March 11, 2020

Triplets for Ellie

At long last, Ellie had her kids. She was huge as a house and two days late. Two days isn't actually "late," but after a week of being on baby alert and checking on her every several hours during the night, I was ready for a good night's sleep! Finally, here they are, going on two days old.

A solid black doeling was first.

Second was a buckling who looks like his daddy.

Last was another buckling with frosted ears & nose & a white crown.

The birthing went well and all three are up & at'em. 




A couple of days later, we had our first outing.


Ellie's kids are the littlest, so she kept them away from the bigger, rougher kids (and adults).



A lazy snack.

When it came time to bring everybody back to the barn, Ellie's kids were nowhere to be seen.


I found her kids in the "kid cave" taking a nap.


New kids instinctively go to this large dog crate to lay down when it's time to rest. It makes both mama goat and me feel like they're safe.

That's it for this spring's kidding: 2 does and 7 bucks. Problem is, my waiting list doesn't stack up that way! lol. I have too many adult bucks too, so we're going to have to do something to get down to more realistic numbers.

Triplets For Ellie © March 2020

21 comments:

Goatldi said...

Way too cute lady! Heavy buck years are easy to solve but we would be happy to have those lovely boys find homes as herd sires.

Leigh said...

Goatldi, finding homes for all of them would be ideal! My last yearling buck (from last year) is finally going to a new home next week. He's turning out well, so I'm very happy about that. We may keep one of these bucklings, but folks don't usually want bucks until fall. We'll probably wether most of them.

Mama Pea said...

Glad to hear you had an easy kidding with these last three. Three big, healthy kids! If only your male/female ratio this year had been better. But no control over that and sorting out which ones to keep, making the (sometimes hard) decision as to what to do with the others . . . a part of raising livestock that many folks don't think of. Congrats on making it through another breeding season with super-healthy animals!

Ed said...

Yes, animals never seem to cooperate when you are hoping for specific gender numbers.

J.L. Murphey said...

WTG Ellie!

Retired Knitter said...

Baby animals are just so darn cute!!

Leigh said...

I know folks have been having problems with "disappearing" pictures, i.e. photos that can't be seen on one's blog. All of my kid photos were visible this morning, but when I checked after lunch, several of them were blank. I checked the code and could find no problems, so I uploaded them again. Hopefully, they'll stay put!

Mama Pea, you've said it very well! It's always a dilemma this time of year anyway, but more bucks makes it more challenging.

Ed, very true! This is the first time I've had more boys than girls!

Jo, she's a proud Mama. :)

RT, I agree! Kidding is my favorite time of year!

Hill Top Post said...

A proud Momma and three healthy young ones! They are all so precious.

wyomingheart said...

Precious little buggars, for sure! Do you usually get an even split between bucks and does? They look adorable taking a nap in the kennel cave!

Leigh said...

Mary, she is a proud mama! And a very good one. I'm always relieved when the babies are healthy.

Wyomingheart, I usually have more does than bucks, so this was unusual. Also, I usually have people on my waiting list wanting bucks. This year, they only want does. Of course, once breeding season starts in August, everybody is looking for bucks! I'm not planning to keep many of them over all summer though.

Sam I Am...... said...

Look at those cuties! I love the picture of them all napping in the crate...too cute! i wish you luck gettin grid of your bucks.

Mike Yukon said...

Cute little buggers. :-)
But if you keep it up you'll need a bigger homestead!

Leigh said...

Sam, thanks! Can never have too much cuteness. :)

Mike, lol. If we had more land I'd consider it!

Nancy In Boise said...

Oh how cute, sad about so many males. I bet Mom feels better now!

Leigh said...

Nancy, she was having a slow time getting around. I'd rather not have so many males, but whatcha gonna do?

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Ah, goat kid pictures. Small little treasures in a world otherwise gone mad.

Leigh said...

TB, this is the real reality!

Chris said...

Oh my. Too cute! Never get bored of baby animals. Glad it went well for everyone. But so many bucklings! Take notes on the seasonal events. Because I wonder if the wetter seasons, sire more bucks. As the drier seasons, beforehand, seemed to favour more does.

Leigh said...

Chris, Dan has decided to train two of those bucklings to be working goats. He's going to train them to pull a wagon for hauling things like wood chips, and see what kind of garden tractor attachments he can find for them to pull. He'd love to have a tedder to turn the hay. They're little now and friendly, but should be trainable! We'll see!

Chris said...

That's a brilliant way to use an oversupply of bucklings. Although I imagine they will become wethers at some point? An asset nonetheless in uncertain times. Any kind of help is better than none - or having to pay for a mechanical solution. More options. Win!

Leigh said...

Chris, yes, the working bucks would be wethered. The hold-up is me trying to decide which one to keep intact for a future herd sire. Two look exceptionally good in that department, but trying to discern potential is a challenge.