# Look what I found....A baby goat...



## Oldfishlady

I never wanted a goat, don't need a goat and really didn't want one living in the house....But what can you do when a helpless, injured very young-tiny baby goat is out in your pasture-soon to be killed by the horse. This little girl "Lucy" still has her umbilical cord attached, fractured shoulder-weighs about 2 pounds and thin as a rail-hollow....How in the world did this thing get to my house anyway....The nearest homestead is over a mile away. We did a search and didn't find the mother. We put out the word so if anyone owns the things they can come get it....On one hand-I hope someone calls and on another I hope they don't even though I don't want a goat-but she sure is sweet and I do love to bottle raise critters...lol....But I will regret it in 6 months....they do grow up after all.
I have no idea what kind she is so I posted on a goat forum, they think she under a week old and waiting on responses on the breed.

Here is a pic...


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## LebronTheBetta

This is the weirdest discovery ever that I've heard on any forum. lol
BUT, she sure is adorable! I hope she'll survive. Based on how you cared for that possum and your fish, I think she will.


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## Romad

Wow :shock: The poor thing! She's soooooooo cute.

She sure knew where to go for nurturing and care - maybe there's an animal "grapevine" that directs them to your house 

I wonder what happened to the mother? Please keep us posted on how she does.


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## FishFriend9292

So adorable! I have a goat, sort of... it lives in Kenya but I bought it for them and it provides milk and cheese for the family.


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## Oldfishlady

Laffs....I often wonder if there is a sign posted with an arrow....."This way if you are lost, injured or hungry"....lol....I do seems to get a lot of critters both domestic and wild and I am out in the middle of nowhere.....

I will admit....I do like it a bit too.....Motherly instinct to want and sometimes need to nurture something....Often they help me as much as I help them.....

These things sure pee a lot...lol....I am getting pretty good at getting a can under her rear to catch it before it hits the floor....lol....


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## Destinystar

How adorable best of luck with her of him !!!


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## Bounce

I've raised several goats and lambs in the house! They are so much fun! 

Try using puppy pads. I would throw one under them when they started to pee. You won't have to have as good of aim as you do with a can! :lol: Also, may I suggest a whisk broom and dustpan! :lol:

The very first one I raised in the house was such a pet. She walked on a leash and would jump up into any vehicle if the door was open. She liked going for rides, just like a dog. :lol:


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## registereduser

oh you are lucky! I always wanted a goat! They are supposed to be good friends for horses, no? Are there such things as feral goats? Maybe the mother was living off the land and had the baby and died soon after childbirth? Then the baby found it's way to you?

This would make a great children's storybook!


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## Laki

Aww!! congrats on the new baby! 

I thought sheep and goats imprint? It will grow up thinking you are its mom?


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## shellieca

Too cute. I love goats. You can always rehome her when she's healthy & old enough . . .


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## Oldfishlady

registereduser said:


> oh you are lucky! I always wanted a goat! They are supposed to be good friends for horses, no? Are there such things as feral goats? Maybe the mother was living off the land and had the baby and died soon after childbirth? Then the baby found it's way to you?
> 
> This would make a great children's storybook!


That is what I was thinking too...it is highly possible and since we have lots and lots of coyotes-they would have taken care of the mothers body right away-we have a pretty big place and hard to check every corner...lol

I have seen goats as stable mates for horses, however, my horse has never seen a goat and he didn't care much for it trying to snuggle up to him. I am not sure if the horse broke his shoulder or if it was already broke-but when it was spotted the horse was rearing up ready to stomp the poor little girl and if he did...It would have been over for it-Its tiny body wouldn't have a chance against a 1200 pound horse.

It is pretty cute watching the interaction between the goat and all my cats and the dogs in the house don't know what to think either....lol....

I hope the people on the goat forum will be able to tell what breed she is-It doesn't matter, but I would still like to know-especially if it a regular size or pygmy type-So I will know what to expect as far as full grown size and more important feeding-I would think a pygmy wouldn't need as much food-regarding ounces every 4-6hr while bottle feeding.
At least she is eating good....lol....what goes in must come out....lol....

