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| Name: |
RubyBee
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Age: |
Six months old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Nubian goat
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| Home: |
California, USA
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RubyBee
is a giant amongst ants - almost literally. As the only full-sized
dairy goat in a herd of pygmies, she's the absolute darling of the herd.
While she was shy at first (we got her from a small herd where she'd never
met any goats other than her mother and brother), she quickly warmed up. Now
we can't keep her away from her favorite treats - oak leaves! When she stands
on her hind legs for them, she's taller than us. Her name, RubyBee, comes
from the fact that we already had an obnoxiously friendly goat named Ruby.
However, her old owners had named her Ruby as well, and the name fit her
perfectly. Originally, it was Ruby B, but it evolved quickly into RubyBee, a
name that suits her ditzy, look-at-me attitude. Getting pictures of the
pygmy's for a project was nearly impossible, with her sticking her nose in
the camera every chance she got. Her best friend and adoptive mother is our
retired boer goat, Little One, who follows her everywhere without complaint.
RubyBee's by far the loudest goat in the pen as well. At least once an hour,
she likes to remind us she's still there. The second a door opens from the
house, she's at the gate of her pen, standing against it and staring with her
big eyes. We like to joke that she's the most natural looking goat in the
herd - the pygmy's do not look like they could exist in the wild, whereas
RubyBee looks like a deer whose ears are floppy.
Her favorite 'healthy' snack (not oak leaves or tortilla chips) is grain, a
special mixture we give the show goats to improve their health and condition
before a show. RubyBee is the only goat Little One allows at a bowl of grain,
and they can eat as much as the rest of the herd - eighteen other goats - in half
the time. While still slightly timid, she loves young children, and will let
them play with her ears and feet (all four of which have an undertone of
black stockings, and white feet through the knees). She loves anyone who'll
bring her a snack, or kiss her nose, or even just pay any attention to her
(not that she's lacking any of these things).
It never fails to make us smile when we look out over the herd and see,
amidst the sea of foot and a half tall, chunky grey and white goats, a tall,
dainty red nubian standing on a pile of logs to give herself those extra few
feet of height.
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Talk about RubyBee in Pet Talk!
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