I brought this on myself albeit subconsciously in an effort to subdue the "noisy antics" that comes with every breeding season. The very same "noisy antics" that warm my heart and make me smile unfortunately do not amuse my neighbor.
We raised another orphan bottle baby, also an angora buckling, right behind Georgie...his name is Malachi..but was dubbed BooBoo..cause he was..such a little booboo-baby.
Just as things really got rolling..my husband took ill. We were also informed of the county restrictions on the number of hooved animals you may have per acre..and we were already over our limit. Other livestock owners in the area told us that as long as no one complained..things should be ok.. soo..on we went..happily raising our goats..fat, dumb and happy-so they say.
We got a neighbor in the fall. A man from the city who had no other place on his 4 acres to build his house but right opposite our goatyard. The subtle remarks began. I was just getting into the full swing here with this goat business and loving every minute of it..even though most of it was on my shoulders since Lynn wasn't feeling well. I didn't mind. I was doing all the standard dairy goat things..cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter and just starting to do soaps. The 'boys' were growing wonderfully and providing much appreciated affection to us..as Lynn's health worsened.
Lynn had his own bottle baby now..a little pygmy doe,Tammy, that he doted on (since the 'boys' were basically mama's boys). We had learned about pygora goats and with JimBob, we decided to breed for pygora fiber...when the time came.
Well.. ok..we ignored the neighbor and lived happily here in goatland..our means were very modest..now living in a $100.00 singlewide(it was a fixer-upper).. our goatyard was built mostly of free pallets..ok...let's face it ..we looked like Jed Clampett and the gang..but who cared?..way out here in nowhere Az...soooo..?
I made up my mind that we could just go on about our business..in spite of our new neighbor with is $400.000.00 home plunkt right next to our goatyard or thinking Planning and Zoning could come and tell us we had too many goats..I mean..it was our land..what could they do?..We were quiet and kept to ourselves.
I won't allow this to happen again..if my new neighbor needs to turn me in for too many goats...and I have to move..then I will sell the place and move . But I can't go on walking on eggs, trying not to disturb him, causing disruption in my own family here.
I enjoy every aspect of the angora goat..especially their little voices. I talk to them and they understand me...they talk to me and I understand them.. their voices are like music to my heart.
So ...I sit here..listening to the most precious sound God has created for me..the sound of new-born babes..and the soft mama-talk..and an occasional holler from a baby who temporarily lost mama..and instead of wrapping myself in the pure pleasure of it..I have this edge of fear that Mr Neighbor will turn me in for the "noise".
The feeling of that newly born baby held close to my chest..feeling the tiny heartbeat..and looking at that precious, perfect face...is a fast reminder of the WHY..I'm here..because I truly love them.
OH...I keep the light on at night now.
[Since this letter was written, in Dec 96..I received a written complaint on the number of goats..yup..you guessed it....from the neighbor..I won't go into all the gory details..but the bottom line was to get rid of all but 13 goats or get a very costly special use permit..that could (and probably would be) contested by any neighbor..and therefore be denied. Since I wasn't willing to remove one goat from the premises..nor did I have the money for the use permit..I went to the county supervisor..to plea my case... within a week he had someone out to inspect the goatyards and goats..the ONLY thing I was in violation of was the number of goats...and guess what?... There was another option..an agricultural exemption...and best yet..it cost nothing..It took 9 months of hard work and going to hearings and such..I was granted my ag exemption on Sept 5, 1997. I am now classified a breeder and there is no limit to the number of goats I can have..as long as they are well cared for and the place is maintained...and they are..all 90 of them... I haven't heard a word from the neighbor since...(although I have had 6 puppy deaths..unaccounted for since then).
My lights are on all night for safety ... I don't panic every time a goat has something to tell me..and I am enjoying life here in goatland...The moral of the story?.... Simple..Don't give up!...] I haven't given up.. I just have gotten smart..
