Our First Kid - More To Come 2018

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

Well yesterday morning I woke up to a surprise.. Denali was in the middle of birthing 2 beautiful bucklings. I woke up before my alarm so I have a feeling it was due to her screaming. Her kids were 9lbs and 9.8lbs at birth, the black and white is huge. Denali was bottle raised and she doesn't seem to have much for maternal instincts but she hasn't rejected her kids. She half way cleaned them up, but looks at them like they are scary. She is finally standing a little to let them nurse after having to clip her to the fence through out the day yesterday. She seems to clean one of their buts but not the other. I'm leaving her in the kidding stall for a few days to bond with them.  

We are thinking of names for these two, an Alaskan theme. The dam's name is Denali, her brother's are Yukon and Huck (Huckleberry Fin.) 
So far on the list is:

Kodiak
Chinook
Nanook


Any idea's are welcome!

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[Nanno]

They're beautiful! Congratulations! I'm so glad these last two births went well. I'm sure Denali will figure this whole having kids thing out pretty quick. Awesome that you got two more boys! They're gorgeous. I like the names Kodiak and Chinook. Nanook sounds more like a girl's name to me. Other Alaskan names that come to mind are Tundra and Klondike. I found a lot more ideas here:
http://www.mydogsname.com/85-stunning-al...dog-names/

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

Me too. Part of me is glad I got to see what kidding gone wrong looks like first so I was better prepared for the other does. Not that it makes the loss easier but it was a lesson learned.

We considered grizzly but Nick really hates the idea of yelling grizzly as we're going down the trail. I kinda like Kodiak & Klondike, well have to try it out for a few days. Thanks for the link.

[DownUnder Gal]

Beautiful babies

[Nanno]

How are your mamas and kidlets doing? I hope everyone is healthy and you're having a blast with them. Any recent photos?

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

Yes, everyone is well. Lotus has developed a bit of an infection on one of her disbudding sites but hopefully we have it controlled. She's otherwise acting like a rebellious kid, though not as bad as Domino. It's been fun to watch each kid develop their personalities. 

Lotus is a great mix of her dam and sire, weird and in your pockets. She is so friendly and even though I've had to give her some pokes and painful head scrubs she still welcomes me when I come into the pen. She has also become huge, 22 lbs at 3 weeks old. 

Lotus and Dice sun snuggles. She makes Dice look tiny. 
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Dice has started coming out of his shell. He was really taking on his dam's evasive and avoidant trait which is undesirable but has noticed all the other kids come to play with me. He now lets me pet him and give him scratches with out stepping away. In fact, he's persistant and won't stop jumping on me. 

Dice giving me the tongue! My dog, Kamali is bored in the background... I have him tied on the fence because he's suppose to be on cage rest and he's not happy about it, so he gave me the cold shoulder. 
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For Denali's kids we settled on the names Kodiak, and Togo. Togo was named after a sled dog so he fits into the Alaskan theme. Kodiak had a heavier birth weight than Dice and Domino but he's now the smallest of our kids at 10 days old and 11.5 lbs. Denali doesn't let me see her nurse her kids but they have been growing and their bellies feel full, it's the oddest thing. I do hold her still every once in a while for my own piece of mind.

Togo is a momma's boy, he follows her closely everywhere. He was 10 lbs at birth and has a clumsy way of moving even for such a young kid. We love his coloring and both he and Kodiak are so sweet. 
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Kodiak is small and was born weaker than Togo, but showed to be such a little fighter. He's got a big heart, and is so sweet like his dam. I feel for him because Denali has chosen her favorite as Togo and doesn't show Kodiak as much attention.  
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This whole kidding experience has been bitter sweet. We are grateful to have gotten so many buckling's but with recent family circumstances will have to downsize our herd when they are weaned. All of our breeding goats will be sold and I will pick and choose who of the boys stay's. Likely Huck and Kingsley will stay, while Pluto and Rafiki go. That would leave enough space to keep the 4 buckling's.

[Nanno]

Beautiful photos! Love the picture of Dice with his tongue out. And he's so cute snuggled up with Lotus. I'm glad she's thriving. Her rapid weight gain is likely due to her singleton status. I notice my single kids far outstrip the doubles and triples when it comes to early growth. The boys will probably catch up quickly though once that testosterone starts to kick in at around two months.

I haven't had any of my mamas play favorites yet, but I've had kids that were smaller or less aggressive and couldn't compete for the milk. With those I put mama on the stanchion once or twice a day and I bring in the smaller baby to nurse by itself, and I let it drink as much as it wants. Sometimes they drain the udder and that's ok because it means the big, greedy kid won't get quite so much so their growth rates will start to balance out a bit better.

I'm sorry your family circumstances are difficult right now. I hope you can find good homes for the goats you sell. I like to think of it as spreading the love around.

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

Yea, Denali is halfway trying to reject him, she will push him away and walk away as he tries to nurse, significantly compared to Togo. However, when I feel his belly it's never completely empty.... I have been holding her a few times through out the day so he can nurse to his hearts content because he's the slowest growing kid so far.

That's a good perspective, thanks for that.

[Nanno]

How are your kiddos doing? I'd love to see some recent photos if you have the time. I'll bet they're adorable!

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

So far they are doing well. I will get some pictures up soon, they are growing so fast!
Togo our last born is as big as our first born Lotus. Gosh, I just love Togo he is the best baby goat, he will stand there for chin scratches and snuggle up on me. The rest have pogo sticks for legs and they are all over the place. I'm grateful for the amount of time I've spent with them, even being dam raised they are extremely friendly.

Pictures coming soon!