If you’ve ever held a newborn kid (of the goat variety) you will understand what utterly sweet and compelling creatures they are. My first goat was Chelsea, a Saanen Toggenburg cross who I bought from out the back of Carterton when I thought my children might enjoy a different kind of animal on the farm. One soon turned into two (don’t want them to get lonely), which morphed into half-a-dozen, which escalated into twenty or so… You get the picture. When I say that they are delightful animals, I mean that when you walk amongst them (doing your best “lonely goatherd” impression) they will wander over to say hello, and to check out how tasty your clothes and the tops of your gumboots are… They’re not a bit scared and slightly crazy like sheep, or as large and intimidating as cattle, but utterly companionable, soft and huggable – the pussycats of the farm, perhaps? They tolerate deeply enthusiastic handling (and riding, yikes) by children, and get on well with pigs, ducks, sheep, pet dogs and whatever other animals end up in the same paddock as them. They are a great talking point at the school Ag day and very easy to obsess over. Are they, in fact, the perfect animal?