I gave you a sneak peek of River's twins at the end of my March Gardening Notes post. They were born at lunchtime last Friday. The next day Ursa delivered triplets around dinnertime. I've finally sorted through the photos to show you the new additions. All went well and everybody is doing well.
River
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| A little doe was first |
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| The second was a little buck |
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| Big sister Saluda was surprised at the appearance of her half-siblings. |
I took this 27 second video clip the next day.
Ursa
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| Ursa's doeling was born first |
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| One of Ursa's two bucklings. |
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| Brother #2 |
Except I'm not exactly sure which came before the other. Dried off, one little
guy is a lighter brown, but when wet, they looked about the same color.
There's a little more competition for milk with triplets, especially as they
get bigger and demand more milk. I keep a close eye on them and if anybody is
crying, I make sure they get some uninterrupted nursing time to fill their
tummies.
Yesterday, they got their nose to nose meetings with the other goats. It was their first time out of the barn and River's twins ventured out into the pasture with her.
And then there's meeting some of the other barnyard residents.
Always great fun. :)
Parting shot
21 comments:
Excuse my ignorance, but is there a reason why goats have multiples as a rule? They are all so sweet. Grateful for positive birth stories. Enjoy!
Daisy, I think goats commonly have twins, why, I don't know. Singles occasionally, and triplets occasionally too. Some breeds tend to have more multiples, like Nigerian Dwarfs and Kinders. With those breed's I've had quads a couple of times. Twins are always easiest, though. They have a build-in playmate and nap buddy, and no fighting over teats! But we get what we get, and that's just how it is. :)
Aw, good to see they are doing so well. I miss these days, but we only had two females. If we could find a goat sitter, we'd get them again. I do miss the milk and cheeses. Enjoy!
Enjoyed that! Chuckling here over the antics. Wonder what Tom Turkey was thinking about the whole affair....
Awwwww! Thank you for posting these pictures! I can just imagine how busy things are. Glad all went well for moms and kids. -Jenn
I would have been intimidated by that turkey too!
Based on the comment above, I had to do a google dive on why different animals have different numbers of offspring on average. I found no good answer other than the number of eggs released due to evolution and to ensure the survival of the species. I did find one interesting factoid that armadillos only release one egg but almost always have identical quadruplets. Scientists aren't sure why that happens.
Have you ever had identical twin goats? One site I read said that identical twins most likely happen in many other animals besides humans but just often go unnoticed.
Truly one of my favorite times of the year on the InterWeb. Thanks for sharing!
Kristina, the dairy products are great. My favorite is the ice cream! But I love the goats too; their antics and their companionship.
Rosalea, I'm glad! Tom came from a farm with lots of Nigerian Dwarf goats, so he's pretty used to it. For the kids, though, watching them see him or a cat or a chicken or a duck for the first time is great fun.
Jenn, you're welcome! Yes, very busy, but kidding is over for now so that's a relief.
Ed, I didn't know that about armadillos! I've never had identical twins with goats, but apparently they release multiple eggs at ovulation and can have kids with different fathers. I'm sure identical goat twins have happened though.
TB, mine too!
I've never had turkeys here (except wild turkeys) but I always enjoy the moment when a kid sees a hen for the first time :) Congrats to the does on a good kidding season! And now you can take a breath :)
Sweet as pumpkin pie, they are! Your blue boy is going to be very attractive. But they're all gorgeous. Love the sounds of spring and new life emerging again at your place.
Quinn, it's always a relief to have kidding done, especially when all went well. The kids are about a week old now and full of energy. :)
Chris, he is! And his conformation is starting to look good too. I'm hoping someone wants a new herd sire this year.
Cute! Will the mom goats ever help out or adopt the babies of another goat? For example, if one has triplets and another only has a single, will the single mom help take care of one of the triplets?
That turkey is something else. He reminds me of the honeycomb paper turkeys that I used to see as decorations :).
Good question! Goats are rarely receptive toward someone else's kids, and most goat mamas can handle triplets in terms of milk production (supply and demand). But the kids require closer monitoring by the goat keeper to make sure each kid is getting enough. Typically, it's the little bucks who are the most aggressive and get the most milk!
If any kid looks like they need a little more, I'll put their mom on the milking stand at feeding time and give that kid uninterrupted nursing time. As they get older and the competition more fierce, I've put the mom and smallest kid in their own stall for the night, so the littlest one can catch up. Their old enough to be eating hay by then, so although they don't like it, they're just fine waiting on morning until they get their milk.
Oh Leigh! I very much enjoyed your YouTube videos! I get notifications on when you post. Those babies are super cute, and so very active so soon after being born! We really love watching them bounce around! Thanks for sharing!
What is it with cats and looms? I've had cats sit on the front beam, on the cloth of course, sleep on the top and sleep on the fabric between the front beam and front roller, on a weird angle. It's like they're guardians of the looms!
Baby goats are so cute.
Wyomingheart, I'm glad you enjoyed them! :)
Thanks for answering my question! I thought goats might be willing to take on other's babies the way the chickens and ducks do, but maybe a difference is that the birds seem to do that before the eggs have hatched. The babies certainly are adorable!
You're welcome! Every once in awhile there are stories about a goat who loves kids so much that she'll try to "steal" someone else's to mother. Typically, though, she's only interested in her own.
Wow busy barn! Funny how they turned up at meal time😂
I was getting a much needed laugh at the loom 🐱! I had a cat who did the same thing years ago to a floor loom . Actually several. It ended with a sheet tented over the whole loom as they were stretching the warp out. Opps!
How sweet all of those little babies are! You must have busy hands! Your kitty looks like it found the perfect spot!
Anonymous, isn't it! We delayed lunch on River's day, but ate dinner in the barn when Ursa was in labor. :) That was a first.
Cats love looms! And yarn. And especially yarn on looms! I have quite a few cat disasters in my older fiber journal blog posts. The thing about that particular cat and table runner, is that now that it's off the loom, she still thinks it's hers. She kept claiming it after I got it off the loom and was working on finishing it off. And now that it's on the dining room table, she thinks it gives her permission to jump up onto the table and sleep on it. NOT! Unfortunately, it's impossible to argue with a cat and win.
Eggs, thank you! Yes, it's a busy time of year. Nicely timed though, in the grand scheme of things, after being cooped up in the house most of the winter. :)
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