Not just a goat

# Lala the Sindhi Goat: My Emotional Journey to Qurbani 2027 When I first brought Lala home, I thought I was bringing home a young Sindhi buck to raise for Qurbani. He was approximately eight months old and weighed around 35 kg. He was active, curious and full of personality. I had a simple plan: provide him with good food, keep him healthy, let him grow naturally, and, InshaAllah, prepare him for **Qurbani Eid 2027**. At that time, I was thinking about kilograms, feeding schedules and growth. I didn't realize that over the coming months, I would become emotionally attached to him. Lala would become much more than a goat I was raising. He would become **Lala**.

## Raising Lala: From a Young Buck to a Future Qurbani Goat My goal for Lala is to allow him to grow steadily and naturally rather than forcing rapid weight gain. At around 35 kg, I started wondering what he could become by May 2027. Could he reach 50 kg? Could he reach 55 kg? Perhaps even 58 kg? But the more I learned about goat growth, the more I realized that weight isn't everything. A healthy goat needs more than a large number on a weighing scale. I want Lala to develop a strong frame, good chest depth, a powerful neck, healthy hindquarters and good overall body condition. So my focus gradually changed from simply making him heavier to **raising him properly**. ## The Day Lala Made Me Worry Recently, Lala suddenly seemed different. Usually, when I entered the farm, he would notice me immediately. He might stand up, come closer or start expecting food. But one day he didn't immediately get up. He looked quieter than usual. His enthusiasm wasn't the same. Naturally, I became concerned. I checked his rectal temperature and found it was approximately **104°F**. At that moment, all my thoughts about weight and future growth disappeared. The only thing that mattered was: **Was Lala okay?** He received treatment, and by the following day his temperature had dropped to around 100°F. His appetite began returning. His urination remained normal, his droppings looked normal, and thankfully the fever did not return. That was a huge relief. But then I noticed something interesting. One of Lala's first milk teeth had fallen out. ## Lala's First Milk Tooth Lala was entering the stage where his milk incisors would gradually be replaced by permanent teeth. Suddenly I wondered whether his recent behavior had something to do with teething. Perhaps the tooth had been loose. Perhaps chewing had become uncomfortable. Perhaps that explained why his appetite had temporarily changed. I learned that while tooth replacement can certainly cause temporary mouth discomfort and changes in feeding behavior, **ordinary teething should not simply be blamed for a high fever such as 104°F**. That distinction is important. A fallen milk tooth can be a normal developmental milestone. A high fever is something that deserves proper attention. Fortunately, Lala recovered quickly. And watching that little milk tooth fall out made me realize just how quickly he was growing up. ## Lala Has Very Strong Opinions About Food If there is one thing everyone should know about Lala, it is this: **Lala has opinions.** Especially about food. He likes barley. He likes wheat. But maize? Not so much. I tried whole maize. Then cracked maize. Then smaller pieces. Lala's response was basically the same: **"No, thank you."** He would sometimes leave the maize behind while happily eating the wheat and barley. And honestly, I eventually stopped trying to convince him. Maize can be useful as an energy source, but it isn't a compulsory ingredient in a goat's diet. If Lala can receive adequate energy from an appropriately balanced ration containing barley and wheat, there is no reason to turn maize into a battle of wills. ## The Goat Who Learned How to Negotiate His behavior has also made me wonder whether I have accidentally trained Lala to become picky. Sometimes he seems to know exactly what is going to happen. He waits near his cage. He watches me. He expects food. And if the food isn't what he wants, he may simply wait. The problem is that humans are sometimes too easy to train. If Lala refuses something and I immediately give him his favorite food, he learns a simple lesson: **Refusing food gets me something better.** So perhaps I'm partly responsible for creating this little food critic. Goats are intelligent and capable of learning routines, recognizing individuals, remembering food associations and modifying their behavior based on previous experiences. Lala certainly seems to have figured out how his human works. ## His Personality Is Becoming More Interesting Every Day What I enjoy most about raising Lala isn't actually his weight. It's his personality. He recognizes routines. He watches people approaching. He behaves differently depending on who is around. He stands on his hind legs to reach food. He waits when he expects something. He communicates his preferences very clearly. Sometimes I find myself watching him and wondering how much he actually understands. Maybe he isn't thinking about things in the same way a human does. But there is no doubt that he is learning. And the more time I spend with him, the more clearly I recognize his individual personality. That's one of the special things about keeping animals. Eventually you stop seeing only the species. You start seeing **the individual**. Not just "a goat." Lala. ## Learning How to Feed Lala Properly My feeding approach has changed considerably since I first brought him home. Initially, I experimented with different grains, supplements and tonics. There was Zorliv Plasma. There were tonics. There were mineral products. There was calcium. There was salt. There was baking soda. There were other additions that I thought might help his growth. But after Lala's recent health episode and reduced appetite, I decided to simplify everything. I temporarily stopped the various supplements and returned to a much simpler diet. That experience taught me something important: **More isn't always better.