Our Petting Zoo

Today, I want to introduce to you our barnyard family.

Meet Daisy. She's was the first lovely rabbit addition to our Illinois family. She delivered her first litter of bunnies on Monday. She's a sassy lady, and a great mom. She had ELEVEN gorgeous babies, and is fiercely protective of each one.

Liana also kindled Monday, just a few hours after Daisy. She struggled quite a bit. We kept finding her babies in various places throughout the day. Three survived, but we decided they would do better being fostered. On a side note: Liana really can't stand me. She has this funny quirk where she'll stamp her back foot every time I get near her. She actually seemed to get over it, though, while I was helping her with her babies. We'll see if it lasts.

Charlotte. Isn't she gorgeous? She kindled yesterday. Seven pink little babies. She and Daisy are sharing the responsibility of Liana's survivors. She is also a very protective mom, which we love to see. We'd rather get nipped at than having babies not making it any day.

This is B.J. Cute, huh? I call him the Slinky Rabbit, because he can shrink or expand himself at will. He's really not this small; just camera-shy. He's still really young, so he hasn't come into his "buck" own yet, but we've got our fingers crossed.

Moving to the residents of the western side of the barn...

Our goats.

I never expected I'd have a goat. Never really cared for goats much. Sure, I got a kick out of my kids chasing them around at the petting zoo, but I never felt any sort of pull to take one home. Not even close. And now....

It started as needing a companion animal for our cow. Sam brought it up several times, but I vetoed. I really didn't want a goat. They've always bugged me, and as it wouldn't be a real asset to the farm (we tried goat's milk from Wild Oats--Taylor loved it, but everyone else...pretty put off), I wanted to find another option. We went back and forth on the subject for a while. After weighing our options, we decided it was the best way to go. We found a very nice woman selling Nigerian Dwarf goats on craigslist for reasonable price, so we went to go take a look.

First let me say, my girls were on cloud nine at this place! Dogs, ponies, goats, horses, bunnies, kitties, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys--the ultimate hobby farm. (Thanks, Chris, for your kindness in getting us started!) We tried her milk while we were there and seriously, it was awesome! Could tell no difference between it and cow's milk, except goat's milk is a bit sweeter and richer. We still don't know why it was so different, but it sold us. So, we brought home two: Tina and Angel.

Tina is a funny goat. She's a sassy old broad who doesn't take crap from anyone. She is one of the Original Three of the herd. She loves dandelions, head-butting Angel, and pooping wherever and whenever she pleases, thank you very much.

Angel is exceptionally deserving of her name. She is wonderfully patient and sweet. She loves being petted and brushed. She has this darling face she gets, where she'll cock her head to the side and look at you like she'd do anything for you. I love this Angel Face.

After that, things somehow starting getting out of hand. I found myself milking these goats, everyday, and liking it. Then Sam decided we needed to have more so that we could always have milk, and then we needed to get our own buck, so we could keep our does pregnant, and then we had to get certain ones, because we needed to get the herd registered, and then we had to take more because one couldn't be without the other, and then we had to take the last two, because they were the last two....

And now we have ten.

This darling girl is Zoe. She is Angel's mama, and shares her sweet temperament. Except when she wants oats, attention, or some lovin' from the buck. She makes me laugh, because her outburst of "ornery" are always so unexpected. She is another of the Original Three.

Meet CoCo. She's our Grande Dame of the herd, the oldest of the bunch, the leader from the Original Three. I wish she'd let me love on her, but she doesn't trust me quite yet. We'll see if we get there.

Anora. CoCo's daughter. Gorgeous. Still trying to gain her trust, too, but I think T is really helping that along. Anora's our best milker.

Snow: Anora's sister, CoCo's first born daughter. We believe the leadership torch has been passed down the line. She seems to be the second in command to CoCo. Sam thinks Snow is now the Alpha. I think CoCo's still got it. :)

Pepper. Tina's daughter. Ornery like her mama. We think she's pregnant, fingers crossed!

Jasmine. GORGEOUS! Jazzy is our hope for a beautiful and sweet herd in the future. She is so fun and darling. We all love her.

George. What a funny kid he is. He can be so irritating (because he is unbelievably loud), but he's so cute and lovable, you can't resist him. He and Jazzy were a package deal. They are so fun, like gangly puppies.

And finally....

Wash. Our buck. Check out those blue eyes! And, you gotta love the Superman curl. (I know, right?!?) In spite of all this, Wash is one of the most disgusting creatures I've ever encountered. But, he makes cute babies!

So, I would imagine you've gathered that I'm enjoying myself. I can't help it! They really are fun. And, it's actually pretty darn cool that I don't have to run to the store for milk every other day. Why is that again? Oh, yes. Because I milked that bottle full of fresh milk with my own two hands. Uh-huh. :)