810-Uncmw Firming, Saturday, March 4.1995
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Five Kids Have
Lots Of Fun
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
WINDSOR (York Co.)
Like most kids playing around in a
barn, the five belonging to the
Eveler family run around, chase
each other and climb up and down
the stacks of bales.
They also butt heads, stop to
nibble at hay and crowd around
their mother for a quick snack.
The five kids in the Eveler barn
are baby goats, born January 24 to
their four-year-old Alpine doe,
“Patches." All five, four girls and
one boy, look very much alike
with their black and white mark
ings. The girls, or does, are named
Sugar, Spice, Cinnamon and Nut
meg, while the boy, or buck, has
not been named since he will be
sold.
Because five kids are more than
almost any mother goat can raise
all by herself, the Evelers feed
extra milk in bottles to some of the
hungry kids. Joel, 15, and Jolette,
11, and their parents John and
Jockquin, all work together to help
tend Patches’ kids and the other
goats in the family’s herd of 36.
This was Patches’ third time to
give birth; she had triplets the first
and second times she kidded. John
Eveler found the quintuplet kids
early in the afternoon, alter Patch
es had delivered them with no
help. Most of the kids weighed
between five and six pounds. One
was a little smaller, and another
had some weakness in its back
legs, but all five are growing fast
and have lots of energy and curios
ity.
Several of the goats in the Evel
er’s herd are 4-H projects belong
ing to Jolette and Joel, who started
the herd when he got his first goat
six years ago. Joel and Jolette are
members of both York County and
Harford County, Maryland, 4-H
goat clubs and show goats at both
4-H and some open shows. Last
year, Joel had the champion buck
at the York 4-H Fair Roundup.
Joel and Jolette have found that
goats make very interesting, and
sometimes funny, pets. The family
has a pygmy goat, a very small
one, that sometimes climbs up on
the house roof. Then Joel has to
climb up and carry it back down.
Last year, they took part in goat
races at Falmouth in Lancaster
County. Joel and his pygmy-
Nubian cross goat named Billy
won their race. To race, the goat is
handled on a leash and both the
goat and owner must cross the fin
ish line ahead of the other compet
ing teams.
Jolette enjoys the goat-dressing
rises and falls
sleep
body temperature
warm-blooded mammals
birds
ids
|ir>
contests. She won a ten-dollar sec
ond prize by dressing both herself
and her goat as witches in the cos
tume event.
“Like all kids, they get into
trouble,” said Jockquin Eveler
about the interesting and very
friendly goats. That trouble some
times includes nibbling away at
the shrubs and flowers around the
family’s home. One day, the goats
got loose and found the feed sup
plies in the barn, munching down
more than a half-bushel of oats
before the Evelers could get them
back into their pens. Joel is even
teaching one of the goats to shake
hands.
A special treat for Patches is
candy. Just as soon as she hears
the crackling of candy paper, she
stops eating, perks up her long
ears and comes looking for what
ever sweets might have been
wrapped in the crinkly paper.
All the goats also love to eat
cookies and fruits, like apples and
oranges, and vegetables like car
rots and turnips. Out on pasture,
they will nibble on not only grass,
but shrubs and even briars and
thorns, the Evelers have found.
Because they enjoy and can digest
all sorts of roughage, Joel and
Jolette feed their goats fairly
coarse, grass hay along with a
sweet, high-protein, goat and
sheep grain ration.
Since their goats give plenty of
milk, Jolette decided some time
ago to raise a baby calf on the
goats’ milk. She now wants to
have her Simmental heifer bred so
that she can raise more calves.
Jolette also raises rabbits and is a
member of the York 4-H Rabbit
Club.
Tending and showing their ani
mals are part of the diverse activi
ties Joel and Jolette participate in
as part of their home schooling
program. Jolette is at the sixth
grade level and Joel is at the tenth
grade level of their studies, which
include the use of computer and
educational television.
The children also do many
hands-on activities as part of their
home schooling. Jolette enjoys
cooking and Joel likes to work
with equipment. He already owns
a truck and a tractor and hopes to
get into farming.
Someday, the Eveler family
would like to construct facilities to
enable them to milk and market
the production from their does at
their Country Critters farm. They
also hope to continue expanding
the goat herd to raise and market
meat goats.
fat
cold-blooded hibemators
heartbeat and breathing
environment
reptiles
Jolette and Joel Eveler have their laps full with their five new kids.
‘''tS*,*** ■-
< ‘ ' * *
These kids want to do anything but pose tor a pesty photographer!
HIBERNATE THIS WINTER WITH WORD PUZZLES!
To hibernate means to
Food is stored in the animals’ body as
An animal’s
During hibernation, an animal’s
Bats, chipmunks, ground squirrels, hamsters, and hedgehogs are examples of
that hibernate.
Nighthawks and swifts are examples of
throughout the winter.
Amphibians such as frogs and toads are
Other cold-blooded hibemators are
and turtles.
The body temperature of cold-blooded hibemators
perature around them.
To arouse an amphibian or reptile from hibernation, the outside
must warm up enough to heat their bodies.
or*ie
GAIL STROCK
all winter.
lowers during hibernation.
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slows down greatly
that hibernate off and on
such as lizards, snakes
with the tem-
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