OUR GOATS
Bean
Bean is a black and white Nigerian Dwarf goat who was born in April 2016 and arrived here on the 8th May 2020 along with his friend Jelly who sadly died in early 2022. Their owners contacted us after Bean became highly aggressive towards another goat and her newborn kids. Their owners were very concerned that Bean would harm the other goats and also very aware that having to keep Bean securely enclosed away from the others was not good for him and Jelly either. We will never know why Bean took such a huge dislike to the new arrivals but their owners were pleased to find them a caring forever home where they can visit. Bean is a friendly goat but he prefers to spend his time playing with the other goats rather than being with humans.
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot is a toggenburg goat who was born in March 2019 and came to us in September 2020, earning the name Billy Elliot on account of all the dancing and running about he did on arrival! Billy Elliot was proving difficult to keep as he was on a constant lookout for food and didn’t hesitate to break into areas he shouldn’t be in and damage property on his search to acquire more. Finally his owners despaired of dealing with his behaviour and asked us if we would take him. He was very nervous and unsure on arrival here and it took a lot longer than it takes most other goats for him to settle. He has settled in fully now though and although he is definitely cheeky and a bit naughty, he hasn’t escaped or damaged anything since arriving here (other than himself – he can get into some scrapes on his misadventures and has run up his fair share of vets bills already!). He enjoys spending his days outside with the rest of the goat herd but is very human oriented and will happily approach visitors to be petted. He loves to be the centre of attention and is often in the way and making a nuisance of himself when we are trying to do jobs around the yard!
Ezra
Ezra and Zira both arrived in March 2022 and were very scared, nervous little goats. They had been kept in a field with minimal contact for most of their lives (around seven years) and when their owner moved abroad, a new home needed to be found for the goats. We were contacted by a young man on the neighbouring property who had been caring for the goats as best he could but was desperate to find them a good home before the new owners moved in next door as they did not want to keep the goats. Thankfully, with some effort and perseverance, the young man and his father were able to contain Ezra and Zira overnight before we travelled up to collect them. They were understandably very stressed and on arrival at Mossburn we needed to keep them inside for some time while they adjusted or they would have just ran off! Once they were introduced to the rest of the herd, they soon settled and although they absolutely do not like to be handled, they will cautiously approach people on their own terms now.
Farley
Farley had been waiting to come here for quite a long time before he arrived but he was filming and was needed on set longer than expected. While he was on set one of the crew from America fell in love with him and was appalled to hear that once Farley’s filming life was over he would be sold and so his fan bought him then asked the man in charge of the animals on set where he could send him to ensure he spent the rest of his life as a happy, free goat. Our name was supplied and of course we had to take him!! We are so pleased we did. Farley is a sweet natured goat who loves everybody and everybody loves him. He was excited when he arrived here (October 2014) to meet up with so many other goats and to have freedom of movement, he settled into the herd immediately and shares a pen with Gerta.
Gerta
Gerta came to live with us in March 2015. She arrived in the arms of her owner, a young man who was obviously distressed at having to part with her. However, as he was off to manage a large dairy herd in Saudi Arabia, he had no choice. Gerta’s name at the time was Goat and we felt we had to personalise that slightly and Gerta seemed the nearest sound alike. She was put in with our other fairly new arrival Farley who was delighted to have a companion of his own even though she did boss him about and they have been firm friends since, still sharing a pen now. Gerta is a very pretty, gentle little goat and we are pleased to have been able to give her a home.
Lavender
Lavender is a rather lovely Angora goat who arrived in September 2018, with her companion Mischief. She used to live in the midlands but her owners were relocating to Invernesshire and needed somewhere for them to break their journey and await appropriate fencing being put in place at the new property. Things for their owners went horribly wrong, mainly that they had been wrongly advised about the amount of land they had bought and as time went on and Mischief’s health declined it was decided that it was best all round for the goats to stay at Mossburn. Mischief sadly passed away at the age of 13 in 2020 but Lavender was born in 2016 and is in great health. She is a friendly goat whose distinctive appearance often results in visitors mistaking her for a sheep! As you can see from her photo, Lavender is quite often in need of a haircut to ensure she can still see properly!
Maple
Maple was brought in to us on Tuesday the 31st of January 2012, she was no more than three days old. A gamekeeper from the Durisdeer area had seen a nanny goat with kid at foot being followed by another kid who was bleating pitifully, he realised at once something was wrong and took a look round to see how the second kid had been separated from its mother. Unfortunately he found the mother dead, entangled in a fence, she had probably broken her neck in her efforts to escape from the fence. The gamekeeper managed with a lot of effort to catch the orphan and took it home to his family where they debated keeping her as a pet but then decided, quite rightly, that she should be reared with other goats so they rang here and asked us to take her. Maple is very pretty and very popular with visitors as she is so friendly. She is a real character and much loved by everybody here.
Muss
Muss arrived in October 2018 along with two others who are no longer with us. These goats were given to a sanctuary in Argyll, which unfortunately had to close down and were struggling to find somewhere for these elderly goats to go and so asked us to take them in. On arrival, they were all rather wild and frightened and it took a long time for them to settle!
Zira
Zira and Ezra both arrived in March 2022 and were very scared, nervous little goats. They had been kept in a field with minimal contact for most of their lives (around seven years) and when their owner moved abroad, a new home needed to be found for the goats. We were contacted by a young man on the neighbouring property who had been caring for the goats as best he could but was desperate to find them a good home before the new owners moved in next door as they did not want to keep the goats. Thankfully, with some effort and perseverance, the young man and his father were able to contain Ezra and Zira overnight before we travelled up to collect them. They were understandably very stressed and on arrival at Mossburn we needed to keep them inside for some time while they adjusted or they would have just ran off! Once they were introduced to the rest of the herd, they soon settled and although they absolutely do not like to be handled, they will cautiously approach people on their own terms now.