Agriculture students help bring goats into world

Humphery Bogart, Wynonna, Nicole and Paris were hanging out in the greenhouse of Douglas High School on Tuesday. But it wasn't the celebrity party you'd imagine, because the aforementioned personalities are really goats. And it's actually Humphery Bogoat, not Bogart.

Since November, Douglas High School juniors Lacee Shupe and Katie Palmer have been taking care of two pregnant goats, Wynonna and Annie.

The goats were leased to the school from Desert Winds Livestock of Fallon for teacher Allyson Lammiman's animal science class.

Lammiman's 18 students were assigned projects involving live animals. Some students raised fish. Shupe and Palmer were tasked with overseeing the deliveries of both pregnant goats.

A pen was made inside the school's greenhouse near the soccer fields: a straw floor, a fence and very warm temperatures.

"We checked on them every two to three hours," said Lammiman. "The students put in a lot of work outside the classroom."

On Jan. 21, Annie gave birth to three babies. Unfortunately, there were complications, and two of the goats died.

On Monday, Wynonna gave birth to two girls, Nicole and Norma Jean, and one boy, Humphery Bogoat.

"If you haven't done it before, it can be bad," said Shupe of delivering an animal.

Both she and Palmer grew up in Carson Valley around animals, and both delivered foals when they were young.

Besides watering, feeding and cleaning the animals, the students milked Annie.

"Her udder gets swollen with milk because she only has one child feeding," said Shupe.

Shupe said her favorite goat is Humphery, while Palmer prefers Nicole.

"Paris is the princess," said Palmer.

Humphery will be going home with Shupe after the project. Annie, Wynonna and the kids will be going back to Fallon.

Lammiman said she would like to thank Mary and Larry Cann of Desert Winds Livestock for the animals, the Burr family for their hay donation and Nikki Nyberg at Great Basin Equine for medical assistance.