Tulips New Companions
With the passing of Chino, we knew even though we were not quite ready to move forward, it was extremely important for us to find Tulips some new companions. As one of our volunteers reminded me, “You aren’t replacing Chino, if you never forget about him.” Goats are herd animals and by nature enjoy being in groups with other goats. Though, it seems Tulips enjoyed all the time we spent with her in the meantime. Enjoying getting to know her even better being one-on-one with her. She would hang out with the dogs and wander around outside her pasture in the mornings during cleaning time, she loved going on hikes with us and the dogs. She was even more well behaved then the dogs were the majority of the time. We thought she would be SO excited to have two new companions to romp around with….and we think she is, but maybe not as excited as we may have imagined.
Our two new resident goats are Woody and Sage. (their names needed to fit in with Tulips, of course!) twin boys, just 10 months old. Thanks to Puget Sound Goat Rescue these boys were rescued at just a few days old from a local dairy. Every Spring, about this time, impregnated goats used at dairies are having their babies. Just like humans, other animals also need to have a baby in order to be able to produce milk. But, in the dairy industry, the babies get taken away from their moms almost immediately after being born, so that humans can then use their milk instead. Woody and Sage were rescued last Spring at four days old. The males, especially, because they don’t produce offspring or milk, are considered useless to the industry, so they are usually disposed of, sold at auction and used for meat, shortly after birth.
Woody and Sage were two of the lucky ones taken in where they were bottled raised, allowed to stay together, loved, and well taken care of for the first months of their life. They are the sweetest of boys, so affectionate and trusting. Puget Sound Goat Rescue was so sweet and patient trying to help me find the best possible companions for Tulips. We knew we wanted two young boys, if possible, with a sweet demeanor. Girls (does) can be a bit sassy with each other, so we thought it would be best to get males (whethers, neutered males). We were hoping with them being young, it would be easier for Tulips to befriend them and allow her to be the dominant goat, since Chino always had been before. We also were hoping for two together because of the age difference, if something were to happen to Tulips, we wanted to try not to have a lone goat again. Woody and Sage grabbed a special piece of my heart after a few hours of hanging out with a group of young kids. (goats under a year of age are called ‘kids”)They loaded up into our van and were on their way to their new forever home. We had a vet appointment on the way to get them all checked out and when we returned home, they had a few weeks of quarantine in Rosie’s Castle, the pig’s house. The pig boys were kind enough to go on a little vacation, down to the pasture with Tulips in the meantime. They had a wonderful time “aerating” her pasture while they were there. Tulips seemed to enjoy the company and they all co-existed quite nicely.
We were able to move the goat boys in with Tulips a week ago today! She was so excited at first sight, as were they. She later started showing some dominating behavior like Chino used to do with her. (I think she learned a few bad habits from Chino), but it is clear she appreciates the company. She still gets to come out in the mornings and enjoy playing with Sukah and hanging out outside the pasture like before, but she doesn’t like to stay out too long, like she used to, she now seems interested in being back in the pasture with the boys. She seemed a bit down the first couple days the boys moved in, as if she may have been expecting Chino to be back. We will never know for sure and she had her time to say good bye to him, but Eric and I both noticed her change in personality. We hope with time the three of them will become the best of friends.
Woody and Sage are doing well. Woody loves the wheelbarrow and jumps in as soon as you bring it in the yard. He rode in it for a few minutes today, but then decided the bumpy ride was a bit much and decided to get out. The boys are inseparable. Any time Woody hears my voice or sees me, he cries and yells to let me know, he’d like me to come visit them. They run to the gate when I walk up, even if it’s only been a short amount of time since I was last with them. They love to be petted, brushed, snuggled, and most of all to climb on you and even nibble on your hair, zippers, or anything else interesting you may have with you. They prefer their water the perfect temperature of warm..but not hot. And they LOVE to eat! They started to get their fruit and veggie treats at night as Tulips and Chino always did, at first the boys wondered what this was I was feeding them and didn’t even eat the strawberries the first few nights, but tonight, it was hard to even get in their barn without them trying to steal Tulips and knock the bowls from my hands. Strawberries and all were gone in seconds and they were on to trying to get Tulip’s!
It is such a relief knowing Tulips is no longer alone. The boys are a complete added joy and delight to the Sanctuary and make all the volunteers giggle and smile. We feel so fortunate for their rescue by PSGR and to have them now in our care.
Welcome home Woody and Sage. We love you.
~ Namaste