Have you ever made a spur of the moment decision and then said, “what was I thinking”? Well, that happened several weeks ago when I made a spur of the moment decision to buy a pretty little doe from California. She was so endearing with her little brown nose that I didn’t play the tape forward to ask myself several important questions, such as:
Do I really want to bottle feed three times a day for 6-8 weeks when all my babies are past bottles?
How much time do I have to integrate a new baby into my herd?
How will I convince the herd to accept her and play nice?
The first week was pretty standard with a new baby. She had a separate pen where everyone could smell and see one another. My husband and I spent most of the first week in the barn bonding with her. It became pretty obvious when we started letting her out to play among the others that playing nice wasn’t going to be on the agenda. So, the following week we spent more time in the barn with the new baby allowing her to interact safely with the other residents while they got used to her in their space. She had barn lobby privileges with the other baby girls and played while I milked. She tagged along as I fed at the other buildings and bounced along morning and evening as I filled water buckets. We were developing a nice routine :)
By the third week however, the joy of being Sunshine’s goat mom was waning and I needed to find a Nanny. I needed someone in my herd that didn’t participate in drama, someone respected by the others and someone who could teach Sunshine how to be a well behaved goat. That someone was Madia, a 14 year old Nigerian doe we purchased in 2011. Madia was happy to take the job, especially since it included some extra grain and free choice alfalfa which she got to enjoy without any competition.
The duo began to bond and by the fourth week, Sunshine and Madia were mingling with the rest of the herd without a lot of drama. Madia became home base when Sunshine felt threatened and needed a place of protection. As Sunshine began to feel safe, she began bumping back. It didn’t take long before the other kids began accepting her, sharing food and playing together.
Sunshine still thinks her humans are her goats and prefers to hang with us; but, she is learning her place in the herd. It’s always interesting to witness herd behavior...it is not unlike our own human nature. Watching Sunshine navigate her new life with courage and trust has been an unexpected gift. As I encounter new circumstances and meet new people, I hope I’ll remember the importance of belonging that I’ve learned from Sunshine :) Sometimes the spur of the moment decisions are the best teachers of important life lessons.