I don't think it's a national holiday yet. But according to the Livestock Conservancy, October is the month to fete our caprine companions. Personally, I'm always down to celebrate goats.
The Livestock Conservancy is a nonprofit that works to preserve rare, heritage breeds of livestock. Like heirloom plants that have been cherished and stewarded for generations, heritage breeds exhibit desirable qualities—like attentive mothering skills, called broodiness, in chickens--that typically advantage smallholdings or household gardens or urban farms. Heirloom vegetables and flowers grow true and reliably from seed (meaning they're not hybrids, which can produce seed that grows into plants that in no way resemble their parents). In the same way, heritage livestock breeds have been beloved for generations, and breed true, unlike certain mixed breeds.
I had goat lust for years before they actually became part of my life. And during that period, I spent a lot of time on the Livestock Conservancy web site. I knew I wanted to get a breed of goat that was on the registry, preferably one that needed its numbers boosted.
For each type of livestock or poultry, the Livestock Conservancy assigns a conservation status to each breed. Conservation status categories range from "Critical," which means that current numbers of that breed are very low, through "Threatened," "Watch," "Recovering," and "Study."
When it was finally time for me to choose what kind of goat I would get, I consulted the Livestock Conservancy. I knew I wanted a mild-mannered, dwarf breed of dairy goat. At that time, in 2010, the Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat had "Recovering" status. Given their gentle disposition, manageable size, and high-butterfat milk, Nigerian Dwarfs became the darling of urban and suburban ag enthusiasts everywhere. That was the breed I decided on, and I have never regretted it.
Their current population numbers reflect their popularity, and now they're totally off the Livestock Conservancy's list.
In November 2011, I went to the Livestock Conservancy's national convention. I learned so much! If you like to nerd out about animal breeds, as I do, you would have a grand time at the convention.
The one I attended was in Wichita, Kansas. We convention-goers enjoyed a field trip to Wichita's Sedgwick County Zoo, which has the largest collection of rare breed livestock in the U.S. It was great to see certain breeds in real life that I had only seen in photos online, e.g., the charming Poitou donkey, and Pineywoods, one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the United States. Normally, I am not a fan of zoos, but I think it's a more appropriate model for introducing people to domesticated livestock breeds than to wild animals.
If you have tendencies in this direction, i.e., if you long to raise and care for farm animals, you may be tempted to develop other hobbies, like keeping sheep and angora goats, shearing them, and spinning their wool, which you will then knit and weave into scarves and mittens. Or you may develop a herd of goats and sheep, breed them, and delve into dairying and cheese-making. All good, wholesome fun.
Anyway, the web site is super fun to browse. Even if livestock is not a part of your current or future reality, this might be an organization you would like to support, or at least become acquainted with. When I started the Struggling Goddess project, this was one of the last memberships that I let go (for financial reasons). I still love to visit the web site, and I applaud the work of this unique organization and all the breeders who keep these species going.
My own journey with my goats has been unique. I have two female goats. You don't have milk without pregnancy and birth, so Step One for me on the road to fresh goats' milk was importing a buck to service them. Believe me when I tell you: It's not easy to get your goats laid. You need to make arrangements with a breeder to borrow a buck for a couple of weeks; you need to transport, house, and feed him; and you need to pay for the service.
I had everything set: I had selected a buck, and made sure his calendar was open. I had arranged to pick him up on a Saturday and import him to my house for a Sex Holiday. That Friday, the day before, I was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, and my goat breeding project fell by the wayside.
My goats remain virgins, though I often fantasize about breeding them. My relationship with them has deepened over the years. I love spending time with them. They wag their tails when they see me; they do all sorts of goaty things, like scrambling up steep hillsides and butting heads; and I am forever mesmerized by their fascinating eyeballs, which look like that line inside a level.
If you're so inclined, I highly recommend them. I have seen them thrive in very small urban yards as well as on big farms, and I think many more households would benefit from the company (and if you get there, the milk) of these gentle animals.
Here is a short movie of my adorable goats when they were very young:
As a Capricorn sun sign, this message has special meaning for me: