The Nubians, a Year Later

When Matty arrived she was trying to make friends with the herd boss, Celia, who told her in no uncertain terms that friendship was out. She was the boss and that was final. Celica has been sold this year, but two of her daughters are retained.

Matty's copper coat is finally turning black and her new growth is the colour it should be. Yay!

Matty's neck is already black and white as it should be.

and her tail is growing full and fluffy again. Wonderful!

Last year I bought 2 Nubian does and a buckling from a goat dairy that was forced to close due to family problems. The goats were not very well, but were extremey friendly and good natured and I  really liked them. Unfortunately the episode turned into a very sad drama with the previous goat owner and all the Nubian kids, 11 of them died over the next few months. The vet was unable to help. It turned out they had worms so badly and they were not treated with something that was effective. They became too anemic and died. I cried for days. 

But the adults were stronger although they were deficient. Dory's coat was copper coloured and should have been black.Matty was not in as bad of shape. She is older, the grandmother of Dory as a matter of fact, but she has had a harder time gaining ground becuase of her age. It has taken an entire year and a lot of dedication to help these girls recover. Finally, Dory's coat is returning to her normal colour and the fishtails they had are growing hair again, both signs of recovery. Matty still has more needs, but they are out on bush forage for the rest of the summer and should be able to acquire the missing nutrients they neec. 

My aim is to breed them in the fall if they have recovered fully and to have two milk goats next year. They are trained to milk and will stand with no problem. Matty, the grandmother is much better than Dory, having had several years more practice. I love these goats and have worked hard to get them back to health. And they love me too.