Goat's Milk

In December of 2010 we were asked by one of our friends at the Pacific Orientation Course to look after her kid named Glenda – that is kid as in a young goat and not a young person.  She was going to the Highlands for a visit and could not take Glenda with her.

So after receiving instructions about how to care for her, we were the temporary carertakers of a goat; not something I would have ever envisioned myself doing.

Feeding her wasn’t overly difficult. Just move her to different area of the hibiscus around where we live. We had to listen for her ‘help me’ bleats which usually meant she walked through the hedge and was stuck.

But because of her young age, Glenda was still drinking milk. Each day I had to make milk (from powder) and put it into a plastic ketchup bottle so that she could drink. The only problem was she did not want to drink with my assistance. After a few days of not able to get her to drink her milk, I finally gave up and just squirted the milk into a bucket which was hanging on the door near her bed. After several days of no milk, Glenda finally broke down and started drinking from the bucket.

When Glenda’s owner returned to POC, she was surprised to learn that she no longer had to grab the goat by the horns and feed her as I had successfully weaned her. So if anyone has livestock they need weaned, I’m available. But you may want to ask someone else because I also played a role in Glenda’s death, but that’s another story.