Changes

Ali went to her new home Sunday.  It was rather bittersweet.  Ali's a sweet doe, but very dominant, and much more aggressive than my Saanens.  And when I wanted everyone out on grass, she still wanted to be in the barn eating hay.  So, not a good match.

Her new owners came to take her home.  They had a van with several bales of hay surrounding a deep bed of hay for her to lie (or stand) on.  Ali was so good!  I got in and tugged a little on her lead and encouraged her to hop in.  Well...she really sort of climbed in, because she is just huge with kids.  But she put up first one foot and then another, and with a little help from the back, negotiated the big step into the van.  She looked around, started munching hay, and all was well.  This was really the last day I felt comfortable transporting her anywhere.  She's due April 1st, and was literally scraping her sides coming through the goat door in the barn.   In fact, we had to widen it for her. ;D

I got an email today.  She never made a sound all the way there--over two hours.  What a good girl!  And she looked around, explored a bit, and settled in nicely.  All in all, I'm very happy with her new people.  They seem to like her a lot, and I think they'll take great care of her.  And what's best is that they're interested in natural ways to care for her, rather than the chemicals that are so prevalent in animal care today.

The only one that's a little unhappy is Sanuba.  She and Ali shared a stall for a while, and she misses her buddy.    Now I can start preparing for the spring kids. Beatrice is definitely carrying a kid or two, and due on April 20th.  Sanuba?  Well, she never came back into heat, so I'm assuming she's also pregnant, but with goats, especially first fresheners, it's sometimes hard to tell.  I hope she is.  Some changes I definitely look forward to--like kids bouncing and playing everywhere.