Glory delivered a pretty pair of blue eyed doelings on March 8th with an easy, unassisted delivery and both kids are thriving under her care.
We are expecting these kids to have excellent general appearance and strong dairy character. Highlights in their pedigree include: Glory was awarded a Superior Genetics designation in 2016, making the list for the top 15% of all Nigerian Dwarf does in both production and type. Their sire’s dam, CH The Schifsky’s TLC Farm Faith, earned a Linear Appraisal score of EEEE 91 at 10 years old proving her longevity and superior mammary.
Doeling #1 is tentatively retained and Doeling #2 is sale pending.
After several nights of midnight barn checks, Glory finally delivered triplets on Sunday February 25th. Glory is an experienced mom and is doing a great job caring for the kids. These kids have Superior Genetics awards on both sides of their pedigree.
Moon spotted buckling
Blue eyed, light buckskin buckling – this boy is really wide and would make a promising herd sire
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.
Chocolate buckling with blue eyes. This guy is long and sharp.
What a pretty face
This chocolate buckskin is a pretty boy with lots of width
I am delighted to share the news that both Glory and Nibbles earned a Superior Genetics designation this year!
The Superior Genetics designation indicates that the animal is in the top 15% (85th percentile ranking or higher) of their breed according to the Production/Type Index (PTI) ranking. There are two separate PTI ranking lists: PTI 2:1 which emphasizes milk production and PTI 1:2 which emphasizes type/conformation. I’m especially thrilled that both Glory and Nibbles qualified on both lists with Nibbles coming in at an astounding 94th percentile (top 6%) on production.
And while we’re celebrating the achievements of these special does, I’d like to note that we now have two bucks out of SG does: Sweet William out of Glory and Xylo out of SG Pocket Sized TB Xara from Honey Meadows farm in New Jersey. We are expecting great things from these boys as we seek to improve our herd with every new generation.
To learn more about the ADGA Superior Genetics program and how the scores are calculated, visit Superior Genetics FAQs.
Glory gave us a big, beautiful, blue-eyed buckling late in the evening (9:40 p.m. to be exact) on April 25th. Glory doesn’t believe in letting you know that she’s close to delivering so it’s a bit nerve wracking when she’s due. About the only sign she gives of impending labor is loosening ligaments, which I’m sure she’d find a way to hide if only she could! Much to her chagrin, the final barn check for the evening caught her laboring so we all settled in to wait. The birth went smoothly and little guy was up and trying to nurse within 10 minutes of being born. He’s such a nice boy, we’re planning to keep him a buck.
We started off the show season with a bang this year as our newest doeling, Carl B’s OH Sweet Champagne, took home Grand Champion Nigerian Dwarf Junior Doe at the Little Falls, MN Spring Show. This was a very large three ring show with more than 300 does in attendance and we are very proud of both Champagne and Clayton, whose outstanding showmanship secured his first ADGA grand champion win under judge Ellen Considine.
Nigerian Dwarfs were well represented with 33 Junior does in attendance and about the same for Senior does, but I forgot to write down that number. 🙂
We showed the goats fuzzy (not clipped) because the weather had been so cold and I was very thankful for that decision on show day when it was only 53 degrees with a cold wind. Brrr! Almost everyone wore a coat over their dairy whites and it made for some pretty funny fashions in the show rings.
We are thrilled that Nibbles’ girls, Caramel and Taffy earned 1st and 2nd place in the Jr. Doeling class of six. Taffy has been retained so she will continue her show career with us. Caramel is going to a new home where she will hopefully continue winning for her new owner, Jennifer.
Ribbons are nice, but we all know it’s really all about the milk! We brought a couple of the milking girls with us which means bringing along the milking stand and milking at the show. Clayton got to try out his new milking stand which is his own design and much lighter and easier to take to shows than the one we used to use. Clayton will be making more over the summer to sell so let us know if you need one!
Champagne stands 1st in a class of nine senior doelings
Champagne ended up being the star for the day with two first place wins in her Sr. Doeling class of nine as well as her Grand Champion win but we are proud of all the girls and are quite happy with Glory and Dolly each placing 3rd in their classes. There was very strong competition in the milking classes and they did well hidden under all their winter fuzziness!
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.
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!
