Our first outing in the SUN!

There's That 3 Again!!!

So about THREE weeks ago I say to Randy...Did the chickens stop laying eggs again?? (as he hadn't brought in any in what seemed forever and I had to buy them at the store last week) He said "No..they're laying them all underneath the nests and there are THREE hens sitting on them. I want to try and hatch them." I just shook my head and sighed as we've tried this numerous times before with no success, that ended up with nothing but a stinky chicken coop. I also thought it was far too cold the previous weeks, I didn't care HOW many hens were sitting on them. Briefly looked online into an incubator for him for his birthday.

So this morning at the buttcrack of dawn he goes out to do feed the chickens and the bucks and I go out to check on the new goat babies and feed the rest. Meet him back at the house and he's dancing a jig like a little kid ;-)

WE HAVE CHICKS! I SAW ONE!!

Are you kidding me??

Nope! I saw one peek out from underneath one of the hens! Okay (smilin ear to ear)...I gotta go to work.

Ummm, not so fast Buster. We have to get a chick setup ready with a heat light, bedding, food and water. We can't just let them hang low with all the BIG chickens all day and I've got the Granddaughter due any minute.

So we slam together a chick setup and he goes underneath the hen and pulls out this itty bitty churping chick. He says... I think there is another one and hands the first one off to me. Hands that one off and sure enough....there is number THREE hiding up underneath her wing!!

Whoa...I need coffee!!

But of COURSE on the 3rd around 3 oclock...

the first kids of the season make their appearance! Above at half an hour old.
(The number 3 "thang" again...I should have known ;-)

This was the first kidding for Susie and I have been slightly anxiety ridden over her to say the least. On the small side anyway....I couldn't even tell if she was pregnant until a couple days ago when she started to blossom an udder (and then I read that doesn't always mean diddly either). She appeared more like a bowling ball from all the LOVE=ALFALFA she was given while I was away. Unlike Hope last season, that obviously appeared to be carrying several kids. I also had no clue WHEN she was due.


I checked ligaments a couple or more times daily the last week and this morning I was rushed as Granddaughter was here. I didn't feel ANYTHING and just thought I couldn't find them (duh) along with she was RAVENOUS for her grain, so I didn't push the issue TRYING to find them and fed everybody. Thinking (ahem) that she would go off her feed if she was close.



Around noon I did a quick look-see into the pen and she was standing over by the feeder chowing down on greens. No mucus plug, no appearance of dropping and I went back inside and fed Kyra and around one put her down for her nap. Around 1:30 I heard this gawd awful bleep in one of the TWO baby monitors and I KNEW it wasn't Kyra and I knew it wasn't a familiar bleep either. Sprinted down to the barn and there Susie was laying in the middle of the pen. Two little hooves protruding out. OH CRAP!! Ran back to the milking room and got my handy dandy kidding kit and sat down behind her. Within a minute or two out came the first one! Itty Bitty but strong. Without inspection...I thought a doe. Two minutes later out came the second. Sized a bit more to my liking and without inspection I suspected.... a buck.

Susie immediately started working on the first born and I helped clean up number two and handed that one over to her as well. She finally stood up and we all went to the nursery pen under the heat lamp, as it was pretty cold out today. As I dried them the rest of the way, I finally inspected and as suspected.... one doe and one buck. The doe has wattles like her Daddy Vinnie and in looking at the pictures when I got back inside, I'm wondering if she might have blue eyes. (I'm hoping not and Randy is hoping she does) I went back out a bit ago to look and with the red heat lamp I can't tell one way or the other.

I CAN tell they are beautiful (and am definitely gonna need help with colors on these two) along with Susie is an excellent Mommy ;-)