Our Backyard Animals - Meet the Goats!

We have pygmy goats, four of them - Hermione, Neville, Harry & Ron (yes, they're named after Harry Potter!!). We got goats in 2012 and so that makes them all around 2 years old, as they were all born within a few months of each other.

We first were interested in goats, as we loved their personalities and we had a area of our garden with steep banks that was really hard to mow - perfect for goats of course, as they could keep the grass down and are mountain animals. A lot of people ask if we milk them, the answer is no, for a start three of them are boys, and as they are pygmies they wouldn't produce enough milk to make it worth the effort. So, they're basically pets who help with the lawn mowing!!

We got them from a farm in Carlow when they were a few months old. Hermione's mum died so she was hand reared so is totally people orientated. Ron and Neville are brothers and Harry is the youngest by just a week. When we first got them, the boys were quite scared, but they soon came out of their shell, helped by Hermione's confidence too. 

We've made them a big field area with lots of toys for them to jump and play on. They are such fun to watch and love lettuce leaves as treats. They get on really well with the chickens, they all share together. Although, saying that, sometimes the chickens will go into the goat shed, and if the goats come to the door, the chickens will flap and cluck and scare the goats away, lol!

Anna xoxo

Amber with Hermione

Ron, Neville & Harry exploring the wheelbarrow. Just a few seconds after this picture was taken, they all jumped out!!

Hermione climbing on one of the toys, this picture is from just a few weeks ago