If anyone has an idea...let me know....

Good idea on the puppy pads...I am using newspapers right now-along with my can to catch pee. its just a matter of time before my house smells like a barn yard...lol....Not that that is a bad things so much as I don't want it to smell like it...lol....

My house is already an animal lovers heaven.....laffs....


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## Bounce

No guess on her breed, but her color is called chamoisee which is pretty common in Nigerian Dwarf goats (but other regular-sized goat breeds can also have that color pattern -- so basically that's no help :lol. 

Can you get more pictures with her next to something to gauge her size by. Even then it would just be a guess as to whether she was a mini or a regular size goat because if she happened to be a twin she would be of smaller size. To me, the miniature baby goats seemed to have more proportionate legs while the regular sized baby goats had a more leggy look.

I would start to offer her hay. Just leave it out where she has access to it. It is surprising how soon they will begin to pick and eat. They're very curious and want to explore everything by tasting and chewing. Which reminds me - watch electrical cords! Mine all have had an affinity for them. I had to tack them up on the walls (the cords -- not the goats, even though I wanted to nail the goats to the wall at times)!


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## LadyVictorian

I KNOW WHAT SHE IS

She is a Barbados Sheep, I use to have one and that is exactly what she is. Same color and everything.










They are like the big horned sheep of Africa, very beautiful and males are highly aggressive. We use to have a boy for 15 or 16 years who was the best little guy ever. If it's a girl no worries on aggression, if it's a boy fix it soon as possible. The horns will never grow to their full length if gelded young but they never get aggressive either. Males left in tact can kill people, they are pretty scary things. Our boy was a sweetheart though aside from headbutting here and there, he use to follow us around like a dog. I really miss having him.

Here is a male









Lucky find too they are considered an exotic pet. We spent like $58 on getting our boy and had to import him from another country too. >.<

I would have been surprised if anyone outside of Africa would have known what these guys are. They are not a common pet as they are exotic and seldom owned outside of zoo's because they are so dangerous. Funny that someone like me who owned them because we keep exotic animals found this thread xD


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## xShainax

AWWWWWW Such a cute little kid.  I think it's a miniature goat. My god mother raises them as pets


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## Hadoken Kitty

What a cute little thing!!! I hope she heals alright. At least she found a good place to go for care.


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## Bounce

Barbados are very common where I live. There are lots of people breeding and raising them here and there are pens upon pens of them at the auction sales. Though not my favorite, we even have a couple of females. :lol:

At the very left of the photo you can see about half of the rear end of one of the Barbados females. LOL That's her two spotted babies beside her.


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## ILLBETHEJUDGE

Oldfishlady your threads are always interesting and your advice always the best. Don't personally know you but I love the fact that you always make time and space for the lost, poor and injured.


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## LadyVictorian

If she had spotted babies then she isn't a purebred Barbados. They only come in one color if they are purebred.

Also find it bizzar anyone would breed them for anything other than exotic pet trade. Their fur does not yeild good wool and purebreds are too scrawny for meat. Milk at the most is what I can think of. I know the people in the Carabeans have breed them with other sheep to produce meat and milk but many of those are not considered true Barbados Sheep.


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## Bounce

She was bred to a spotted ram.


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## xShainax

My cousin had a pet goat who was better than her pit bull as a guard animal. :lol:


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## LadyVictorian

Bounce said:


> She was bred to a spotted ram.


Ah I see, why did you cross breed her? True purebred Barbados are so beautiful. Completely worthless for anything but impressive animals. We imported ours to make sure we got a purebred since many people don't actually have purebreds in the states but rather crosses. Purebreds are very thin scrawny animals under their fur and don't produce wool nor good meat so the people of Barbados have breed them with other sheep. In order to get true purebreds you normally have to nab them from true breeders.


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## Bounce

LadyVictorian said:


> ...Completely worthless... ...don't produce wool nor good meat...


