Goat-O-Rama Kids of 2016
#11
I got the girls moved to their own pen today, and Phil set up the goat-o-scope in one of the sheds! It's awesome! Delilah is due in one week. Tigerlily is with the boys because at nearly a year old she needs to stop nursing! Her mother also needs to dry up and get ready for her babies that are due in June. There was a bit of wailing from both parties, as well as (embarrassingly enough) crying from Sputnik who also wanted his mommy even though he's nearly two. ("Come on, Sputnik, pull yourself together!") But all is quiet now and hopefully will stay that way. Tigerlily seems to get along very well with the boys. Even Cuzco doesn't really hassle her much, so this should work out well.
Reply
#12
Well, we jumped the gun on kidding season this year! Today we went and bought two purebred Nubian bottle babies to be suitors for our Alpine girls this fall. I'm tired of trucking all over the countryside for a driveway breeding, only to discover that the doe went out of heat on the way to meet her boyfriend. We've had some good luck with driveway breedings, but we've also had our fair share of repeats and disappointments. This year we'll have our own bucks! 
   

The other goats were very interested in the new arrivals. Nubbin was especially enamored with the little brown boy who looks just like the ones she lost two years ago. She mourned for them terribly and I think she still remembers them because as soon as she saw that little guy she went right for him.  
   

I let Nubbin into the enclosure and she gently followed him and kept nosing his bottom. I put her on the stanchion and she did not protest when I taught him to suckle from a real teat instead of a bottle. She was not so sure about the black one and did some kicking when I offered him a teat. But with some persistence I was able to get her to stand and get him to take the teat. I doubt it will happen, but I would love it if Nubbin adopted these two. It would make transition into my herd so much quicker and easier if they had a "mommy" to look after them and show them the ropes. In the meantime, they are cozily ensconced in a doghouse in the patio enclosure. 

In other news, Delilah is spending her first night by herself in the kidding shed. I don't think she'll pop tonight, but she went through enough changes today that I think it's time she had a room to herself "just in case". I think she's enjoying the privacy, and we get to keep an eye on her through the "goat-o-scope."
Reply
#13
They are beautiful, Congrats. Great coloring.
Reply
#14
We had a nice surprise at 4:00 this morning! I rolled over during a very deep sleep and sort of vaguely thought to myself that I should check the goat-o-scope. I almost was too sleepy. The iPad on the nightstand seemed miles away. But my curiosity overcame my drowsiness and I gave the iPad a click. I could see Delilah's back end in the camera view and it looked like nothing had happened. She was still fat and laying down like she was when we went to bed four hours ago. I began to put the iPad away but then decided that since I already had it out I might as well pan over to her head and see if she was making faces. My heart did a backflip when this happy sight greeted me! 

.jpg   DelisKids.1.jpg (Size: 44.27 KB / Downloads: 135)

She was cleaning them off and they were both standing and bleating in such a healthy way that I thought about turning over to finish off the night's sleep and just see them in the morning. But when I panned over to her water bucket I noticed it was empty, so out into the dark I went, flashlight in hand. I'm glad I went out. Not only had she drunk all the water, but the kids had not been able to nurse. One teat had bloody little teeth marks where a kid had tried and failed to get any milk out. The teats were solidly plugged with wax and it took quite a bit of effort before I could get milk out. The kids also were less dry than they'd looked on the camera.  

So with Phil's help I dried the kids off better, helped them nurse, and dunked their umbilical cords. Mama looked comfortable and content between licking her kids and eating hay so I almost went back to bed. But then I remembered to bump her belly just in case there was another. I'm so glad I did! A solid, heavy object bounced back at me! But Delilah did not look like trying to push it out any time soon. I waited around for a long time and nothing happened. Every so often she would lay down and stretch and grunt a little, but she never pushed. I had a quick feel and there was nothing in the birth canal. With baby still completely inside the womb I felt ok leaving it there to see if Delilah would deliver on her own. Phil even suggested that we leave for a while since we might have interrupted her labor (after all, she didn't want us there in the first place!). So we went back inside and monitored her on the camera for another half hour. 

