Lions n Chickens n Goats, Oh My!

Okay, my last two or three posts have been pretty much singin' the blues, so today's will be a refreshing change...  As many of you know, we were given a baby goat - little Chestnut - but, he died within eight hours of our receiving him.  I was more than a little heartbroken.  And very, very tired.  Moshe tried to cheer me up by bringing home another baby goat Monday evening "to spend the night".  We dubbed her "Ellie", and she was cute and funny and everything one might expect a little kid goat to be.  But, as I mentioned, I was tired. And, Ellie was rambunctious! Even though she was only a few days old, she was an active little critter.  She slept for about two hours;  from thereafter, the only way to keep her from roaming the  house was for me to camp out on the office floor and keep her company.  Moxie and CassPurr assisted, and there we spent the night... Ellie, Moxie, and CassPurr, and me...  all scrunched together atop a couple of old quilts, with garbage bags under the "designated goat area", to at least attempt to protect the carpet.  I somehow had the foresight to put a plastic bag over the heating pad, then cover it with a pillow case.  Once Ellie discovered the heating pad, she pretty much stayed in one place. Meanwhile, I was on the floor - cold, tired, and not terribly thrilled with goat duty... Let's just suffice to say that Ellie's kidneys worked. And worked . And worked.

Me, holding the rambunctious Ellie

Tuesday morning I got up, looking like a "before" ad  for an insomnia medication; feeling like murder.  I barely coped with the morning chores, got my shower etc., and went into town to run errands.  I think I sleepwalked through most of the day. Ugh.  Bone tired. It'll work on your mind, sleeplessness... Fortunately Moshe realized that it would not be wise to bring home orphans of any sort Tuesday evening.  I got a good night's sleep, and  managed to get lots and lots of stuff done yesterday.

Lil Bit , between another newborn and a Momma Goat - TINY!

Then, yesterday evening, in walks Moshe with yet another baby goat! This one was even tinier than poor little Chestnut. Her Momma had given birth to three kids - a set of twins, and then, this little runt who is not quite half the size of the twins.  Momma goat rejected the runt, so Moshe and his coworkers bottle-fed her and held her throughout the day.  Then, she came home with Moshe...
Oh, tiny, but NOT sickly!  She had bright little eyes, and she wagged her tail crazily like Moxie does when she sees something that makes her happy.  Moshe dubbed her "Lil Bit".  Lil Bit and I hit it off from the first second. She tried to nurse my chin, then my nose, then my T shirt.  She took to the bottle like an old pro.  When she is hungry, she has a voice that sounds EXACTLY like a clown's horn on a unicycle! A LOUD clown's horn! I thought I'd laugh myself silly over the enormous noise coming from this tiny creature.  She sat in my lap all evening, very graciously wetting onto the towel/plastic provided for such a purpose.

Lil Bit has a good appetite

Not wanting to go back into sleep deprivation, I decided to try fixing the bed so that Lil Bit could sleep with us. I put a layer of plastic, then two or three layers of towels, then a nice soft baby blanket in the center of the bed.  As if she already knew the routine, she snuggled in and slept through the night. Oh, I woke up a few times and checked on her, like any adoptive mother would; and, every time she would awaken when I touched her , softly ma-a-a, then, go back to sleep.  Good baby.







Meanwhile, there ARE other animals here on our little farm...  Moxie got me up around midnight, wanting to go out.  I staggered down the hall and opened the back door for her.  It's almost a full moon, so the back yard was pretty well lit... and, what do I see, but one of the Peeps perched on top of the doll house on the back porch! "Okay", I think,  "One of the Peeps must have not made it inside the little coop before we closed it up for the night."   We have seen a mountain lion in our back yard twice now.  Once, I saw it; the second time Moshe and I both saw it.  So, of course, I couldn't just leave the little bird out there!
So, I go back up the hall, put my shoes on, grab a sweatshirt, walk back down the hall, and go outside to put the bird to bed... I picked up whichever Peep it was and carried it over to the little coop.  I opened the coop door. And it was empty! Oh my gosh!  I looked back around, and ALL the Peeps, plus Pretty Face, were perched on the back porch... on the back of the doll house, in flower pots, on the boot cleaner mat (GREAT, huh?), etc.  We had closed up the coop before ANY of them got the chance to go in for the night!  Eleven trips I made, carrying each chicken over to the safety of the coop.  Each of them squawked and put up a fight, then, immediately went quiet once they realized they were safely "home".  Moxie, of course, thought it was great sport!  Wow!  We get to play with the Peeps tonight!  Hooray!!! There's always one in every crowd... Last night it was Blondie... Blondie is one of the Peeps who is now a rooster.  Apparently he felt the need to act  "roosterly", so he crowed and flew, crowed and ducked under the Jeep, crowed and ran alongside the house.  Moxie herded him back toward me, and I got him and carried him to the coop. where he - like all the others.- immediately went into the trance-like sleep that only another chicken owner recognizes.

CassPurr and Lil Bit on the couch 

Thankfully, I too was able to go back to sleep, and woke up to a pile of happy animals - and a dry bed.  Lil Bit  - ever the gracious house guest - waited until after her morning bottle to wet. The chickens are happy to be back in their groove.  Moxie has spent most of the day outside cavorting with Beau.  And, CassPurr is the smartest one of all... With the exception of meal times, he has napped on the couch all day...
 Lil Bit is coming back to spend the night again this evening.  This time I am better-prepared, and, hopefully, we can all sleep the sound slumber of contentment.

 SHALOM  Y'ALL - TWYLA