** A growing goat needs adequate energy, protein, fiber, minerals and water. But that doesn't mean every meal needs to contain a long list of additives. Good forage, appropriate concentrate, clean water and sensible mineral nutrition are the foundation. ## The Importance of Roughage One thing I continue to watch carefully is Lala's attitude toward dry fodder. He isn't nearly as enthusiastic about dry roughage as he is about grains. And this is something I don't want to encourage. Grain is attractive because goats love energy-dense food. But roughage is fundamental to proper rumen function. So my aim is not to make Lala eat enormous quantities of grain simply because he prefers it. I want him to develop properly while maintaining a healthy balance between concentrate and forage. The goal isn't: **"How much grain can I make Lala eat?"** The goal is: **"How can I help Lala grow into a strong, healthy adult buck?"** ## Watching Lala Grow One of the most satisfying parts of this journey is seeing Lala's body change. He is still a young buck. His permanent teeth are beginning to appear. His neck will gradually become stronger. His chest will deepen. His shoulders will broaden. His topline and hindquarters will develop. His overall body will gradually change from that of a young goat into that of a mature male. I want to document these changes over the coming months. Not only through photographs and weight measurements, but through memories. Because one day, when I look back at pictures of Lala, I don't want to remember only how many kilograms he weighed. I want to remember **who he was at each stage of his life**. ## My Target for Qurbani 2027 My hope is that by May 2027, Lala will have developed into a strong, healthy and well-conditioned buck. A weight somewhere around **52–58 kg** would be a wonderful outcome if his genetics and natural growth allow it. But I'm learning not to chase the number. If he reaches a slightly lower weight while maintaining excellent body condition, strong structure and good health, that is still a successful result. I would rather have a healthy, naturally developed goat than an over-conditioned animal produced through excessive grain feeding. After all, the purpose of raising Lala is not simply to make him big. It is to care for him properly until the time Allah has destined for him. ## The Emotional Side of Qurbani This is perhaps the most difficult part for me. I know from the beginning that Lala is being raised with Qurbani in mind. That purpose hasn't changed. But there is a strange emotional journey that happens when you personally raise an animal for many months. You feed him every morning. You feed him every evening. You watch him sleep. You notice when he isn't feeling well. You celebrate when his appetite returns. You notice his first fallen tooth. You watch his body develop. You learn his food preferences. You learn his personality. And somewhere along the way, the animal becomes part of your daily life. That creates memories. And memories create attachment. ## Lala Is Teaching Me Patience Perhaps the biggest lesson Lala has given me so far is patience. I want him to grow. I want him to become big. I want his neck to become thick and his chest to become deep. I want him to reach his potential before Qurbani 2027. But animals don't follow our spreadsheets. They don't care about our target weight. They grow according to their genetics, nutrition, environment and individual development. Sometimes they eat enthusiastically. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they surprise us. Sometimes they make us worry. And sometimes they simply stand there looking at us as if we're the strange ones. Lala has reminded me that raising an animal is not about controlling every single outcome. It's about **providing the best care you reasonably can and then allowing nature to do its work.** ## More Than 35 Kilograms When I first looked at Lala, I saw approximately 35 kilograms of young goat. Today, when I look at him, I see a story developing. I see the little habits he has formed. I see the food preferences. I see the curiosity. I see the stubbornness. I see the intelligence. I see the health scares that made me worry. I see the little tooth that fell out. I see a young buck slowly becoming an adult. And I realize that his growth cannot really be measured only in kilograms. Lala is growing. But so am I. I'm learning how to understand an animal better. I'm learning when to worry and when to simply observe. I'm learning that nutrition doesn't need to be complicated. I'm learning that goats have personalities. And I'm learning that sometimes the best thing I can do is simply sit back and watch Lala be Lala. ## The Journey Continues There are still many months before Qurbani 2027. There will be more photographs. More weighing. More feeding experiments. More questions. More moments when I wonder whether he's eating enough. And almost certainly more moments when Lala rejects something I confidently put in front of him. But that's okay. The journey is more important than the perfect prediction. I don't know exactly how heavy Lala will become. I don't know exactly how he will look next May. And I don't know how emotional the final days of Qurbani will be after spending so much time with him. For now, I simply want to keep him healthy, comfortable and well cared for. Because when an animal becomes part of your everyday life, caring for it becomes more than a responsibility. It becomes an act of love. And perhaps that is what Lala has become for me. **Not just a goat.** **Not just a Qurbani animal.** **But a chapter of my life that I will always remember.** May Allah keep Lala healthy, allow me to care for him with kindness, and give me the strength to accept whatever He has written for his journey. The story of Lala is still being written. And for now, I'm simply grateful that I get to be there for it.