A new ‘Wayward’ goat

Our new male kid, Wayward McQueen, is settling in well with the herd and they have taken to him.   At first it was all ‘shock, horror’ and who is this stranger!   Now they make a fuss when he is away from them.   McQueen isn’t ‘wayward’ because he’s naughty, our five month old kid is one of the famous Wayward Herd of Pedigree Anglo Nubian Dairy Goats. Anglo-Nubians are the original biblical goats and were  imported into this country during the last century.    They are one of the most friendly and affectionate breeds of dairy goats and with their Roman noses and long floppy ears, they are both unusual and attractive.   These Nubian goats come in all colours, although white is uncommon and would not be favoured.   Mostly they are black and tan, sometimes with speckled ‘snowstorm’ ears, or fawn, brown, mottled or jet black.   When the kids are born they are often a completely different colour to their mother!     McQueen will be our new herd sire and we are grateful to the Wayward Herd for letting us have this super male kid.

Already he is a real character with a laid back look at life.   Nothing seems to bother him unless his bottle of milk is late and then he bleats to let me know what time it is.   McQueen has been bottle reared from birth and is still having two milk feeds a day.   He goes out in the fields and grazes well too – he has a small corn ration and munches a rack of hay at night.   McQueen is a very sociable creature and likes to follow us around and see what we’re doing and have a chat.   Goats have lovely temperaments and are non-aggressive vegetarians.   It’s shocking that it is still legal to ritually slaughter them in this country.

The Wayward Herd is one of the oldest established herds of Anglo Nubians in the U.K.   They are based in Yorkshire and have been shown, milk recorded and exported with outstanding success throughout the years.    There is a great demand for goats for export as they are of such importance in the Third World.   Our selectively bred, high yielding goats are used to improve the native stock upon which so many communities depend.   Anglo Nubians are the ‘hot weather’ goats and they just love sunbathing.   They hate the rain and are a reliable weather forecast.   When the goats head for home, a shower is on the way.

The pure bred Anglo Nubian goats are now in short supply and are on the brink of rare breed status.   We are hoping that by breeding them at the sanctuary we can help reverse this trend.   Goats are wonderfully versatile, useful and companionable creatures.   They bond with their human carers and always prefer to be near you.   They are not suited to large scale farming and can be kept small scale so long as they have exercise and sufficient of the correct fodder.   We’re often asked if they make good pets.   Goats are escape artists and you do need good fencing, next door’s roses are a constant temptation.   They do like to be kept as members of the family though and are very affectionate in nature.     No goat should ever be kept alone, they are a gregarious species with strong family ties.   A mother and daughter or two sisters are ideal companions.

If you would like to know more about the beautiful Anglo Nubian goats you can learn more on the Breed Society website – anglo-nubian.org.uk By joining the Anglo Nubian Breed Society you will learn more about the breed and get dates of shows, newsletters etc.