By 6:00 I figured it must have been close to three hours since she'd delivered the first two. It was time to go in and see what was holding things up. I scrubbed up and went in, and there at the edge of the birth canal was, first of all, movement (huge sigh of relief!), but also something I'd never felt before. I thought it was a head with no legs presented. But no, that wasn't right. There was no mouth and no ears. I reached a little further and felt something pointed and bony like a hoof but not a hoof. Then I felt a crook in it. It was a hind leg and I had hold of the hock. The bony thing I'd thought was a head was a bottom! All the kids I'd delivered before were presented head first, so I was in unfamiliar territory as I broke into the sac and brought the hind legs around one at a time into the birth canal. Once I had both hind legs out Delilah began to push, and with several good pulls I was able to work those pointy little hocks and hips into the outside world. The rest of the kid soon followed and we had one more healthy, wriggling little (or should I say big) brother. Delilah had saved the biggest for last. 

So now we have two boys and a girl. The girl is the smallest and looks exactly like her aunt Jezebel. The middle-sized boy is white with black spots and looks almost identical to his cousin Tigerlily. The third and largest is a bold black and white boy with white blaze face. I'll get proper photos later today after we get them cleaned up better. It must have been a stressful birth for all because every one of them is covered in orange goo (now dried to orange crust). Mama is very tired and swollen and I need to get back out there and take care of her some more now that she's had a few hours to rest. These are the first purebred babies we've had on the place. These will all be registered Alpines.
Reply
#15
I was overjoyed that the last little one made it out alive. I'd been praying he was ok in there. Sometimes it's hard to know whether or not to intervene, but I asked God to keep him safe. God not only protected the last little one, He made a celebration for his birth.
   
   
Reply
#16
What a beautiful display God gave you and I'm so happy He helped you through that difficult birth. I'm looking forward to seeing photos of Delilah's kids. I hope she recovers quickly from such a difficult birth.
Goatberries Happen!
Reply
#17
Thanks Taffy! Here are way too many of the photos you said you wanted to see. Tongue 

The little brown doe who looks like Jezebel. She weighed almost 7 lbs. 
   


The little white buckling who looks like Tigerlily but with black spots instead of gray ones. He weighed just over 7 lbs. 
   
   

The naughty fellow who tried to come out backwards and got stuck. He weighed just over 8 lbs. 
   

Cool dude--all he needs is a beer in that hand! 
   

All in a row warming up by the wood stove. 
   

They were covered in so much nasty orange filth that we decided to bring them inside and give them all a bath. They loved soaking up the heat from the stove afterwards.
Reply
#18
And a few more just for fun...
   

There's a line at the milk bar!
   

We've decided to call this feisty little dude "Rocky". Nubbin isn't going to adopt these babies, but she's got no problem standing for them to nurse on the stanchion, and they already take to her udder better than to the bottles they were raised on.   
   

And this tough little fellow is called "Rambo". I put the boys out in the backyard with Delilah and her new kids this afternoon. The boys love the new arrivals. I can't wait till we have all five bouncing around like ping-pong balls! I know it's old hat for some of you, but we've never had more than three! 
   
Reply
#19
Nanno, how do you tell them apart? I painted my dog's puppies tails with different colors so I could keep track of them. Goat-O-Rama goats all look so identical that I mean... Isn't it confusing?
Reply
#20
Hello Nanno
Congratulations Ya'll done good. Smile
RE: Charlie Horse
You think "Colored" goat kids are hard to tell apart??
Try keeping track of 8 "ALL WHITE" Saanan Kid goats.
That is what our neighbors have NOT one patch of color in the whole batch and they were bred by a Colored Alpine.
Happy Trails
hihobaron and the Troops in South Carolina
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)