Читать книгу Raising Goats For Dummies - Cheryl K. Smith - Страница 47

People with new goats often ask whether something is wrong with goats because they cry every time they see a person move. I advise them not to respond to the goats every time they cry. Often they were just spoiled by their prior owner or are a breed known for being noisy, such as Nubian or Nigerian Dwarf. (Chapter 3 tells you about goat breeds.) Or they are grieving the loss of their mother or other herd members.

I had a goat whose baby died during birth and had to be removed from her body. She saw the dead kid at the vet’s office, but after she got home she ran to the kidding pen, looking around and then yelling at me. She recovered physically from the ordeal but took months to get over it emotionally. Some goats whose babies are taken at birth for bottle-feeding (usually dairy goats) or die later respond the same way, while others seem unconcerned.

If a goat is truly hungry or thirsty, his bleat is persistent. I always hear these cries as my wake-up call in the morning if I’m not out by 7:00 a.m. and in the evening at the same time. They know they’re due to be fed. Who needs a traditional alarm clock?

A sick goat sometimes moans or makes a stressed-out sounding cry, but more often you notice that she isn’t crying but is away from the herd suffering silently.

Bucks in rut will make some of the craziest snorting, bleating noises you’ve ever heard. Some does cry out in little short bursts when they’re in heat and wanting to get bred.

Does that are kidding can also be quite noisy, although some approach the task silently. During the first stage of labor, they whine more than cry, especially if they want you there with them the whole time. Others are pretty discreet until it’s time to push the baby out and then they let loose with a loud, long cry to tell you over the baby monitor that it’s time.

Finally, a goat that is trapped or injured (or got through the fence and can’t get back in) will make sure you know it with loud, frantic bleats. This is the kind of cry that sends you running to its source because time is of the essence. If a kid is the victim, the mother will often chime in to let you know that something is wrong.

Listen, and learn your goats’ cries; the knowledge will serve you well.