The Goats

Maia and Weekend are our first goats! They are Nigerian Dwarf Goats. They are much smaller than most breeds of goats. We got them about a month ago and they are now eight months old. They are brother and sister.

Maia, the black, smaller goat, is a doeling (a baby girl) who we may breed and milk in the spring. We are not sure yet if she is a good candidate for breeding and will have to wait and see how big she is when full grown. Weekend is a whether, which means he was castrated as a baby. We got him to keep Maia company. Goats are herd animals and don't like to be alone!

Our main purpose for these goats was to socialize our Great Pyrenees (and Arthur!). If the dogs are not exposed to goats when they are young, they can be aggresive towards them instead of protecting them.

Our goats have free range of part of our property and they eat blackberry bushes, apple and peach tree leaves, grass and other weeds. They love to eat and will nibble on your clothes if you're not paying attention! They can also get a little feisty with each other. It is not unusual to see them headbutting, which is normal goat nature.