Here Come the Brides | Chickens in the Road

Sep
8

Yesterday, we drove a couple hours south to Beckley, West Virginia, where we met a man from Tennessee….

….who bid a sad farewell to these two.

(Fanta on the left, Sprite on the right.)

I have picked up quite a few animals in the past 18 months and I have never picked one up where the previous owner was not sad, whether they were “giveaway” animals or sold. I think that’s a good thing. In my experience, people care, really care, about their animals, and that this is universal rather than rare says something good about the world.

We went straight to Wal-Mart.

It was rainy and we needed to cover the carrier with a tarp. Sprite and Fanta attracted much interest in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Everyone who passed by had to stop and stare and smile. Goats make people smile.

One man stopped and said he went with a friend to a rodeo in Kentucky one time, got drunk, and bought 17 goats. The next day, his friend said, “What are you going to do with 17 goats?” And he said, “What goats?”

You never know what people are gonna tell you in Wal-Mart parking lot.

We got our two baby girls covered with a tarp and hit the road. Sprite and Fanta are fainting goats. Fainting goats have a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita that causes them to abruptly fall over when they’re startled. (It’s painless.) The story goes that this trait was bred into them so that they could be placed with flocks of sheep as bait–predators would hone in on the frightened–and thus fallen–goats, giving the valuable sheep time to escape. Or so the story goes. Fainting goats are slightly smaller than the standard goat and are classified as meat goats, though they aren’t generally raised for meat because they’re also a threatened breed. They’re primarily raised as novelties.

I love novelties.

And Sprite’s eyelashes. I’m in love with Sprite’s eyelashes.

Sprite and Fanta are sisters, 11 weeks old. Sprite is black and white, and Fanta is an ebony queen.

An ebony queen meeting another queen. Queen Clover.

TAKE COVER!

We kept Sprite and Fanta separated in the goat pen for their first night. Time to adjust to their new surroundings….

….and time for their new surroundings to adjust to them.

Everybody had to check them out.

And they had to check everyone–and everything–out in return.

But in the end, you know there’s only one opinion that matters.

These two fainting does, along with our fainting buck Pepsi, represent the completion of our mini-herd of fainting goats. Some day, in a year, when they are old enough, they will be Pepsi’s brides.

Pepsi???? LOOK WHAT I BROUGHT YOU!!!!

Pepsi: “Yabba dabba doo.”

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28 Responses
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9-8
4:01
am

I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!

Tracey In Paradise Pa. - Reply
9-8
4:51
am

Sprite and Fanta are adorable!! Your farm is becoming more and more interesting and I love it. That last picture of Pepsi is just too much. It makes me think of Fonzi saying, “Ehhhhhh” when he would see a pretty girl. HAHAHAHA

Thanks for the morning smiles. Chickens in the Road is my morning cup of coffee since I don’t drink coffee. LOL

Have a super day.

Cece

Cecelia - Reply
9-8
5:03
am

Love the smile on pepsi’s face!!!

Diane - Reply
9-8
5:23
am

PEPSI SEEMS TO APPROVE OF HIS NEW BRIDES-TO-BE…HE HAS VERY HAPPY SMILE ON HIS PRETTY FACE!

Carol Langille - Reply
9-8
5:28
am

Pepsi says yes yes yes! Thanks for the laughs Your photos are wonderful

Miss Becky - Reply
9-8
5:29
am

OMG. Thank goodness Little N. rides the bus and That I NEVER check your blog before he goes! Surely, he would miss his bus everyday. I just love their little faces!

We just got back from camping and now I need to catch up on all that I missed.

monica - Reply
9-8
5:48
am

Funny story…That does look like a smile from Pepsi.

Judy - Reply
9-8
5:53
am

HAHAHAHA….we call that look on Pepsi’s face the “hubba hubba” look. We had Nigerian Dwarf goats, and nothing was funnier than for the wind to catch all the little males just right, and the whole lot of them would curl their upper lip at the same time. Priceless!!!

stephaniej - Reply
9-8
6:18
am

I used to have a sign hanging in my kitchen that said, “The more I see of people, the more I like my goats.” Still goes.

Mama Pea - Reply
9-8
6:19
am

I think I see a spark happening between Pepsi and Sprite!

Too CUTE!

wildcat - Reply
9-8
7:00
am

What a squirrely little grin on Pespi’s face! Love the new additions and thanks for taking us to a Walmart that I’d not been to yet…

joycee - Reply
9-8
7:37
am

You have such a lovely farm, your new additions are so sweet looking. Love your website!

Shelly - Reply
9-8
7:50
am

Yabba dabba HAH!!

Gini - Reply
9-8
9:30
am

The y are all too cute !!

Wheezay - Reply
9-8
9:49
am

They’re adorable! And I, too, love the grin on Pepsi’s face! I really like the way the chickens had to check out the newcomers!!

.Nancy in Iowa - Reply
9-8
10:47
am

yabba dabba do? lol lol How do you think of these things. Great post.

trish - Reply
9-8
12:32
pm

Look at the smile on his face!!! Priceless

Bev - Reply
9-8
2:13
pm

So cute! Hope they do well!

sondra - Reply
9-8
4:21
pm

Suzanne- you tell a good animal story!
I NEVER miss your blog.
Thanks for sharing your dream farm with us!

heidiannie - Reply
9-8
4:44
pm

Great post! Got your link from a friend – I had a fainting goat that refused to faint – less worry that way. Small enough to transport in a plastic dog kennel! Such fun!

ClassyChassy - Reply
9-8
6:00
pm

Sprite and Fanta are so cute!

Estella - Reply
9-8
6:11
pm

So, Pepsi is going to be a polygamist, huh? Does he think he lives in Utah?
:-)

Carol Ann - Reply
9-8
7:02
pm

Fanta and Sprite are the most adorable. (Well, with the exception of Clover) But I tell you, that last picture of Pepsi is THE cutest I have ever seen. What a sweet little face!
Welcome home Fanta and Sprite!

Claudia W - Reply
9-8
9:09
pm

Cutest goats! Love the suspicious chickens!

Hannah - Reply
9-9
3:53
pm

Pepsi looks very, very pleased!

pam - Reply
9-10
7:28
am

So glad to see how well Sprite and Fanta are adjusting. Such good pictures. Keeping up with them and seeing them in such a good home makes giving them up so much easier. Thanks!

Their Tennessee Mom

Brenda Lewis - Reply
10-10
6:00
pm

Your pictures are wonderful and the stories are very poetic and you are right..I don’t know about other animals but letting baby goats leave is always hard, even if they are going to great homes. That is why I had to come see your babies, you see Pepsi is like my grandson – his daddy came from my farm. And I know Raven, the girls mother. I am glad they are in such a nice home!

Linda - Reply
11-8
8:10
am

I dont usually reply to posts but in this case. WOW!!

Starlene - Reply