, but it was a useless attempt. All he cared about was getting back to his herd. But that’s alright, we were taking him home to a new one.

I didn’t take too long to get home, and we let him loose into the barn where he could meet a few girls through the back gate (as well as some big, scary draft horses). We let another goat and a sheep in with him to provide company, and let him settle. 

 Isn’t he gorgeous!