Reprinted from The Goat Magazine..Aug/Sept'98 Issue
The sound of tiny voices already grace my intercom, filling my home with the most joyous sound in the world. Kidding season has an untimely beginning this year bringing with it; worries, sleepless nights, and much more work for me...not to mention muddy kids.
My husband and I started raising goats in 1994. We started with 4 goats we acquired from a nearby ranch. We built a modest goatyard on our 6.5 acres (which at that time was surrounded by privately owned [out of state] undeveloped land). Our lifestyle was quiet and very modest, living in a borrowed motorhome without power or phone. We developed a deep love for these animals and I began researching everything I could on the different breeds. We had two pygmy wethers, one nubian doe and one angora doe. As you well know, when you first start in an endeavor, everyone has advice to help you along...as well as their personal opinions on breed selection.
Our nubian herd increased in a matter of weeks by 6, two of which were already in-kid. I became an expert mid-wife literally overnight. It wasn't long after that we had the opportunity to raise a bottle baby pygmy buckling-JimBob...What a RUSH!..Still in our 24 ft motorhome, we raised him in our bed.
For the next two months I felt as though I had grown springs in my butt! Keeping up with this little guy was a challenge to say the least!...but I loved every minute of it.
April 9, 1995 changed my life forever...A dear friend of ours 45 miles away near a large angora ranch got for me another bottle baby to raise..a 9 day old angora buckling who was orphaned at birth..She named him Georgie-after George Burns..in hopes he would live a long life..despite his rough start...I aim to please.
Georgie was very shy and pretty small..
he also slept in the bed with us along with the pygmy and the 3 dogs. It was cozy. In a matter of a few weeks, Georgie was putting on some size and starting to come out of his shell. Early mornings became a favorite play time after a good nights sleep. Baby goats in the sink, on the table, on the dashboard, catapulting from the bunks and occasionally from our sleepy faces as we tried to sneak in and extra 5 minutes..before bottle time.
It was a warm Sunday morning in March and the 'kids' were extra active for 5am. Lynn fed them their bottles and delivered them to the outside goatyard to play. (I didn't think about the wooden chair I'd had out in the goatyard the evening before while I was sitting and enjoying the goats.) Within 2 minutes..the most horrendous sound came crashing through my ears...Georgie was screaming at the top of his lungs! We beat feet to the goatyard, a mere 15 feet from the motorhome, to find Georgie under the chair I had so carelessly left in the goatyard the evening before. His back leg was entangled in the slats and wrapped around the top of the chair that lay on top of him...I was sickened
All I could think was they shoot horses with broken legs and this was most definitely broken! Lynn gathered him up and wrapped him in a blanket...fifteen minutes later we were at our friend's place-45 miles away..(I mention now that there are no vets in the Verde Valley that deal in goats). His right thigh was broken in 2 places, just above the hock and up near the hip, 3 ribs were also broken and he was going into shock.
I'm sure I looked like a blithering idiot when I burst into the human emergency clinic 15 miles into town..screaming frantically that I had a kid with a broken leg and needed casting material. Somehow in the hysteria, the nurse was able to determine that it was a kid 'goat' I was about to doctor..and not a human one. She gave me the plaster casting material.
Two hours later..and after many prayers..we had Georgie's leg set and cast and were able to bring him out of shock. Days later... Georgie was ping-ponging around like he had good sense..in spite of his cast.. I took the chair out of the goatyard.
The relationship Georgie and I developed was the determining factor on the breed of choice..the angora goat.
Georgie is now 22 months old and is a healthy, BEAUTIFUL, very loving angora buck!
The last 22 months have brought many changes in my life.
The boys were 2 months apart in age..In the months to come our angora herd increased as I was in constant communication with the Mohair Council of America and Texas A&M University..learning all I could about the breed.
We blissfully went about our business..hey..we even got power that Sept. This made running the well pump much easier and provided much needed light out in the goatyard...too many nights running out with a Coleman lantern to deliver baby kids.. Our new neighbor promptly let us know he didn't appreciate the new lights..so in order to keep peace..off they went.