That's pretty much your answer right there. :lol: 

Our sheep are for meat and thus why I said the Barbados are not my favorites. I'd rather be feeding a couple of good meat goats than these Barbados. :lol:


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## LadyVictorian

The guy we got our boy from raised them for big game hunting because they are very popular with their huge horns in big game hunting. Like the big horned sheep here in the US. My dad wanted the sheep so we could just have a living one around rather than putting one on the wall. He is a big game hunter and wanted to show all his friends but we fixed him so young his horns never reached their full size. His father was massive though, his horns were enormous and his chest was impressive. He was hunted and stuffed though.


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## Bombalurina

Best of luck, OFL! I know if I was an animal lost in the wilds I'd be making a beeline for your house.


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## Maddybelle

OFL, your little girl looks like a Pygmy to me. Her color is indeed very common in that breed, and the shape of her head and face is very indicative of a Pygmy. Good luck with her, she looks like a sweety, and could definitely use some TLC!


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## MattsBettas

That's so neat! She's lucky to find you!


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## Oldfishlady

You are correct LadyVictorian...Its not a goat..its a Barbados sheep/lamb......The lady at our local corner store is involved in 4H with her children with goats and sheep and the second she saw her...she told us what is was.....And then I gave the little lamb to her...As much as I wanted to keep this sweet little girl...I don't need sheep-especially in the house and that is where it would end up and in my yard and that would make it hard to garden...lol..-plus since it is a herding animal-she needed to be with other sheep/goats and we felt it best that she be reared with her own kind-kinda like keeping schooling/shoaling fish.

I talked with the lady that I gave her to and got to see Lucy since she went to work with her and she told me she slept in bed with her....lol...So I know she has the perfect home-especially since she has over 30 sheep/goats that they show. And we can go and see her anytime we want...

I already miss her but I know it was in her best interest to go live with a person that has lots of experience with the species.


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## Romad

That sounds like a perfect happy ending  I'm glad you found her a great home.


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## LadyVictorian

awww man if I lived closer I would have taken her in a heartbeat. I love Barbados Sheep and miss our little guy we use to have. I am happy she is with her own kind though, they can be a handful if raised alone and the only reason we could get away with only having one was because our sheep got adopted into the miniature horse herd and fully accepted he was one of them. We would halter him up and take him over small jumps and everything with the horses, he thought it was so fun. I am sure she will grow into a beautiful little girl and give the other sheep some hell xD Those buggers sure love to give everyone the run around, especially when they are lambs.


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## aemaki09

Aw! I'm so glad she found the perfect home! I bet you got really attached in the short time you had her though. Luckily you can visit her.


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## finnfinnfriend

What a little darling! I'm glad you found her and were able to find a good place to take her. No use having a pet you don't really want...Though I know you would have taken great care of her anyway


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## VictorP

Wow! This is awesome!


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## Aluka

wow, this makes such a great story!, I'm glad you guys found a happy ending, i hope you will post pictures of her in a few months =)

She is so cute, i bet she will grown to be extremely beautiful!


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## Viva

Awww a little Barbados! So cute! We have those at the petting zoo I work at...I always think they're goats too because they have hair instead of wool. But I've learned since that a sheep's tail hangs down and a goat's tail sticks up. Glad she found a good home!


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## mellcrowl

Well your in for a shocker cause you goat is actually a sheep. He/she is a barbados, they're very common where I live as they're extremely hardy little things. We've had a few and they're actually very sweet and in my opinion way easier going than goats as they aren't destructive


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## mellcrowl

Also as far as use many people here use them to eat invasive plants such as black berries and poision oak. I know they can also survive well wild as there is a herd north of us that has been wild for 20+ years


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## Kbud

Awwww!


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## efg321

ILLBETHEJUDGE said:


> Oldfishlady your threads are always interesting and your advice always the best. Don't personally know you but I love the fact that you always make time and space for the lost, poor and injured.


I heartily agree! Old Fish Lady Rules!!!


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## bryzy

I had to post here! She was very CUTE. I live in a rural part of Illinois, in town though. There are a few goat/lamb farmers around here. Mostly produce and cow farmers.


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