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The kid looked pretty normal, just under-developed at this stage of course. It was a little hard to tell because it had sat out all day and it looked like Daisy had chewed on it just a little bit. It didn't look bloated and nasty like the one Nubbin miscarried a few years ago. Hers had obviously died some time before delivery and Tigerlily's didn't look decayed like Nubbin's did. It's sad but I'm relieved that Tigerlily appears to be just fine. And I can't say I wasn't prepared for this possibility, what with the way she's been picking fights. Jezebel and Petunia both slammed her really hard last week after she provoked them. Neither of those girls is normally violent or rough with anyone. Rambo is the gentlest buck you can imagine and almost never fights with anybody, but Tigerlily was really goading him on a few weeks ago until he started hitting back. So I can't say I'm completely surprised. I'm hoping if we breed her again that she'll be smarter about it next time. I think most of them do wise up.
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I took these photos last week before Tigerlily's recent tragedy. Everyone stampeded from the pasture when we called them for their daily walk. Gotta love Blackbird's flying ears and tail! Tired Petunia is all the way at the back. It a lot of work raising two rambunctious rapscallions!
Skeeter loves to jump up for cuddles. "Up! Up!" she says.
"Hey, leggo my hat string!"
Blackbird is quite the armful these days.
She's a little more wiggly, but she's still as sweet as ever.
Baby goat bliss.
Skeeter loves to chew on clothes, hats, strings, zipper pulls, etc. (Luckily not hair.) We're going to have to start working on that. Innocent curiosity is one thing. Destructiveness and demands for attention are quite another!
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Queen of the doghouse!
Tincup and Jezebel engage in a little friendly head-butting.
Coral and Tigerlily prefer to take it easy and relax in the shade.
I love Blackbird's face here. She was enthralled by Petunia's fluttering tail.
I think mama is tired!
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So cool! What a great looking herd
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We brought Skeeter and Blackbird into the house yesterday for some play time. They liked the "cowch".
The last light at yesterday's walk was amazing.
The baby goats entertained us as usual.
I can never feel unpopular or unloved around here.
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It was cold and windy outside today so I brought the babies into the house to play. We had so much fun watching them bounce on the couch, rock the rocking chair, and race up and down all the stairs. I'm excited to say that I'm almost certain now that these are Lightning babies. For a few weeks I thought they were Rambo's because I didn't see any Nubbin influence. The timing was exactly in the wrong spot to be able to know for sure. One week later and there would have been no question they were Lightning's because he was the only buck who had access to Petunia while we were on vacation last fall. Lightning is Rambo's son and looks almost just like him, so we know these babies have Rambo and Petunia. The question was whether Rambo was the father or grandfather. I was leaning toward Rambo for a while because I saw no "Nubbin brown" on these kids at all and the ears were quite long. Well now their ears are looking shorter and less floppy than they did at first, and I'm starting to see Nubbin characteristics pop through! She was Lightning's mama and had that lovely reddish-brown coat. Well now that our babies are starting to shed out their first baby coats, some of the buff areas are coming in "Nubbin brown". It's starting on the toes and Blackbird has some reddish-brown on her face now. I always thought Blackbird had a kind of Nubbin-ish look to her face, but I thought maybe I was imagining it or it might go away as she grew up. However, the Nubbin face is becoming more pronounced as she matures. So yay for Lightning babies! It's a relief to know for sure who the father is so I can fill out their ADGA papers correctly. I thought it had to be Lightning because I'm sure I would have seen Petunia come into heat while we were still home, but I was second-guessing myself because I was so busy running back and forth to State Fair during that last week before our trip. I don't think I even let the big bucks out of their pen during that time, but I was so busy I couldn't be sure I remembered correctly, and there was always the chance that Phil had let the boys out. So I've kind of been dithering about how to know for sure who sired these gals. But now that I'm seeing shades of Nubbin, I feel a lot more confident.
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03-19-2018, 08:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-19-2018, 08:54 AM by goatzrule.)
So sorry about TigerLilly. Those kids are so cute!
Happiness is a working goat
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We're still having fun letting these kids be "inside goats" from time to time. They love prancing around and "skating" on the hard, slippery Pergo floor in the office, and they love bouncing on our various soft surfaces like couches and carpets.
Skeeter's never seen an udder this big! Is there milk in there?
Blackbird investigates a somewhat riskier outlet.
"Oooh... psychedelic poster."
"And something dangling that I can rip off the wall!"
A brief pause at the top of the stairs...
Then pell-mell to the bottom!
"Who is that staring back at me??"
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Skeeter is a really nice looking doe! Are you keeping her?
I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one with "inside" goats.
Goatberries Happen!
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I'm not sure yet. She's a gorgeous color but her conformation is not quite as nice as Blackbird's. Both are nice does though. We'll make decisions after kidding season is over. We'll definitely need to sell a lot of goats this year!
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