November 1, 2021

Fall First: Baby Goats!

When I chose Kinder goats, I planned to split kidding to spring and fall events, rather than just once a year in spring. We really miss the milk when the does are dried up for the final months of their pregnancies, and I don't mind milking year around. However! I've never been successful at this because the goats have never cooperated! Kinders are aseasonal breeders (meaning they can breed all year), but their heats are more subtle in spring, so it's been difficult to get a successful spring breeding. So, these fall babies are a first!

Some of you might remember when I bought Sky back at the end of May. She went into heat shortly after that, so it was an opportunity for fall kids. She gave birth to twins last Thursday at dusk, a girl and a boy. It rained all day but the temperature was mild. Thankfully, it was an easy, straightforward birth. 

The little doe was first.

About 15 minutes later her brother was born.

Brand new goat babies.

They were wet and it was dark when they were born, so it wasn't until the next day that we could see their colors and markings.

Little doeling

Little buckling


Conquering a cinder block is always a kid's first proud accomplishment!

My video making skills leave much to be desired, but you just can't capture their bounciness with still shots! I took these with my digital camera, which allows me to get short clips on the memory card.

Having a play buddy is a great advantage to being a twin, as is having a nap buddy.

We're expecting colder weather soon, but at least Sky's kids are on the ground, and I don't have to worry about them getting hypothermia. 

We'll start fall breeding this month, so our spring batch of kids will arrive in April.

Fall First: Baby Goats! © November 2021

30 comments:

Sherry said...

They are so cute. I always wanted a milk cow or goat, hubby said No. We raise Black Angus so He didn't want another breed on the farm. So I really enjoy blogs like yours. Have a wonderful day!

daisy g said...

So adorable! Glad they came when the weather was mild. Enjoy the antics!

Leigh said...

Sherry, you know, people do milk meat cows. They don't produce as much as a dairy cow (which can be a good thing for a small family) but they can be trained for milking, so you can still get milk and cream! And cheese, and butter, and ice cream, and yogurt. . .

Daisy, the antics are the best. :)

Faith said...

The little ones sure are cute, fun to watch them.

Boud said...

It's always amazing how soon they can leap and play. I loved your videos.

Florida Farm Girl said...

What cutie pies!

Agent X, not said...

Love your blog. It is informative, and fun to read. Congrats on the "kids" - they are adorable for sure.

Leigh said...

Faith, I make sure I spend time every day enjoying them!

Boud, thanks!

Sue, they are a bright spot in my day. :)

Agent X, not, thank you! I always appreciate the encouragement!

tpals said...

Sky looks so sweet.

Annie in Ocala said...

Congratulations! And the girls colors are striking! I got a couple beautiful spotted up girls recently too! A bright spot in a messed up year..... Enjoy!
I got my little group kidding mid Oct this year. Usually I got new years kids, but for some reason they cooperated an I got kids when I wanted them. Nice to have milk thru the holidays....

chipmunk said...

They are soooo cute!

Kelly said...

I always love to come look when you have babies. They are SO cute!!!

Retired Knitter said...

I would get ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DONE if they were mine. I would just sit and watch them all day. So darn cute.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

This pictures and videos are always the highlight of my day when they appear. Thanks for sharing.

Michelle said...

Congratulations on a successful fall kidding, fresh milk, and cute kids (love the markings on the dueling!)!

Ed said...

My only real husbandry experience was with pigs and they are much easier to detect when in heat. All I had to do was push down on their lower back and see if their ears popped up or they grunted and ran off.

Leigh said...

Tpals, Sky is very sweet. At least with people. She's very no-nonsense with the other goats!

Annie, thanks! I'm guessing you don't have to worry much about hypothermia, which is a very nice thing. Very nice to have milk all year around.

Chipmunk, thanks!

Kelly, it's exciting to be able to offer cute baby goat pics twice a year!

RT, I definitely make sure I spend a lot of time enjoying them. There's something extra fun about baby goats. :)

TB, thanks! Baby animals are always a pleasure.

Michelle, thank you! The little girl is really stunning, isn't she? Sometimes colorings change as they get older, so I've very curious as to how she'll turn out when she's grown.

Ed, good tip! I will remember that for when we get pigs again.

Goatldi said...

Too cute. Love the way Sky nickers at them. A good attentive Mama!

Renee Nefe said...

so cute!

Leigh said...

Goatldi, Sky is a good mama!

Renee, I know! ;)

Nancy In Boise said...

Boy that Mom is happy to have those twins out! Those babies must be loving stretching their legs! They are so cute thanks for the video that made my day

Debby Riddle said...

So sweet! That little buckling is going to be a moose, very muscular! Pretty does too, both of them. Congratulations!

Leigh said...

Nancy, you're welcome! They make my day every time I go out to the barn. :)

Debby, thanks! Sky is a Clark granddaughter. :)

Glen Filthie said...

What are your winters like down there Leigh? Do you have a heated barn?

Up here fall calving is suicide - unless you have a big barn. All our babies here show up in the spring...

Debby Riddle said...

Woo hoo!

Mama Pea said...

Congratulations! Kid goats cannot be cuter. And yours are obviously very healthy and happy.

Leigh said...

Glen, our typical winters give us below freezing temps at night, warming up to above freezing during the day. It's rare that we don't get above freezing for more than a day or two. So, no, we don't need heat in the barn. Mostly we make sure drafts are blocked and we use the deep litter, which means we don't clean out the barn but just keep putting straw over the day's manure. The decomposition produces heat that helps keep them warm.

I probably wouldn't want kidding any later than late October. And I've learned to wait until late March or April for spring kids because a middle of the night kidding that I miss can cause hypothermia. I've lost several kids that way, so it was a hard lesson to learn.

Debby, :)

Mama Pea, thank you! They're really getting their sea legs now, and zooming around all over the place. So much fun. :)

Cederq said...

Leigh,
Those brought back some joyous memories! My herd was about 35 and when I was kidding about what your schedule is, I had a hard time doing chores and other necessities... it was so much fun watching the kids play. Such exuberance! I had Boers, so I was into meat production. I had a Saleen that always twinned and had the cutest kids by a Boer billy. She was the only milk goat I had for the small amount of milk I needed. I sure miss those days...
Kevin

wyomingheart said...

Oh my goodness, Leigh! Those babies are simply happy heart moments! Love them! Your answer to Sherri, is a great response. Growing up on the ranch in Wyoming, we never had milk cows, but we milked range cow’s everyday. Mind you, it wasn’t easy, and we had to run them down the shoot, milk fast, and watch out for them to kick the snot out of you from time to time. We did get about a half gallon of milk out of them, and the rotation of cows changed from season to season. It wasn’t bad, and we always had butter, cream, milk, and cottage cheese. Thanks for those memories today! Hadn’t thought about those milk days in years…lol !

Leigh said...

Kevin, that's a lot of goats! How many days did you have to go without sleep. ;) Kids are an absolute joy, to be sure. That, and the milk. :)

Wyomingheart, sounds like milking at the ranch was a challenge! I think if I kept range cows I'd train at least one for milking! Milk products are such an important part of our diet here, that I think it would be worth it too. That being said, this is Sky's third freshening and she's never been trained for milking. Fun times ahead!