Mama goat, two lambs a blended farm family
Editor’s note, Part 1: The following story was submitted to UpBeat last fall. We didn’t find a home for it on the page at that time, but following a bitterly cold February and with spring just around the corner, it seemed like the timing might be right for it now.
Springtime brings with it new beginnings, new love and growth. The barnyard at Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm, near Metcalfe, was no exception last year — filled with foals, calves, kittens, ducklings, chicks, goslings, piglets and bunnies.
Last spring at Stanley’s, the white goat, Bubbles, gave birth to a kid, and the big black sheep, called Sheep, gave birth to two fluffy lambs.
Unfortunately, Sheep passed away due to birthing complications, and, equally sadly, the goat’s baby did not survive. So the barn became filled with the bleating sounds of two very hungry lambs and one mama goat, full of milk and very uncomfortable.
Uncle Art loves any opportunity to find a way to make things work out, and in the barn he found such a challenge. With a bit of a struggle and a rope around her neck, Uncle Art held Bubbles still while each of the baby lambs had a good, long drink. That brought them all a sense of calm, and within a few days the lambs were drinking milk from the goat like this was natural.
One day, while walking around the barnyard, I began to feel a little worried because I could see neither the lambs nor the goat. Before long, though, Bubbles sauntered around the corner of the barn with two fat little lambs trailing behind her. They all stopped so the lambs could have a drink. The goat and the lambs had become a family.
Mama taught her adopted babies how to eat out of a bowl, how to play and where to drink water. They travel around the barnyard — always together — and Bubbles constantly watches out for her babies. By Thanksgiving, the lambs were nearly as tall and almost twice as round as their adoptive mother.
That goat is a good mother to her baby lambs. … True love at Stanley ’s.
Editor’s note, Part 2: I called PattiJane recently to find out how the family was doing. Sadly, one of the babies did not make it through the winter, but the close bond remains between mama goat and her other lamb.