Thorin

        We have yet another goat right now, temporarily. He is a three week old buckling that we are going to keep until he is breeding age, use him for Eponine, and then sell him. I said before that we had been planning to breed Eponine in a couple of weeks, but found this little guy on Craigslist for only $100 and decided it was a better idea. There is pretty much only one farm around here which has good buck service (meaning a wide selection of studs), but the lady who runs it isn't very business-like or efficient. We called her on the number she advertised on the website a few times, and got no callback, and several others have had the same problem. She also says one stud fee covers all visits under your doe gets pregnant, yet she wouldn't let our cousins come back, and one of their goats still has negative results from the pregnancy test. So we weren't too thrilled with this monopoly.

        Enter Thorin:

        No, not you. Someone just slightly less majestic. Ah, here we go:

        We went to get him today after I did the math portion of the CAHSEE, and brought him home this afternoon. He hadn't been getting a whole lot of attention so isn't real friendly, but I am sure that will change after a few days of socialization and me giving him his bottle. He is a sturdy little man for only three weeks old, but I snuggled him on my lap for the hour and a half drive back:

        Sorry for the lousy pictures; I wasn't exactly in the most photo-friendly circumstances. He hasn't ever taken a bottle before, so I am having to teach him. Right now, he hates it and I have to pry his mouth open to get some milk in, but he will soon learn. Insert evil laugh *here*.
        Saying hello to Larkspur and the rest of the farm:

         He is a curious little guy!

         Lily, Daisy, and Thorin:

        Thorin is acclimating nicely to his new home, although Eponine is terribly jealous that I am giving attention to another goat other than her. I am sure she will change her mind when he matures a bit. After we use him for our breeding purposes, we will have to find a new home for him. It would be nice if we could still have him close and use him to breed Eponine, Lily, and Daisy in the future, but that might not be possible. As much as I love him and would love to keep him, I know that we can't have a smelly and obnoxious buck on our small property. That is not keeping me from spoiling him while he is mine, though. I have already bought him a leather collar like the one Eponine has to grow in to, and a tag with his name engraved. That may or may not have anything to do with the Thorin in the first picture, just sayin'.

Blessings,

Reyna