Goatorama kids of 2014

[Nanno]

Cuzco seemed a bit sulky today, and when I asked him what was wrong he said that his thread was going to be derailed by all the cute babies and everyone would forget about him.

So I scratched his withers and told him I'd start a new thread for the babies and I'd try to keep "Cuzco's Glamour Shots" a little more on-topic.

It's official: Phil named this little guy "Huckleberry Finn." I'm not sure yet whether "Huck" or "Finn" is going to be the name that sticks, but I've been leaning toward Finn. Phil calls him Huckleberry.

Phil worked with Finn asleep on his lap yesterday, and today Phil was proud to show off his new baby while he gave a Skype interview to Modern Farmer Magazine.
   

Last night we had some friends over for a movie night and Finn joined us and sat on Phil's lap for most of it. And today I brought him into the kitchen to keep me company while I ate lunch. Do you think he might be a wee bit spoiled?
   

[Nanno]

Lilly is a wonderful mama and always makes sure her new babies have a cozy, out-of-the-way spot to hide while she goes off to graze. I remember her hiding Petunia last year and sometimes we had trouble finding her.

I wouldn't have found Finn today if Phil hadn't seen where Lilly put him and told me where to look!
   

I'd forgotten about this old tire out back.
   

Daisy sometimes gets worried when Lilly leaves Finn by himself. Lilly gets worried if Daisy messes with him. They've come to blows a few times over this baby. I've had to step in and protect our poor LGD a few times because Lilly keeps chasing her, butting her, biting her, and trapping her underneath trailers and vehicles. But I don't know what Lilly is so worried about. All I've seen from Daisy is pure affection and tenderness when she's with Finn. Daisy sneaks over whenever she can and licks him gently from nose to tail.
   

If Finn comes out half as good-looking as his big half-sister, he'll be a very handsome goat indeed!
   

[Nanno]

This little guy is so cute I can't stop posting photos of him! These were taken yesterday afternoon as well. He spent a lot of time bouncing up and down the stairs behind this retaining wall and posed for the camera with his beautiful mama.
   

"Helloooo down there!"
   

"Mom, look what I can do!"
Finn spent some time showing off his balancing skills on top of this wall, and even demonstrated his ability to stand on three legs and scratch his chin while perched on this height. Then suddenly without any warning he leaped off! Scared me and Lilly to death. The wall is six feet high and and he landed flat on his belly on the cement below with all four legs sprawled out. I think he got the wind knocked out of him because he didn't cry. But he shakily got to his feet, limped off, and after discovering that he was ok, he raced around to the stairs and bounced straight up them again. Phew!
   

He posed proudly on the stairs for one more shot...
   

Then laid down and had a warm bath.
   
   

[Nanno]

It's been a sad morning. We have two less babies to welcome into 2014. Nubbin delivered sometime last night while we were in bed, three weeks before her time. One was very bloated and mostly hairless--obviously dead for a while. The other looked perfect and was probably born alive, but was too early. Nubbin was a good mama and had dried her off, but it was no use. I don't know if we'd have been able to save her even if we'd been there to warm her and tube feed her. Three weeks is so early.

They were both does and both colored just like their mama--bay bodies, white belts, and white patches on their foreheads. I cry a little when I think we could've had three Nubbins jumping around. I'm guessing she got hit by one of the other goats (probably Lilly, although there's really no way to know). I'll give Nubbin some antibiotic since the one kid had been dead in there awhile. Other than being sad and calling for her babies, Nubbin seems healthy and doesn't look as though she had too much trouble delivering. She's got a pretty little udder, so it looks like I'll be milking her twice a day. Now on to the sad task of cleaning out the shed and burying these little ones.

[nebs]

Sorry to hear that Nanno. Unfortunately there is a sad side to the animals that bring us so much joy. Keep your chin up and focus on that handsome buckling with all those cool markings.

[Charlie Horse]

Oh man that sucks. It means that pack-man's line is dead unless you keep Finn as a buck.

[Nanno]

No, we're still waiting on Petunia. She was bred to Pac-Man as well and is also due in three weeks. Of course, now I'm going to be a nervous wreck during those three weeks.

Oh, and Finn is not one of Pac-Man's babies. If he grows out nice we may use him as a buck this fall before we wether him. The hope was that if Nubbin had a doe kid we could breed Finn to her, but we could still breed him to Nubbin. We could also breed him to Petunia's kid(s). They're not too closely related to him I don't think. We'll see how things go around here.

I think the hardest part about all of this is listening to poor Nubbin cry. Every time I go outside my heart breaks when I hear her plaintive, inquisitive calls. She keeps licking my hands and arms. I think she can still smell her babies on me even though I've washed several times. Poor sweetie. There's not much I can do except commiserate with her.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Ah sorry to hear that. But like you suspect, there woulda been nothing you coulda done at 3 weeks early. 7-10 days is about the max. Their lungs are just not developed enough when they are that early.

[Huckleberry]

I'm so sorry to hear that, poor Nubbin. Lilly sure does have a pretty little fellow though! So cute

[Nanno]

Thanks ya'll for your condolences. I took this loss a lot harder than I would've thought. The worst part was listening to poor Nubbin. She's had such a rough time this year--first watching her mother killed by coyotes right in front of her, and now losing her babies. I sure hope things improve for the little gal next year!

She was much better today and only hung around crying by herself for a little while this morning before she went out and grazed with the other goats. Last night Nubbin slept outside by herself, curled up with her face away from everyone, and she was in the exact same place and in the same position this morning when I let the goats out. I don't think she moved all night. But tonight she's sharing a shed with Cuzco again, which is her usual resting place. I'm happy to see she's socializing again instead of moping around by herself.

And we felt Petunias babies squirming today! Phil and I both felt them, and we felt them on both sides! So I'm pretty sure she's got two. And they are lively ones! I swear they were doing the jitterbug in there! It's the first time I've ever been able to feel babies move and it was so exciting. Nubbin was too deep and soft to feel anything, Nibbles was too fat, and Lilly is so tight and toned that I don't think any baby could kick its way past those abs of hers! Petunia is just right, and she feels like she's bulging with kids. I told her to stay out of trouble and keep them safely inside till they're cooked properly!

Little Finn is doing great. He's bouncing around like a jumping bean and discovering the joys of bumping his head, tumbling off heights, falling in holes, and all the other things little kids do when their courage is greater than their ability. I'm not sure yet, but I think this little guy might be polled like his mama. He has swirls, so I thought for sure he'd have horns, but they haven't sprouted yet. Nubbin and Petunia's were poking through within a 3-4 days if I recall correctly. So far Finn only has round nubs and he's almost a week old. Pac-Man is enamored with Finn. He looks at him with all the pride of fatherhood, convinced that this is his progeny. I told him he's mistaken, but Pac-Man won't hear a word of it. The two boys like to stick their tongues out at each other. In fact, Finn doesn't seem to know how to put his tongue back in. I told him it's going to get sunburned the way he keeps poking it out all the time.