Amanda delivered a pair of buck/doe twins on March 8th. The kids were so eager to get into this world that they were both trying to come out at the same time. A little internal intervention (much to Amanda’s displeasure) got things rearranged so the kids could come in an orderly fashion. Both kids were good sized with the buckling weighing in at 3.7 lbs and the doeling at 3.3 lbs.
Marceline made me late for work on Monday. Let me take a moment to express my gratitude for having a job that allows me to call in late due to “Early Morning Goat Birth”.
Marcy hadn’t shown signs of imminent labor so I was surprised to hear the tiny bleats of a new-born goat coming from her stall when I checked the barn before leaving for work. I looked over the door to see two recently delivered kids and a rather confused Marcy who didn’t know quite what to make of the newcomers. Once we got the family moved into private quarters, Marcy settled down and her mothering instincts kicked in just fine. She’s proving to be a very conscientious mother to her twin doelings.
Penelope broke the 2017 trend toward boys by giving us 3 beautiful Mini-Alpine doelings on Sunday, February 26th about 5:00 p.m. All three are healthy, bouncy kids.
These girls are are destined to be family milkers, bringing together the best from the Nigerian Dwarf and Alpine breeds.
As I was working in the barn on Saturday, I noticed Glory hanging out chewing her cud all alone. She seemed to be in the mood for conversation, so I told her how excited I was for her kids and, if she didn’t mind, I’d like two girls and a boy. That’s when she stood up, turned her back on me and went outside. I think that was her way of telling me she didn’t take orders. But I can’t complain because she delivered big, healthy twin bucklings on Sunday, February 26. They weighed in at 4.5 and 4.92 pounds–little monsters.
Both of these boys will be future herd sires and with a Superior Genetics mother, I’m expecting great things from them.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny, warm, almost 60* February day in Minnesota….perfect for spending time in the barn waiting for a doe to kid. While the rest of the girls were lounging in the sun, poor Chloe was locking in a birthing stall inside. But I like to think she was too preoccupied to notice. 🙂
Chloe delivered an adorable set of triplets on Saturday, February 18 at 3:15 pm. She delivered all the babies easily and the whole family is doing well.
Dolly delivered buck/doe twins on Saturday, January 28th. She had a easy delivery and both kids were up and about very quickly. We’ve been waiting 3 years to keep a doeling out of Dolly so this little girl will be retained. Her brother is a very sharp, dairy buckling that will be sold as a herd sire. He’s just a ball of fluff here in the baby photos but he’s looking fancier every day. I might be tempted to keep him myself if I hadn’t already retained a buckling from Dolly last year.
Hurricane delivered twin bucklings on Saturday, January 28th. Unfortunately, one of the boys was a very tiny 1.2 pounds and despite our best efforts he didn’t survive. But big brother is doing well and Hurricane is showering him with plenty of love and devoted attention, much to his frustration at times.
It’s often hard to balance raising livestock with working a full time job and never more so than during birthing season. It’s always best to be nearby in case a doe needs help delivering or a baby needs help getting started, especially when it’s January in Minnesota. So this year we are inducing our does to deliver a day or two early so that we can be there to attend the births. We induced Stormstruck one day early and I’m so thankful we did because she gave us our first set of quintuplets on Friday January 27th about 5:30 p.m. when we could all be there to help.
When there are that many babies, it’s not unusual for them to be tangled up and for the doe to need assistance. We helped pull a couple babies and spent a lot of time helping to get everyone dried off and warmed up. The babies were all a good size ranging from 2.7 – 3.7 pounds with four boys and a girl.
So far Stormstruck has been nursing them all with no problem although we will be teaching them to take a bottle so that we can supplement any that seem to be lagging behind as they grow.
It’s looking a lot like kidding season! Stormstruck should be the first to deliver, followed closely by Dolly and Hurricane. I thought I’d share a couple photos of a very pregnant Stormstruck with those of you who are eagerly waiting with us…
A special thank you to Tractor Supply and NorthernLite Photography for the Santa photo!