This weekend we brought home two Nigerian dwarf goats. One male, he’s reddish brown and white with light blue eyes, and one female, she’s black and white with brown eyes. It’s something we’ve been thinking about for awhile. We had a goat in the past, but it wasn’t dwarf, and while super sweet, he ate EVERYTHING. Everything meaning things that he was not supposed to eat. We ended up giving him to our neighbor after he ate a prized mango tree my husband had just planted. That was the final straw. Even though he was given to the neighbor, we still fed and and treated him like he was ours as he was literally right next door to us. It ended up being a win/win for both of us.
We’re hoping these dwarfs will be easier to manage. They’re beautiful, and way smaller.
We’ve named them Bonnie and Clyde. They stole our hearts right away, but when they escaped the newly created pen overnight, they earned their names. Luckily they didn’t get too far. The boy is super sweet and doesn’t put up too much of a fuss if you hold him. Bonnie, however, is a little more high strung. When we caught her to put her back in the pen, she screamed so loud, I was sure the neighbors thought we were beating a small child. For such a tiny little thing, she’s a handful. It was quite the show to catch them, and if we weren’t laughing so hard, we probably could’ve caught them way quicker. They’re simply the cutest things.
We penned in a nice size area for the two of them. It used to be any area where we had our taro loi, but it became overgrown with honohono grass. There are also two moringa trees nearby, and they love eating those leaves. We put in a nice little house for cover during rain. They seem to like standing on top of it better than being in it, but it hasn’t rained yet, so that may change.
We decided to get the Nigerian dwarfs because they produce a lot of milk. We’re big fans of the goat cheese sold at our local farmers market, and I’ve seen a few classes offered on how to milk and make cheese. I’d also like to use the milk to make some homemade soaps. It’s going to be a large learning curve for my husband and I, but we’re excited about this opportunity.
Another volcano update for those who’ve been asking. Attached is a picture of the tide pools at Kapoho. We went there at Christmas time with my family. The water is geothermally heated, and the snorkeling is beautiful. It’s just a special place on our Island. Unfortunately tonight it is under threat. Civil Defense ordered mandatory evacuations as once lava crosses Highway 137 all access to Kapoho and Vacationland would be blocked. This has now happened. It has already destroyed many homes in the area, and lava is just 400 yards to the ocean and to this area pictured below. There are many many more houses between the lava and the ocean. I’m grateful for the time we were able to spend in the area over the years, and especially this past Christmas, not knowing it would likely be our last. I will forever cherish the memories made there.
Leave a Reply