Well Hello, Harry!

The new buck looks over his shoulder at our buck pen.

This morning our operations manager directed us to the home of a gentleman in Sumner County who had a pair of goat bucks he wished gone. While I had thought we might just have enough stinky bucks on our farm already, she cited the need for genetic diversity (a fair argument) and explained that at least one of the bucks "fainted" readily. Just before we left home, though, she received a call--the two bucks in question had met with a disastrous end when attacked by loose dogs, but there was yet another buck there in search of a new home. We set out in our little rattletrap farm pickup pulling its not-so-rickety little trailer to pick up a goat about whom we knew very little. My wish was that if it were a fainting buck that it be naturally horned because our best fainter buck, Joshua, is naturally polled--and we have a number of polled fainter does with whom I wish him not to breed.

Harry's pierced ear.

Luckily, the new guy is an adorably cute black-and-white fainter buckling, with horns, born early this year. He looks a good deal like our little buck Hugh, but he will grow past Hugh's limited stature next year. I like that his coat is long, too. After he was loaded in our little trailer, I noticed that he, too, had encountered the marauding dogs--escaping simply with a pierced ear. He must be a fast little guy, I'm thinking.

Although he came with a Spanish-sounding name, we considered our bank of names to be used and chose Harry, in honor of a former neighbor--Harry R. After all, this little goat is hairy observed our operations manager--the same woman who named our barn cat Barney. We are simple people here, and easy to entertain.

Harry contemplates his new digs.

 Harry is settled for the time being under the hay storage trailer awaiting his medical clearance to the herd. He appears to be healthy and I won't likely make him wait the requisite 30 days before providing him with company (softy that I am). Perhaps Hugh would like to be Harry's new pal. I'm thinking he will be--within the coming week.