Cabochon Farm

Glory Delivers Twin Boys

Posted on April 25, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

Glory delivered two very nice moon spotted bucklings this afternoon. (Hmmm…I wonder if the excitement of yesterday’s ultrasound adventure helped things along?) One bucking is a very unique and lovely smoke gray color. And yes, we’ve nicknamed him “Smoke”. Maybe his brother will get tagged “Coal”?

These guys are so sweet and already loving people. They’ll snuggle up to us just as quickly as they snuggle up to their mom. They’ve even developed a fondness for being scratched at only six hours old. (Please pardon Glory’s rather scruffy look in the photo below. She’s still shedding her cashmere and we didn’t take the time to brush her off before taking photos of the kids.)

We always provide the girls with a bucket of warm molasses water after they give birth. It’s great for restoring energy and the girls always seem grateful for the offering.

This is the last kidding of the year for us. While I’m rejoicing at being able to sleep though the night again, (no more 1 a.m. goat checks!) it’s sad to know it will be almost a year before we have more sweet, soft, snuggly kids to dote upon. In a few short weeks we’ll be sending most of this year’s babies off to their new homes-another bittersweet time. If only we could keep a few more each year, … but we’d soon run out room so we must say goodbye to more than we’d like. It makes it just a bit easier knowing that they will be going to new homes where they will surely bring joy to others.

Glory Gets an Ultrasound

Posted on April 24, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

The preferred method of breeding goats is to provide two romantically inclined goats with a suitable location for a lovely date, chaperone the encounter, diligently record the event on the calendar and anticipate the new arrivals 150 days later. But then there’s reality…

Since there is no guarantee of pregnancy after the first date, it’s necessary to watch to see if the doe comes into heat approximately 3 weeks later so she can go on another date if needed. And because it’s possible to miss signs of heat when you’re not spending as much time with your goats as you’d like (long hours at work and sub zero temperatures are contributing factors!) it’s a good insurance policy to put the doe and buck together on an extended date of several weeks “just in case.” And while this increases the chances you’ll end up with cuddly kids, it also increases the chances of an unknown due date.

Luckily, most of the girls got pregnant as planned this year but as they say “there’s one in every crowd” and this year it’s Glory. Since she missed her original due date, we’ve been watching her closely. Several times this week she showed signs of being in early labor only to change her mind and remain stubbornly pregnant. (Yes, goats can have false labor, also know as Braxton Hicks Contractions.)

So today we loaded Glory in the front seat of the truck and drove her to the vet clinic for an ultrasound to find out what’s going on in there. I’m happy to report that Glory is indeed pregnant with at least one kid who is very near full term. Dr. Joel found a healthy fetal heartbeat and the consensus is mom and kid are healthy.

Glory wasn’t too sure about the ultrasound machine itself, but she seemed to enjoy the outing and the change of routine it provided along with all the attention from the clinic staff. (So sorry about piddling on the floor!) Now if only she’ll deliver so I can change my routine of 1:30 a.m. goat checks!

Doelings for Nibbles

Posted on April 11, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

Photo of Baby Nigerian Dwarf Doeling in MN

Kidding season means excitement, anticipation, joy, anxiety and interrupted sleep. As the does near their kidding dates, we try to check on them about every 4 hours around the clock so we can be there for the kidding. There are usually signs that a doe is getting close to kidding but not always. When I checked Nibbles last night, she didn’t show any signs of labor and her ligaments were not loose enough to signal an immanent birth so I felt like it would be safe to sleep through the night.

This morning we woke up to find she had delivered triplets during the night. Two adorable doelings and, unfortunately, a buckling that didn’t make it. We’ll never know if being there would have made a difference for him or not. While I love raising livestock, losses are inevitable and always a cause for sadness.

Nibbles' Doelings — Nibbles’ 2015 doelings, Caramel & Taffy

But there isn’t time to linger on what ifs and should haves because there are umbilical cords to dip in iodine, kids to weigh, does to milk, and records to be written. It’s better to pause for a moment of reflection then keep moving forward while giving thanks for the precious, healthy kids snuggled in the hay.

Chloe’s Girls

Posted on April 5, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

Chloe delivered twin doelings Friday afternoon. While both girls are technically buckskin in color, they are very different in the way they look. The littlest one is a miniature model of Chloe herself, mostly dark with a few white specks. The bigger sister is mostly white with cute little brown and black speckles.

The white twin, nicknamed “Speckles”, had some difficulty with wobbly back legs the first day but she’s looking much better today. Sometimes a kid is just scrunched up in the womb and needs time to stretch out and strengthen it’s muscles and tendons.

Both of these little cuties are getting lots of attention and they are loving every minute of it, just like their mom. They both love to snuggle, climb on laps and give “sniffy kisses”. I had a heck of a time trying to get photos because as soon as I’d lie down to get on their level, they’d come running over to say hi. I finally had to recruit Kati to help distract them long enough to get some photos!

The Two Annabelles

Posted on April 2, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

I remember when we brought home Chloe and her baby. The first order of business was to name the sweet little doeling. Considering her registered name was Liberty Star Acres Annabelle, it probably seems like Annabelle would have been the obvious choice. But we already had an Annabelle-a beautiful, extremely rare American Milking Devon calf. So our little doeling became “Dolly”.

This year our two Annabelles coordinated their efforts and both presented us with babies on Sunday, just hours apart. Annabelle the cow delivered a healthy, friendly heifer calf and Annabelle the goat (Dolly) delivered bouncing twin bucklings.

It was truly a Sunday filled with blessings of the sweetest kind!

2015 Kidding Season Begins

Posted on March 13, 2015October 10, 2020 by admin

Stormstruck blessed us with a beautiful moonspotted buckskin doeling today. She weighed in at 3.5 lbs and was up walking around and nursing quickly. Stormstruck is proving to be a very attentive young mother and we’re quite proud of her. The birth was attended by Kati, 11, and Clayton, 14. Mom provided moral support on the phone on the way home from work and everything went well. This was the first birth the (human) kids were in charge of and they can be proud of their work. We’re especially grateful for this healthy little girl because Hurricane delivered a premature buckling on Wednesday night that was much too small and despite our best efforts he passed away. His loss reminds us what a miracle life is and that a healthy baby is always a blessing to be celebrated.