Ruby's Herd

She didn't know, there's no way she could've known. I didn't really know that a Nanny goat would reject a baby that had been away too long.  But that is the truth and a baby goat just isn't physiologically ready to make it on its own until it's weaned.

We needed a vacation. More accurately, we needed a distraction from the tedium of raising kids.  So we headed to the beach or Branson or something socioeconomically equivalent.  Lauren asked Her to watch over our little farm because She's one of the most capable people we know.  But She saw the five day old kid out in the cold and instinctively rescued it. We had decided on the name "Sapphire" since we were still going with the Jewel theme.  You see, Ruby and Jasper, both named by different previous owners, were Sapphire's parents.  We've got a whole treasure trove of names including Topaz, Sardonyx, Garnet, Amber, and so on.

When She brought Sapphire back to the herd, Sapphire was no longer a part of the Group.

A baby goat gets its status from its mother.  Ruby was the Queen of the herd, Sapphire was a Princess by birth and that gave her enormous privilege.  She could feed with Ruby at anytime without fear of jealous head butting from her cousins who were all Princesses in their own rites.  Sapphire could squeeze unchecked into the center of the goat huddle when it got cold.  But every once in a while, Ruby had to butt her own baby out of the herd.  I'm thinking that babies who don't get butted out into the cold every once in a while forget how to seek the herd.  Maybe Ruby was preparing the young Princess for the inevitable trials ahead.  Ruby was building her Group.  A strong member for a strong group.  But when Sapphire came back warm and full of canned donor milk, no goat remembered her.

Ralph knew what was happening but he had no way to tell me; I hadn't learned to listen to him yet.  He sat with Sapphire stoically when the goats threatened to butt her.  He was showing me what to do.  Keep the kid close to the herd, but protect it.  So we did that all day and it worked!  I periodically milked Ruby and rubbed her milk all over Sapphire to cover up any lingering smell of people.  I fed her a 6th bottle of fresh mother's milk.  She was healthy and warm and active.  Goats are tough.  I went to bed.  She died of exposure that night because she lacked the status to make it to the center of the Group.

Then Garnet grieved.  Garnet was a distant cousin to Sapphire and they were similar in age.  Garnet laid down that afternoon and didn't get up for three days.  I checked her temp, it was high.  I gave antibiotics and fluids.  By day 2, Garnet was stationed on an old couch in my shop where she received electrolytes and oxygen through a welder hose.  She got up around noon of day 3 and recovered very quickly.  She wanted to graze so I leashed her and took her to the pasture.  It had been three days, would the Group reject her?  Garnet's mother is Teet (more on her later) and she's the strangest goat I've met.  Remember "BrushFire" from the other story?  He passed on all of his weirdness to his daughter Teet.  Teet is undeniably weird. Anyone who's had to get her unstuck from the fence can attest to that.  She's also good.  Teet has always had to rely on the Group.  She never had status or privilege so her instinct was immediately to rejoin the lost Princess.  Garnet will maybe be queen one day but her mother has to stay in a special pasture because she can't keep her head out of the fence.  Maybe Ruby forgot just how bad things can get outside of the Group. I think it's clear that Ruby's Herd was not a Group until they were tested.  Garnet  gave the Group a second chance after disaster.  Teet founded the Group when she decided to reunite.  I'll always call it Ruby's Herd because she is the matriarch. If Ruby is the head of the Group, Teet is its soul.