Baby Goat Bump

A friend of mine talks about getting goats someday.  Her kids - human kids - would like to get goats right now, because they think goats would be fun pets.  Especially if they were the little goats like my River Brothers.  We talk about goats often, and I can never decide if I recommend goats as pets.  Obviously, I like having goats myself, but I wouldn't recommend anyone take on goats unless they understood what they were getting themselves into.  Goats want to reproduce!  

I'm not sure how you could have females goats as pets when they go through hormonal cycles every twenty days or so.  They cry and swish their tails and just aren't satisfied with life when they are in heat, and it lasts several days.  The neighbors would be irritated by the noise, I'm sure.  If you let them breed they take a break by being pregnant and then nursing.  Male goats, like Little Buck, have hormonal challenges too, and might not make good pets if they go around peeing on their chins, stinking up the place, and challenging the mailman to a fight.  

Probably the best bet for pet goats would be wethers, which are castrated boys.  My wethers are very friendly, but it's sort of a rambunctious head rubbing on my boots and jumping on my clothes kind of friendliness.  The girl goats seem much more calmly affectionate and sensible.  So really, pregnant or nursing females are the best kind of goat pet, but that means you have to breed them, and that's not so easy unless you have a male too.  Then you end up like me with a whole herd! 

I asked Brandon if he would recommend goats as pets and he gave an emphatic no.  He said goats are livestock, not pets, and only if you enjoy the challenges of animal husbandry should you take on goats.  Animal husbandry implies breeding, right?  

Peaches should be pregnant and due to deliver next month.  The baby should be held on the right side of her body.  Is that a baby bump?  The left side is a food baby. 

In this picture from above, the food baby looks like it sticks out just as far as the baby bump.  The last time she was pregnant I couldn't tell, but maybe I'm getting a little better at judging this time.  Or maybe she has a bigger baby bump because she has more than one in there!  Two or three is common in goats.  Oh my.  

Little Noobi could be pregnant too, and due in May.  I don't see a baby bump, but it's a bit early.  It's wild to know that our baby goat might have a baby of her own!