Monday, May 16, 2011

Ronnie, the Nubian goat

This is Ronnie, she came to us via a friend who wasn't sure she was going to make it. She was cold and hadn't eaten in awhile when she found her.


She figured if anyone could save her it would be Lindsey, my teenage daughter, who is somewhat of a goat-whisperer. Luckily Ronnie showed up on the day the vet did to read some tests (required every year for the dairy license), and the doc suggested we tube her and showed us how it's done. So for 3 days we tubed her a couple ounces every few hours and she started to fill out and put some weight on. She totally refused to take a bottle though. Finally we took her back to her birth mom for a visit and one look was all it took!! She latched on to that teat and drank her fill!!! No more tubing for her! We figured out her secrete that she couldn't tell us. She preferred the real teat to a rubber one! So three times a day I take her out to the dairy and put a momma goat up on the stand and let Ronnie fill her tummy with fresh warm milk!

Ronnie has some interesting marks on her back...looks like a dog! I almost called her Siris, but Lindsey said she's a Veronica and we shortened it to Ronnie.

As you can see, Ronnie has favored goat status in the house! She gets to wear diapers and live in the house, she sleeps in a cardboard box lined with towels in Lindsey's room, and when she's at school Ronny tries very hard to figure out how to jump on the couch! She's only a few days old and barely as big as her best friend Chica, the Rat Terrier. They like to crawl up on John's lap and take naps together!!!
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