Kids Almost Three Weeks Old

and I feel like I'm goin on 80! Questioning if I'm cut out for this venture. Probably nothing a little Xanax wouldn't cure ;-) Hope seems to be having a time of it keeping all four kids looking well fed so I've started supplementing a couple of them. Of course the one little doe Khloe is the smallest of the foursome and she thank goodness took to the bottle without hesitation. She was finding it kinda hard to knock her brothers off one of the TWO boobies when a couple are twice her size. So it's twenty some trips a day to the barn to gorge Hope with grain/herbs (in an attempt to keep her producing enough) and bottle feed the other two. The whole time I've got pubescent Gizmo who is attempting to show the world that even IF he doesn't have the family jewels anymore, that he is indeed a BUCK! Try and explain that politically correct to guests who come out to look at the sweet baby goats (usually with their own babies in tow). And then there is his OTHER new little caper of anytime I look like I'm going to sit down, he sneaks up from behind and if I have my hair in a ponytail, he YANKS it about clean out of my head! In between all the suckin, humpin and thumpin the kids have been totally entertaining. Still amazed at their rapid development at such a young age. Its like they were born ready to roll! Spring loaded and quick as greased lightening! I can foresee next weeks scenerio already... being out LONG after the sun goes down....trying to herd the miniature antelopes into their foot and a half wide by two foot tall barn door. Wonder if I could teach Weeny to do it?? ;-)

Haven't had much time to take pic's but above is grandson Ty Parker when he visited last weekend with his buddy Socks.

They're here!

What an experience!!! I've been a midwife of sorts to several litters of puppies and kitties, and recently the tub birth of my granddaughter, but nothing prepared me for the birthing of 4...count em!...4 Nigerian Dwarf kids!! It was a slow go the first part of day 145 with a lot of rolling around on the ground. Hope didn't seem so happy in her newly built kidding pen so I let her roam the big pen the better part of the morning. Once she got the little gyppers where she wanted them in the shoot, it was Katy Bar The Door! They came out at the speed of sound. I no sooner got the first one dry and the second one came....I didn't even have the second one's umbilical cord completely out and the third one arrived! I was up to my elbows in goats when the forth one made his appearance. By the time I got the forth one dried the first one was on his feet bouncing around on top of ME to find a boobie ;-) It was just amazing! Hope did a wonderful job cleaning them up and slowly got back on her feet. I had called Randy home from work earlier, as I knew Hope was getting close and I had the granddaughter for the day and knew I couldn't handle it all. I told him when she started popping them out I would holler at him in the monitor to come out. He had put the granddaughter down for a nap and had just stepped out to potty our 14 year old Afghan who doesn't potty so quick anymore. Hope started kidded with me softly chortling Randy....Raandy....Raaandy towards the monitor. No Randy. Which soon became RANDY, OMG another one....RANDY.....OMG another one....RAAAANDY!! When he finally made it out to the barn all four were dry and on their feet. The look on his face when he spotted us all was just priceless. He did manage to help me get their umbilical cords dipped and moved into the kidding pen where we watched them get started at the milk bar. We ended up with three bucks and one little doe. All seem to be doing well at one week today, as I try to cram in as fast as I can, what comes next and when ;-) Kinda like the birth itself!


Pictured is the new herd at ten minutes old.

Day 144

And buns are STILL in the oven! Good thing.... as it was 24 fricken degree's last night out here. I finally found a baby monitor (sound only) that works somewhat through a metal building 200 feet away to the house. It has saved at least 300 miles on this neurotic woman's feet thus far. Symptoms continue to surface daily. Today the discharge was somewhat amber. Distinct line down her back (which she's always had but not very distinct). She didn't want me to touch her today, which is very unlike her. Looks to be bagging up and general swelling of her rear end parts. When laying down she does this soft moan as she chews her cud. Ravenous appetite and I have increased her grain. Still prefers the straw to the alfalfa hay. The ligaments that were once mushy, then disappeared, then came back, are mushy again. Tomorrow morning would work good for me. Wonder what SHE thinks?? ;-)

30000 Miles Between House & Barn

Hope: "Let's see if we can put 30000 miles on my human this week."

Human: "Good job Hope!"

As I have been unable to find a security camera within our budget that will work through a metal building, and this ornery goat wants to go down the line, symptom by symptom, of impending goat labor, I think we have reached her goal this week. Still two weeks out from her due date, right before I take a two day trip to Louisville to visit the grandson's, her ligament's not only feel soft, they all but disappear right before I leave. Poor Randy is put on mid-wife notice with only a brief anxiety ridden education at best.

Anxiously get back home to find the same scenario with the ligament's, with a little discharge thrown in that day. Next day as I sit in the pen with her, she paw's at the ground half a dozen times. Line by line by line. More discharge today and doesn't eat her grain as vigorously as usual. Udder is looking a little fuller today as well. To save 2 miles just now I looked out the window and I see her grazing with her buddies. Breath Debbie breath ;-)

Knowing this character goat the way I do.....she will purposely wait until I do the last check of the night, two weeks from now, to really get down to business. I think she's just toying with the rookie goat owner ;-)

A Whole Herd??

Hoping that I'm not jinxing things here! My research on whether or not you can tell your goat is pregnant keeps leading to: you can't tell without an ultra sound, they possibly don't show (IF at all) until the last three weeks, along with.... they normally look pregnant all the time. Okay....she's FIVE weeks out and she has a Goiter in her side then ;-)




The whelping pen was built this past weekend and feeders/waterer's installed. All the "just in case" kidding supplies have arrived (except for my Xanax). All family members have been told I will be unavailable from March 27th until "to be announced". I still haven't found a security camera or monitor (that I can afford anyway) that will work 200 feet away through a metal building. Guess I will either camp out in the barn or put 2000 miles on my boots or miss the event.


















Hope's first Mom said her first kidding produced twins, her second kidding produced triplets. Any guesses?? I'm thinking one HUGE buck and one doe.

Poor gurl looks like a walking bowling ball ;-)

January Chores

Susie is not real sure she appreciates the milking stand thus far. ppphhhh! It's good until the grain runs out and then Randy continues to trim my hooves. Not fun! I'm trying to get her used to being on the stand while she's still young.

The Three Amigo's continue to grow coat and stand like frozen statue's on a daily basis out in the snow for about an hour. Hope isn't showing any signs physically of being pregnant, that I can tell. But I have read that doesn't normally happen until 4 or 5 weeks before birthing.

Still need to get the birthing pen built and order all the "just in case" supplies for the big day. Yesterday I ordered 25 Frankenchicken's and 14 new Bantam's before I forgot. They are also due here on the farm in April. Next on the agenda is ordering seed for this season's garden, goat pen, and chicken yard. Gonna be a busy spring.

Genetically Engineered Alfafa...what next?

So much for my plans of organic goat milk if this goes thru. Couldn't get certified anyway, as I'm surrounded by g.m. kidney killer corn. http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5946/content.jsp?content_KEY=6851

Snow Goats

Winter is upon us here in Illinois. The goatie gang doesn't seem too impressed with the snow we got over Christmas. Gizmo won't even step hoove in it. He peeks out the door and thats about it. Susie will come out IF she thinks there is something in it for her, and Hope will stand farm guard on occassion on one of the wooden spools. They are all getting fat and furry. Cutting back on grain this week. Have the heated water bucket going and they are consuming that well enough. New addition to the farm is in the form of a runny babbitt. I'm going to let him grow up a bit more before I put him in the stew pot.