Goats!

Last weekend, we visited the local goat farm, Surfing Goat Dairy. They actually had an old surfboard in the nursery as a part of the "kid" play area.














There were several goat kids between the age of one week and one month. They were roughly the size of a large cat or small dog and they were all very cute!






This one little lady took an interest in us and tried to nibble on Russell's boot and on our fingers. You can see that her horns have already been cut. We learned that they cut the horns between 3 and 7 days old in an effort to decrease "head-butting" related injuries later on and also so they won't get caught in the fence. Sometimes the horns will grow even if they are cut at this early stage, but usually not.

























During the farm tour, we got to help feed some of the goats. They were all very friendly, sweet and curious.






















































This big guy with the beard was named Bob Hope. And when I say big, he was probably a little bigger than me! He was the "stud" on the farm; the papa to many generations of goats.















This is Mr. Waddles. If you look under his chin, you'll see where he got his name. In another year, he will be one of the new "studs" on the farm.













The milking stand. The lady goats march right up (actually they push and shove their way to the front) and position themselves on the stand. Once all are in position, they get to enjoy a sweet treat of grains from a trough at the front, while they are milked with the help of a milking machine. You can see them kneeling down on their front hooves to reach the trough. They are milked a few times each day.











As a part of the tour, we got to try our hand at milking!




































I milked a dairy goat!