Demoted Back to Goat

Puddles the Goat Kid has begun her transition back to barn life in earnest. As much as I've enjoyed having an office pet, the arrangement just isn't sustainable over the long run. She's already starting to hop onto the couch every time I sit there, and then she proceeds to climb all over me and the arm of the couch. Needless to say, it's getting annoying.

She wasn't happy about it, but we left her in the barn pretty much all day today --- from 8:30am to about 7:30pm. It wasn't terribly warm outside today, but the barn was in the low thirties. Which was warm enough. We put her in the kidding pen with her own mother and the mother of the kid that died early Saturday; we didn't expect her to bond with or begin nursing from either one of them, but the idea was to get her accustomed to being around other goats --- and out of the way of the mature bucks in the main goat area. She seems to have curled up in the corner for most of the day, but it's a start.

The best news of the day was this morning. She'd spent the night in her box by the fire, in the house. When I let her out, she trotted all around the living room as usual. And then, for the first time, she did something we never expected her to be able to do: the "Goat Kid Gallivant." Anyone who's raised goats knows what I'm talking about: it's when a kid puts his/her head down and makes an energetic, half-hop / half-run trip across an open area, springing into the air with every step. It's like they have so much energy (and dexterity), simply running isn't enough. We never thought her legs would work well enough to gallivant like the other kids all do.

In the meantime, we'll probably let her sleep inside one more time tonight; the temps are expected to plunge again, and I don't want to stress her little body too much. I'll have my camera ready tomorrow when I let her out of the box. If I can catch her gallivanting again, I'll post the video to YouTube.