Surprising Goat Facts from a New Goat Owner

Becoming Tennessee Fainting Goat Owners

I think we are officially crazy now. As if leaving our jobs in DC and moving to the country to restore an old farmhouse weren’t enough, we got chickens and pigs. And now in perhaps the most crazy news ever, our family just got ourselves two baby Tennessee fainting goats! Everyone, meet Snicker and Doodle!

Why on earth would we think it’s a good idea to get two animals we know virtually nothing about when we’re still in the thick of having twins (who just turned 8 months old by the way and they’re absolutely in the most adorable stage of babyhood EVER in my opinion)? The short answer: weed control.

Dominating the Weeds on our Property

The pandemic brought its challenges for everyone, and with our family it was difficult because of the high risk twin pregnancy and me being too unwell to get out of bed most of the time. It felt like as soon as I stopped being too nauseated to function, I transitioned to a different issue (I developed ventricular tachycardia which basically meant my heart was beating a little too frequently due to all the work of growing two humans). For 9 months straight, David had to take care of me by himself– oh and our 5 year old and 3 year old at the time. He had to prioritize what things around the house “needed doing” and what “things could wait”. And on the “things could wait” list came the mowing and weed eating around the fences/ the pig pen/ area behind the deck in the back yard.

Burdock and Poison Ivy

After a year of neglect, those areas developed two troubling issues… burdock and poison ivy.

We’d never really come across burdock before but if you google it one of the first things you’ll find is that it’s not a native plant to North America. The second thing you’ll notice is that you really need to chop it down within the first year of growth to control it. And if you keep googling, you’ll see that it has little burrs ALL OVER that attach to animals (such as dogs and pigs).

Our second issue is poison ivy, which always seems to start growing around the deck/ former pool area, and I’ve witnessed these babies gobble some up firsthand. YES!!!!!! *I got poison ivy really badly right before I gave birth to Eve nearly 7 years ago from pulling up regular grass in our front yard. Turns out poison ivy venom can live in the soil even after the plants are no longer there. You’re welcome for that fun fact of the day.*

Farm Status Achieved

Sooooo all that to say… we’re officially a farm now I think. Right? If you have a dog, an outdoor cat, 9 chickens, 2 pigs, and 2 goats then that’s probably the requirement to go from “guess these people like animals” to “oh they live on a farm.”

If you’re in the neighborhood please stop by to come meet them! Snicker & Doodle are truly adorable.