Dad had hay fever and was allergic to cow’s milk so he decided we needed some goats.  We got them when I was about 4.  Dad and Allen built a goat house behind the garage.  Later added a shed and Feed storage building.  The goat yard was enclosed by a picket fence.  One time a goat was killed by hanging itself by it’s lower jaw bone off of the pointed top of a picket. 

 

The folks would go to country frequently to buy feed.  They usually got bales of alfalfa.  The goats were smart.  They could unlatch the latch which hung by a rope on outside of the goat shed.  This was a building between the milk house and feed house.  The rope fed thru a hole in the side of the Bldg and the goats would get up on their hind legs and pull the rope with their teeth to open the door.  They would also unlatch the oat box, which was locked by a screen door type latch, ie, a hook that went into an eyelet, with their teeth.  Then they would use their snouts to raise the lid and help themselves to oats. 

 

We also had chickens.  I used to set the chickens and would frequently take eggs from the nest to see if were germinating.

 

Little goats were brought in house immediately after they were born.  Then, they were taken outside in a couple of hours and could immediately run and jump in the air with all of their feet extending to one side.  Sometimes they would miss calculate and fall over side ways.  I started milking goats and cleaning the pen when I was about 9.  Rats came into the goat house while I was milking and I would frequently squirt milk at them as was milking.  Also occasionally would squirt milk in my mouth on hot day.