Goat-O-Rama Kids of 2021

[Nanno]

Whew! I can't believe it's time to post a new "Goat-O-Rama Kids" thread again! It seems like the 2020 kids have barely hit the ground and here we are almost a year later and ready to start over. Well, they do say, "Time flies when you're having fun!" 

I just got the pregnancy and CAE/CL/Johne's tests back, and everyone is pregnant including Mocha!! I tried breeding Mocha 3 different times and I was sure she didn't take. She was with Scout twice and Sonic once, but she never seemed interested in either of them and I eventually had to give up. She seemed to come into heat again after I'd already wethered the boys so I was sure we'd just have to wait until next year for her. But now I find out she's pregnant after all! YAY!!! I'm not sure which breeding took though so I'm going to have to really keep an eye on her. I wrote down three different dates and which buck she saw on each, so once she kids I should know which buck was the father. 

The CAE/CL/Johnes tests all came back negative. (WOOHOO!) I know my goats are healthy, but it's always nice to see confirmation in writing. 

Sadie is the first gal due around April 15th. She's only barely starting to show and I hope she's not carrying another single. I really want her to have TWO babies this time (two bucks hopefully!). She has an abundant udder and she's such a long, tall, leggy goat that I'd love to see some packgoat babies from her. 

Skeeter is the next one due (late April) and she already looks like she swallowed a watermelon. She didn't look pregnant at all, and then suddenly in the last two weeks she blew up like a balloon. She's definitely acting pregnant now too. She suddenly got very bossy and everything for her revolves around food now. (That may partly explain the sudden expansion--it's not ALL baby weight!)  

Snowball has been quietly but noticeably getting larger lately. She's not due until late May, but she looks like she's been working on a secret project for which she is very protective. She's taken the opposite attitude from Skeeter. She's gotten more demure and cautious, particularly around feeding time. She doesn't engage in head-butting fights or get too close to anyone who might hit her. She's shy and gentle and quiet--the complete opposite of her mother Tigerlily. 

Mocha, as I stated earlier, is our wild card. I have no idea when she is due or who is the father, but I'll certainly keep everyone posted when I find out more!

[Saph]

How fun! I always look forward to seeing photos & hearing all the stories of your babies each year. Good luck to everyone!

[Nanno]

I felt Sadie and Skeeter's babies kick this morning!

[Nanno]

Sadie was due Monday but didn't look ready. But this morning she's finally starting to show signs! Her udder got a lot bigger last night and she's starting to act a little different. Her ligs are still there so I don't think she'll deliver until at least this evening, but it could happen any time! Keeping my fingers crossed for two buckliings!

[Nanno]

A little tri-color gal that looks amazingly like Finn (but no relation), followed by a very hairy little chestnut and white boy!! It was a textbook kidding and the babies were up and nursing in no time! Good job Sadie!!!  
   

More photos later, but for now I have to finish the saddle club financial reports for tonight's meeting. 

[Nanno]

I took the new kids out for a little playtime in the fresh grass yesterday. It was a cold, but since the forecast said it would get colder during the weekend I figured I'd better get them out for some fresh air and what little sunshine we had. We still haven't named them, but we're working on it! They're both so incredibly flashy!   

The little doeling's ears stick up and the little buckling's flop down. Actually, his right ear flopped down and his left ear stuck up for the first 24 hours, but now both are flopping down.




Our friend Diana came over with her daughter Emma to see the new babies. 


Most of our boys claim no responsibility for any babies born here, but Sonic is an exception. He is fascinated by these kids and he seems to know that he is the proud father. 


"That's my boy!"

[Nanno]

These guys continue to be so much fun! Inspired by the 1980's "Return to Treasure Island" saga starring Brian Blessed, we've settled on the names "Saphire" and "Ben Gunn".

I forgot to add a link to the Goat-O-Scope! Here it is: https://www.ipcamlive.com/5cb9f57b71a34

Sadie and her kids have been inside a lot more than most of my goats because of the weather. I usually will only lock mama and the babies up together just at night for the first 1-3 nights, depending on the mother and where she is on the "goatem pole". But here we are at five days and I'm still locking them in because we keep getting hit with snowstorms and I don't want these kids leaving the shed and getting wet and maybe not finding their way back in. They might hide inside the electric spool and that's not a dry, cozy place at all! Also, everyone wants to invade Sadie's shed and take all the hay and she's not quite tough enough to kick most of them out. I'm not worried about anyone hurting her babies. All my does are very sweet with other goats' kids. But I don't want some doe refusing to let Sadie in because then she won't be able to nurse her babies. It's always easier when the herd queen kids first, but it didn't work out that way this year. It's also easier when we kid just a little later in the spring, but that also didn't work out this year because I really wanted to space the kiddings apart for maximum baby goat enjoyment.

[Nanno]

We had another perfect kidding today! Skeeter went into labor around 2:00, which was the nicest part of the day, and she popped those kids out in textbook form. The only help Phil and I had to give was to cheer her on! She kidded two healthy, strong, and beautifully marked girls! Sticking with the treasure theme, we’ve named them Ruby and Diamond.
 



Ruby came first with a very large rush of water, and once she was dry she weighed in at exactly 8 lbs. She’s a lovely two-tone chamoisee like her dad, Sonic.


Diamond came just moments later with barely a push from mama, and she weighed 7.5 lbs. Although her front is mostly white right now, Diamond will be colored a lot like her mom when she grows up.


What a sweet little kiss!
 

[Nanno]

March came in like a lion. Then April came in like a lion. We ran out of firewood and almost ran out of propane. But sometime around the end of April, warm weather arrived! I got my shorts out, grass started coming in everywhere, and the goats enjoyed going out for daily walks!

Snowball is looking mighty round these days. As this photo was taken on April 29th, she’s still got about four weeks to go here. “Hang in there, girl! How many babies have you got in there anyway?”
   

Sadie’s kids are two weeks old here and happy to be bounding out on one of their first walks.
   

Skeeter did not accompany us on this walk and we wondered where she was. I hunted around and eventually discovered her hiding in the boys’ pen at the top of the hill with her two little kidlets. They weren’t quite old enough to be going afield with the herd so she took them to a warm, safe place where she could keep an eye on everyone from above. I think last year’s hard lesson with Butterfly has made Skeeter cautious this time around. When the herd goes anywhere near the horses, Skeeter hangs back and takes her kids the other way.
   

Little Ruby loves climbing on big, soft mama!
   

Diamond was born with one straight and one flop ear. I was desperately hoping they’d stay this way, but alas, I believe this was the last of her asymmetrical start. The right ear straightened out over the following weekend, never to flop again.
   

Sputnik has a certain noble air about him, doesn’t he?
   

[Nanno]

There’s that flop ear again!
   

Sapphire and Ben Gunn enjoy a nap in the soft grass and warm sunshine.
   

Skeeter and her her two girls under the shade of the ol’ pine tree. Remember it? Skeeter’s mother Petunia played under this same tree. Funny to think that dear old Lilly was Ruby and Diamond’s great-grandmother. Goat generations go by very quickly.
   

For the first time since they were born, Skeeter allowed her little darlings to play with Sadie’s older kids. She was rather suspicious of the filthy little brats, but she recognized the practicality of allowing her kids to have friends and entertainment other than herself.
   
   

Big Ben Gunn meets Diamond… who looks almost exactly like his sister Sapphire. It’s seriously hard to tell those two girls apart now that the size gap is narrowing!
   

Diamond and Ruby.