We also had gotten another dog to help our Border collie watch the goats..raised them both as pups and they did an excellent job..barking when the coyotes came in..Our new neighbor promptly let us know he didn't appreciate the barking dogs..he also informed us that he fed the coyotes..My patience was wearing thin.... I said nothing.
My world came crashing down on me like the eruption of Mt St Helen's! Lynn died in our son's arms Nov 13, 1995-brain cancer-he was 64....I thought about giving up. My son was 16 yrs old and needed a mom..as did Georgie, BooBoo and Tammy. I'd made a promise to provide for them the happiest life I could for as long as they lived...so...I picked myself up and brushed myself off..and went on.
In the year that Lynn's been gone I have added more angora does to the herd..our baby Georgie produced a fine son..as did BooBoo..The angora doe we got with the original four goats?..
she gave birth to my first pygora babies...twin does. She has since provided me with another pair of doe twins..this time angoras(now 3 weeks old). Tammy is due to kid here for the first time and I am on pins and needles. I have committed the mortal sin of goat breeding..I allowed an angora buck to breed a pygmy doe (well actually it wasn't my idea..but it happened). In spite of my efforts to breed Tammy with JimBob..you know the pygmy buck who used our faces as his personal trampoline in the motorhome?.. well..she had other ideas. She has always had a crush on BooBoo..and I'm afraid he's the father to this upcoming birth..so I'm holding my breath and praying all goes well.
This brings us back to the beginning of this letter. My does all came in season early this year. So, in an effort to keep them quiet and my neighbor from turning me in to P&Z(planning and zoning)..I bred everyone early. As a result of this..all my nubians went dry at the same time..leaving me with no milk..either for myself or for sales..which in turn means instead of the goats paying their own way..I am paying it for them..and when feed is at a premium high! My angoras are kidding in rainy weather..even though I have shelters out in the goatyard..I have no barn. So more often than not..I'm outside trying to make sure everyone is out of the weather..and warm.
I'm 42 yrs old and my son is 17..for the moment it's just us and the goats, the dogs and the chickens...he won't be here forever ..so I do most of the work myself..in training I guess you could say...but I love every minute of it!... and my son has done some things to make life a little easier..Like the automatic water valves..they really work and saves alot of filling buckets for the water..Hey and we're comin' up in the world..we have a phone and a "flushy".. uptown!..I'm learning to spin and mostly do locker-hook with the fiber..I really don't know that much about the fiber itself..But I have become pretty expert on the animals though.. out here you have to.. My goal is to be able to market the mohair, make soap and get it on the market..and write a book for goat owners..who like me, need to rely on themselves for the care and treatment of their goats..I have the only angora herd in the Verde Valley..and dream one day of having a blue-eyed angora. I'm also looking to get into the colored angoras..someday...
I am the 4-H leader in dairy goats here.. and would like to get some interest in angoras for 4-H'ers. None of my angoras are registered..and far from perfect, I'm sure..But I love every one of them...they are medicine for the soul and happiness for the heart..They are the Angels of the earth..Without my 'boys' I may have given up a year ago..but they helped bring me through with less heartache and more smiles than I would have had otherwise..Georgie is a big boy now..tipping the scales at around 150#..and little BooBoo right behind him..little butterballs..bless their hearts!
Author's note-April 23,1999:
Since this article has been written.. I have lost 3 more dogs..one just recently.. with no video of the neighbor poisoning the dogs.. there is no proof..the dogs have died of strychnine poisoning.. I watched the last dog die a horrible death.. I have also sold my place and am looking to move far far away from Mr Neighbor..Staying here is NOT worth the lives of innocent dogs..
..You were a good guardian dog...
Your brother, the goats and I miss you...
I'm so sorry you died such an awful death!
I love you, Guy...
*An update on this story: Since our move from Arizona to Missouri ..there have been 12 mobile homes placed on my old Rimrock property.
Guess it was too much for the neighbor.. he apparently moved out of town.. *s*..
There is always more than one way to skin a cat!
