Four Socks, Goat and Selena

Four Socks, you may remember, is a tabby kitten we rescued from the side of the road. He's approaching 6 months now, and has spent an idyllic life in the barn this winter; locked in at night to protect him from the cold and coyotes, and, often, spending days curled up with Mary while (and when) she studies.

Goat is a rooster. He was chased from the coop by his older, tougher brother, and found refuge in the barn with Four Socks and Selena. Selena is our oldest mama goat, who has a permanent injury in her front leg. This fall she was alarmingly thin, so we brought her in for the winter. She spent her winter curled up in a warm stall with a heat lamp. Sometimes, pretty often, really, Four Socks and Goat would join her. It was quite the picture, but, sadly, I didn't take a picture of it!

Goat is not fed. Well, we don't actually truck chicken feed over to him. He's been snitching grain from Selena and munching on hay. He's really a good-looking rooster, so the diet seems to agree with him.

He has also developed a taste for kitten food. Take a look at this.



I came around the corner of the barn yesterday to find Four Socks and Goat eating together. I've seen them eat separately, and I know Goat was getting quite a bit of the kitten food, but I hadn't seen them dining together yet. It was quite the sight. By the time I fetched my camera, Four Socks wasn't liking it. If you can imagine it, take this same picture and put that little right front paw over onto Goat's chest. That's what I saw the second time I came into the barn; Four Socks eating, and holding Goat back with a paw.

Shortly after this picture, Four Socks was done and took off to play. Goat resumed his kitten-food-munching. I suppose we should get him a dish of chicken chow.

But his older, tougher brother is going into the soup pot soon; we don't keep nasty roosters. Goat will have a pen full of ladies to take care of.

And I wonder if his odd diet will produce any odd offspring....