Babies!

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

A little doe was first

The second was a little buck

Big sister Saluda was surprised at the appearance of her half-siblings.

I took this 27 second video clip the next day.

Ursa

Ursa's doeling was born first

One of Ursa's two bucklings. 

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

Babies! © April 2024 by Leigh at 

http://www.5acresandadream.com

Twin Girls for Caroline

And here they are! They're 14 hours old in these photos.

This little girl was first born.

Her sister followed soon after.

Happily, the weather was mild and Caroline kidded during the day. It happened going on dinnertime, between making the salad and mixing the main course in the skillet. Fortunately, I checked at the right time and didn't miss it because it was amazing how quickly it went. Within 30 minutes both kids were born, on their feet, and finding milk all by themselves.

What do the other kids think? They aren't impressed at the moment.

River's twins, Mosul and Saluda, 5½ weeks old

Sky's Willow, 4½ weeks old

Ursa's twin boys now have names.

Orion on the left, Buster Brown on the right. They are 1 week old.

Nap time is about the only time they're all still anymore. LOL

So that's it for this year's kidding and I won't have to get up for night checks until next year. We ended up with four does and three bucks. Not bad.

Parting shot

Twin Girls for Caroline © March 2023

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Our Newest Baby Goats

Born yesterday evening! I didn't think Ursa was due until next week, so I really hadn't been keeping a close eye on her. But when the others presented themselves for their evening feed and she didn't, I suspected something was up. She was lying behind the hay feeder, looking very much like a doe does when she's coming up on delivery. Dan helped me set up the kidding stall and we moved her in. She wasn't interested in her feed or hay, but since nothing looked imminent, we went in after chores to eat our own supper. 

After we ate, I went out to check on Ursa's progress. When I have a doe due soon, I always listen as soon as I get out the door. They often call or sometimes I hear the new babies first, which always gets me running! I heard nothing until I opened the barn door. Then Ursa cried out and I could see something was going on. Actually, two somethings, and she must have just pushed the second one out. I quickly cleared the babies' air passages and stuck them under her nose. She got to licking immediately and had them cleaned up in no time. 

Here they are this morning, about 13 hours old. 

Two stout boys!

These are Ursa's first, and it's always a relief when they take instantly to mothering. Some does are less sure with their first kids, puzzled by where these little creatures came from and upset that they want to get to their teats. But I've only had one kid rejected by a doe, I think because she had quads and knew she couldn't feed them all. He was the runt, and she tended to him like she did the others, but she refused to let him nurse. He became my bottle baby. 

Ursa couldn't have picked better weather, because while other parts of the country are experiencing a winter storm, we're having lovely mild days. No worries about the babies getting chilled.

So, only Caroline is left to kid. My anticipated due date for her is March 5th.

Our Newest Baby Goats © February 2023

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

A Doeling For Sky

She arrived Monday afternoon around 5 p.m. Thankfully, it was a warm day! Sky was so big we expected more than one, but this little girl was it.

She's big for a newborn! She was conceived the same day as River's twins, but had close to a week more gestation to grow. 

Here she is the next day.

She'll have River's twins as playmates, which is always nice for singles. Once she's consistently steady on her feet, I'll let her and Sky out of the kidding pen.

Kidding Round 1 is a wrap! Two doelings and one buckling; not a bad start. Kidding Round 2 is expected sometime in March.

A Doeling For Sky © February 2023

by Leigh at  http://www.5acresandadream.com

Last But Not Least

About 30 minutes old.

River kidded on Monday morning - a single baby boy! So that winds up spring kidding with four bucks. I've never had all bucks! I've been fortunate that I usually have mostly girls, but there's no guarantees, so that's that.

3 hours old

He's certainly flashy, with his white and grey spots. Kids' spots often change color as they get older, so I suspect he'll become quite colorful. 

A day and a half.

2 days old

For their first day or two, newborns take lots of naps. At about day two, they start to become more active and more fun!

He's had a chance to meet the other kids through the kidding pen, so next was mingling with the rest of the herd.

River is a very good mother and won't let the bigger kids pick on him. I suspect he'll be tearing around with the rest of them in no time.

Last But Not Least © May 2022 by Leigh

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Kidding Round 2

So, we remained on kid watch after the first set of twins was born. A couple days later, Caroline lost interest in going out with the rest of the herd. It was early, but she looked so big and uncomfortable, that I wasn't surprised. Multiples usually come early and we figured twins, at least.

This was her first, so a longer labor wasn't unexpected. After hours of waiting and watching, she finally got down to serious pushing and feet presented. This is normal, so usually, we just stand by to welcome the newcomer. But progress was slow, so I tried to grab the front legs and pull. I say tried, because the little bugger would pull them back in every time I tried to get hold!

I could tell he was big, and after a lot of pushing on Caroline's part and pulling on mine, she finally delivered a handsome baby boy. 

Seems pleased with himself for making his appearance.

So, there was my third buck for my waiting list. Then, we waited and waited, but that was it. She was done. Just one big boy. One big stubborn boy. 

All kids are ready for their first milk pretty much as soon as they hit the ground. They know mom is the source, but they sometimes have trouble zeroing in on exactly where that is. I usually give them a little guidance to make sure they get that first colostrum. 

But this guy! I got him to the teat and rubbed his nose on it, but he clamped his mouth shut. I managed to get his mouth open and the teat inside, but he refused to latch on and suck! Now, sucking is instinctive, except in the case of premies, but he wasn't that early. He was definitely eager. And persistent. Caroline let me express milk from both teats and didn't step away when I tried to get him on her, so I wasn't worried she wouldn't let him nurse. But I didn't figure I could force him either. Since it was 1 a.m., I left him to work it out on his own.

The next morning he was nursing on his own and getting around very well.

With two kiddings so close together, we rearranged the barn to accommodate the new family groups.

Temporary set-up of private stalls.

Kids always love to sleep in the hay feeder trough.

When new kids are allowed to mingle with the others is up to their moms. Some does are ready almost immediately, but does on the bottom of the pecking order tend to take longer. Sky, in particular, is a relentless bully. So, I want to make sure the kids are steady on their feet and quick enough to get out of the way. 

Also! I've revised River's due date. I was watching her and wondering why she didn't seem anywhere near ready to kid, when I remembered that she had a second visit with Jonah three weeks after the first visit. That would put her due date at May 13th, which fits what I see. No complaints about that. It will give us a bit of a breather before the next kid watch begins. 

Kidding Round 2 © April 2022 by Leigh

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Kidding Has Commenced!

Well, we didn't have to wait long! Up first. . .

Can you guess how many?

They arrived three days before their anticipated due date, and thankfully, it was around 9 p.m. and not the middle of the night. 

Twin bucklings, just a few minutes old.

Early the next morning.

First buckling. 

Number 2.

Ordinarily, bucklings are not the desired outcome. But I have three people each wanting a registered Kinder buckling, so these already have homes waiting for them. 

One down, two to go. 😀

Kidding Has Commenced! © April 2022

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Watch This Space

Due April 24

UPDATED: Due April 25 May 13

Due April 29

Announcements coming soon.

Watch This Space © April 2022 by Leigh

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

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

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com