Parsley, the big bad buck...

The girls got the weekend off from the milking stand and I let the kids do the milking for me but I'm running out of cheese and that is a situation that MUST be remedied!

So I had planned to switch them over to being away from the kids at night, but my evening feeding is at 6 or 7 pm, and my morning feeding is usually at 9 am. That is too long for them to be apart, so I fed them then went back out around 10pm and separated them. Here is the thing... last week it was niiiice. So Parsley was out in the outdoor pen. But I do not currently have a real shelter out there, just a table with a tarp over it. So he can not stay out there when the weather is really wintery and if you have any idea what our weather is like in Michigan over the last few days... well... it's wintery. lol.

So... what to so?

Parsley is mellow. Laid back. Super sweet. So i got the brilliant idea to try sticking him in with the kids at night.



So I stuck him on the milk stand while I moved the girls to his pen, then took him in to meet his children for the first time.

He took one look at the bucklings and puffed up and started blubbering and prancing. I had a lead on him just in case he acted like a jerk. The kids were stunned. What is this? It's a goat, but it isn't our moms! Chickory stood up tall, raised his hackles like a dog and snorted.



Parsley stood up to his full height, twisted his head and shot forward like he was going to butt those kids into next week and Chickory met him head to head without any hesitation..... and Parsley made a startled squeaky sound, started to run backward, and hid behind me trembling in fear. He kept burying his face in my side and shaking. He would peak out around me and as soon as one of the kids started to approach he would get all shaky and hide his eyes again.

He is such a tough guy, haha!!

So I took off his lead rope and slipped out of the stall and watched from outside. He kept standing up at the door bleating at me as if he were yelling "Help! get me outta here!" *chuckle*

I checked on them later and he was still looking timid and hiding from the kids, but he wasn't running from them anymore.

So this morning i went out and all four boys were standing in the corner like old friends, and when I went to take Pars out of the stall the kids tried to follow him. He couldn't get out of there fast enough, lol.



I got a half gallon of milk this morning. My little milker wasn't holding pressure very well, the cold was making the lines stiff. So I had to do a lot more hand milking than usual. Thyme is getting easier to milk, her teats are finally long enough to get a grip on, haha. Rosemary, though... HAHAHA! Her little thimble sized teats. *shakes head*