Updates

So things are taking a strange turn. Bailey seems to have relinquished the title of herd queen. We are not sure why as she seems normal otherwise. Perhaps she has decided she doesn’t want the responsibility, or maybe it is because of the large number of boys in the herd. There are eleven.

Bailey always used to lead the herd out for their browsing sessions. She also always took the best sleeping spot, whatever feed bucket she wanted in the mornings. Seems she quit. Doesn’t want it anymore. She still bosses most of the goats around, makes them move so she can be where they are. Just not to everyone.

So who has taken over? Any guesses? Here are a couple of hints. It is still a girl goat. One of the original nine. Has no children in the herd, maybe not anywhere. Supremely confident. Really likes humans. Goats, not so much…..

So who is it?

Figured it out yet?

We tried to see if this was a fairly common thing, and we have found no information about a herd queen quitting. We will continue to monitor the situation, all seems normal so far with the exception of the job change.

Update – Seems Bailey just wanted to retire and not have the total responsibility for the herd. She has allowed Allison total control, and has no desire to challenge her. Bailey’s status in the herd is still very high, only Allison being over her, and she seems content to be the number two goat. I still see her doing the watching for danger and being alert. Probably doesn’t trust anyone else to watch out for the herd. So she still does some of the duties she did before.

Allison thinks she can do a better job than Bailey did, so does much of the refereeing herself. She is more bossy than Bailey was also, perhaps stamping her authority on the herd before loosening up later. Time will tell.

UPDATE JANUARY 2022:

So Allison is an excellent herd queen. She started by basically getting all the goats into ship shape. Now she has a hands off approach. She does let some of the goats handle some conflicts, as long as they are minor and are handled quickly. Should they drag on, she inserts herself and takes care of the problem.