Thanks and Farewell: Letting the Boys Move On

Aspen and Alder with their new owners

It has been a little over 8 weeks since Yuli's bore her two boys into our little herd, and they have bored their way in to our hearts. We knew from the first we could not keep them, with the limited resources at our disposal. We also knew that we wanted them to be loved, and that by freely giving them our love, they would be lovable by others. So, we have treated them as if they were staying with us indefinitely.

We have gained so much joy watching these two grow quickly from active little newborns to curious little devils. We watched them discover that there were other, bigger goats in the world, and held our breaths as they experienced the goat hierarchy welcoming rites, as they learned whom they needed to avoid, and when and how to do it. We let ourselves feel the sense of togetherness when they settled in with the herd, having moments of fun and connection with their elders. We watched them welcome younger babies into the herd, just as they had been welcomed, thus perpetuating the skill of wariness so important for goat survival.

We also helped them to learn from us ways to modify their "natural" capricious and sometimes vicious behavior to fit in with our expectations. Head butting only with willing partners, not near humans. No pushing or jumping on people, expecially from behind. Come to us, and we will pay attention to you, even if we are in the middle of mucking or mending or doing some other interminable task that must be incomprehensible to our caprine friends. He who first jumps upon the person feeding feeds last. Stand near without pushing, and you'll get pats and scritches and other loving interaction; push or jump and you'll wish you had controlled yourself.

Sharing these lessons have brought us together, and the individual personalities start to come through.

In this short time, Aspen has overcome a very strong need to push and butt with his head, something he was accustomed to doing even before he was born. Alder has learned that it is not always appropriate to stop suddenly in front of a person from whom he seeks favor, especially if that person is walking, and particularly if the person is carrying anything like a bucket of water.

They, in turn, have educated us in their particular ways. It is fascinating to watch as a curious intelligent animal such as Aspen discovers a new challenge. When being chased by the big boys, Aspen first was knocked unawares on his side. Surprisingly, he still ventured near the offending brute, but soon he was knocked less, and very shortly learned to jump quickly at the merest hint of a threat from the bigger goats. This has kept him on his toes, and made him alert to other dangers and pleasures. This week, when Aspen was chasing one of the littlest doelings, she made a sudden escape across a new climbing toy made of wooden pallets which Aspen had not yet encountered. He found his feet fell through the spaces in the angled pallet, slowing his progress as he scrambled across it. Immediately, he shifted his attention away from tormenting goats littler them him to this new type of obstacle. "Interesting," he seemed to say. "What is this? Hmm... sometimes I slip, sometimes I don't. Let's look at it from the side... how about from up here. Look, if I step on the topmost corner of any board, I maintain my foothold." Within 30 seconds, he was scrambling up and down at a rapid pace without ever missing a step!