It's very important to get this little guy's name right. It's not pronounced the way you see it. You have to go Tiiiiiiiiiiiim with a Southern Draw and you have to say it kind of loud and obnoxious. These are not my rules. It's the way the world wants it and that's how it has to be.
He is a Nubian Pygmy Dwarf born on Thanksgiving of 2019. We've had him since March of this year.
He stayed in the walk out basement when we very first got him because I was still working on the fencing for where he would stay. As time went on I would let him outside in the yard so he could eat fresh foliage. Soon, 30 minutes outside turned into an hour, an hour into two hours and before you knew it he could stay outside without supervision.
The coolest part is he stays right around the house and doesn't wander off.
He gets along with our three dogs and now my family sits on the porch and we watch the four of them play. I'm starting to wonder if he thinks he is a dog! He can fit between the railings on the porch and that is where he sleeps.
When he wants in the house he bangs his head on the screen door until you can't help but notice that he wants in.
Goats are social creatures and we didn't want to put him in the pasture until we have more goats so we still allow Tim to Free Range. We technically did have more goats. Unfortunately, this is where the story takes a dark turn.
We have been learning more about goats because we would like to have a small herd(8 to 10?) of them. It's not standard practice to keep a Billy in a pen with Nannies(female goats) full-time because you wouldn't know when the Nannies are due. Also, the Billy could harass the kids and even the Nannies. Most people keep their Billies separated from the Nannies and Kids until breeding time.
It took us longer than we expected but we finally found two female Kids that are the same breed as Tim.
Our goal was to allow Tim to continue Free Ranging and these two little gals would stay in the pen which is about a third of an acre.
Everything was going really good. The Kids would stay in the pasture during the day and we would put them in the shed at night because they are so young.
Then It Happened
My daughter loves to help with the animals. She was taking her turn to check the water for the Kids. She comes in the house with big elephant tears in her eyes and says "I think the goat is dead and I can't find the other one".
I go to the pen and sure enough there is a dead goat. I walk around to check the fence and something had literally bashed its way through the fence and into the pen to get to the babies. The second kid has never been found.
We have tons of wild boar, cougars, and even bears around here so it's anyone's guess what broke into the pen. Now, I am back to the drawing board of how to keep wild animals out of the pen before we get more goats.
Right now the plan is to put up electrical wire on the outside of the fence to keep intruders out. Additionally, we will probably put our Brown Lab into the pen when we do get more goats.
It was definitely a sad day when we lost the goats(It was also quite a hit on the pocketbook too!). However, we knew starting a small farm would not be easy. It is definitely teaching us about nature and the natural tendencies of the wild. I am definitely beginning to understand why it it takes a strong minded person to be a farmer.
I want a Tim!! That is awesome.
He is definitely one of the most fun animals I have ever owned.