Herd Dynamics

Adding new members to an established herd can be a tricky process and as much as humans try to interfere and make everyone "play nice" there really isn't much that can be done on our end to influence the herd dynamics.  

Away from the barn Mame' will reluctantly let the new doeling, Cordelia, tag along with her  (Mame' looks a lot like Cordelia's dam) and Liberty is free to roam unmolested.  But when the herd returns to the barn all bets are off.   

Since joining the main herd last Thursday, Liberty has been quietly slipping  into the barn and has quickly got into the routine of a few minutes on the milk stand when I'm finished milking in the morning. (She needs extra feed to improve her condition prior to breeding.)   Cordelia on the other hand, has been staying away from the barn and humans, although I suspect she has been sneaking in and sleeping in the barn at night.

Last night we had a wind storm with gusts over 50mph.   When I went out to do the milking this morning ALL of the does were in the barn!  Cordelia did run off when I entered the pen to feed, but came running back as soon as I was on the other side of the fence.   She was also persistent in getting to the alfalfa pellets and getting her share. This is the first time I've seen her eat in the barn with the other goats, and I'm hoping this trend will continue.   It is going to take some time and patience for her to come to want attention from humans, but I'm sure we can eventually win her over.

A call of "Here Goaties"  is usually all it takes to get the herd running up the hill to me.