Goat-O-Rama Kids of 2018

[DownUnder Gal]

Beautiful babies and you must be happy with such an easy delivery Nanno.

[Nanno]

We had a near tragedy yesterday, but our dear gal TinCup saved the day! I was down at the saddle club when Phil decided to go out for a hike. He was about to get in the truck when TinCup came racing up the driveway by herself. The goats were all down in the horse corral and Phil could hear a baby crying. Usually mama goats run TOWARD crying babies, so this was unusual. Phil almost ignored the incident, passing it off as goats being their sometimes noisy selves, but TinCup screamed at him very urgently like she had something important to say. So Phil walked toward her and she ran off down the hill toward the other goats.

When Phil got down there, he could clearly hear a baby screaming and he realized that little Sadie had jumped into the horse trough! It was too deep for her to stand but too low for her to climb back over the side. If Tinny hadn't alerted Phil, or if this had happened while we were both gone, no doubt Sadie would have drowned.

I feel awful because I'm aware of the danger and I'm usually much more careful when we have kids this age. The water tubs in the goat pens are low so babies can see over the side, and so they can climb back out if they do happen to go in. Usually I don't keep a horse trough filled during baby goat season for this exact reason. My horses have access to a pond and I make them use that when we have babies. But we're having terrible drought this year and the pond is very low with deep, squelching mud on all sides. It's difficult and dangerous for the horses to access it right now, so I went into auto-pilot and have been keeping their trough full. We dumped out half the water so now if a baby jumps in they'll be able to stand with their head above water at least. I may see about getting one of those long, low horse troughs next time I'm in Pueblo. I hate that my horses will probably put their feet in it, and my dogs will lie down in it, but at least baby goats couldn't get trapped in it.

Anyway, we're very thankful for a happy ending. Good job TinCup!!

[Nanno]

And now some baby goat pictures! 

Sticking with the Beatles theme, we're thinking about "Wild Honey Pie" for this one. Her eyes were very blue when she was born, but they're already turning brown. She looked like a little Nigie baby with her flashy markings and the eyes! Also, we've had a wonderful variety of ears this season. This little gal has Fox Terrier ears like Finn. 
   

And our "Boer" baby. I'm calling her "Dear Prudence". With all that white, this one's going to be hard to keep clean. 
   

And because she's still the most adorable goat in our herd, here's one of Coral. She has the most innocent, disarming smile I've ever seen. It makes her absolutely irresistible. I can't wait to see what her and Sox's babies look like! She's due in about two weeks. 
   

[Nanno]

I'm sitting in the office with Max on my lap as I type. He's such a sweet, friendly, happy baby. He follows me like a shadow and loves to be picked up and held, but I'm afraid these days will be over very quickly. He weighed in at 18 lbs. on his 2-week birthday! He's one of the fastest-growing kids we've had yet! I have a feeling this one is going to love going for hikes when he's old enough. He's an explorer, and he's just as happy to be with people as with his mama. And what a cutie! He's going to be a very handsome fella one day. 

But enough about Max for the moment. I've barely shared any photos of our two new kiddos yet! 

Honey Pie and Prudie are a little more skittish than Max and Sadie, but they're coming round quickly. I was busy organizing a horse show the weekend after they were born so they didn't get quite as much early attention as the other kids. But we're making up for it this week! 
    ]

Synchronized scratching!
   

I'm kicking myself that I didn't get any photos of Pie when she was 2-5 days old. For those three days, her ears stuck straight up above her head and then flopped over the front like a Fox Terrier puppy. It was the cutest thing! I guess I thought they'd stay like that a while longer. But alas, they stiffened up and now they just stick out, which is still charming but not quite as unique. 
   

I can't get over Prudie's coloring! Where did she get all that white? She looks like a little Boer cross. And no, my neighbor no longer raises Boer goats, so there was no mistake in the parentage. She's just a fluke. 
   
   

We've been bringing these two in for movies on the couch in the evenings now. Max and Sadie would like to keep being "house babies" a while longer, but we need to tame down these two new ones before they get big. I'd love to have all four in at once for a real baby goat party, but that might be pushing things. I'm sure if we give it a try there will be stories to tell. 
   

Soft baby goatie kisses.  
   

TinCup took her kids for their first walk with us on Tuesday. They had a great time! 
   
   
   

[Nanno]

Max and Sadie are two of the sweetest babies we've ever had. I just love these guys and I hope we can find amazing homes for them. They're going to be awesome goats for someone. They're bursting with playfulness and they can't get enough of people. 
   

Finn and Sputnik haven't gotten much attention lately. We've been much too focused on the new little kidlets. But maybe this weekend we'll be able to get them out for a hike and/or a drive. I'm curious to see how Finn's harness fits. I feel like he had a pretty big growth spurt recently, but maybe I'm imagining it. The harness will tell us the truth! 
   

Max is king of the rock! 
   

"Run, babies, run!" 
   

Phil loves his baby goaties. 
   
   

There's a reason we named this one "Sexy Sadie". She's a real looker! 
   

[IdahoNancy]

I love all the pictures. They are all good lookers. Thanks

[Kat]

Good lookers all indeed!

[Nanno]

Thanks! They sure are a barrel of fun!

[DownUnder Gal]

Such long and wavy ears!

[Nanno]

Little Coral had her kidlet today--a buckling!! Just one, and he's quite tiny, but he seems healthy. I'll try to have photos up tomorrow. And that wraps up our kidding season. Nine babies--two boys and seven girls!