Goats are like potato chips!

Well, I have spent the last three days looking for a Nubian buck to breed to all the goats we have begun to accumulate over the last month. This endevour back into dairy goats truly started out innocently enough when I saw an ad at the feed store for the most gorgeous black and chocolate Nubian doeling I had ever seen. I read the ad and called out for my husband, Robert hoping he would be as excited as I was about this unbelievable find. I immediately started into my rant giving all the pros to me getting back into dairy goats after nine years as he was walking towards me. When that did not seem to phase him, I tried batting my eyes at my dear husband and saying, "But Honey, I really do have time to milk and make cheese now that I am not working". After nearly 21 years of marriage, I do believe he has become nearly immune to the use of my feminine wiles on him and he continued right out the door without even glancing at the picture posted on the board. I did a second take at the ad, as I started out the door, I turned and quickly snatched one of the number tabs off the sign, stuck it in my pocket. "Wow," I thought, "I am sure sneaky". My plan was to call the woman advertising this future milking treasure and maybe ask her to send me a picture or two. I spent the forty minute trip home thinking back to when my kids were raising Lamanchas for 4H and realizing how much I truly missed my goats. We got home, fed chickens, collected eggs and then unloaded the groceries we had gotten in Gillette. I sat down to relax for a few minutes and was surprised by my husband's next question. He asked, "When are you going to call about that goat?" I guess he really knows me well but just then, the goat situation went from debating it to all out obsession again. I did call about this doeling, found out she was still available and set up a meeting to pick her up. The family our little Nakita came from loved this baby goat and it was obvious by Nakita's personality. Instantly, it was love at first sight for me. While talking to the woman about goats, she mentioned she had a pregnant doe she was going to sell and asked if I would be interested. When she informed me that this pregnant doe was bred to Nakita's father, I had to have her. A week later, I was on my way to go pick up Natasha. Staci said she was ready to freshen any day and was hoping to get her to our place before she "popped". We did get Natasha home and within 48 hours we went from one doeling and a doe to three doelings, a doe and a buckling!





That was on May 3rd and a month and 10 days later, I have a trip scheduled to pick up a wonderful buckling. It did not stop there because Karen said she would give me a good deal if I also wanted to buy a milking doe. Well, if you are going across the state to pick up one goat, I guess you might as well pick up two! On Wednesday, the Hamm family will go from 5 goats to 7 goats. I am so very excited about the two new additions but believe it will be the last purchase for a very long time. I am so fortunate to have such a easy-going husband and know he will feel just as overjoyed as I will next year when all the does start kidding! Ahhh, I am so blessed to have a herd of dairy goats! There will be an update on Wednesday or Thursday about our voyage home.