Goat Emergency!

Friday night we had our first goat crisis.  After getting home and changing into farm clothes, I gathered milking supplies and went out to gather the milkers.  I found Abba in the barn, standing by the hay manger, listless and panting.  *Hard.*  Open mouth panting.  I quickly milked Jacqsonne and Memphis so that I could [...]

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growing like weeds

The goat kids are growing like weeds.  I weighed them the other night, they average around 30 pounds, just over one month old.  Fred and Bogart (Memphis’ kids) are the biggest, and the youngest.  Their bone structure is much more substantial, while Rock and Doris (Abba’s kids) are taller, leaner, but weigh more than you [...]

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Memphis becomes a Mom

Tuesday morning we decided that if Memphis wasn’t showing any signs of progress we would give her a shot of lutalyse to induce her.  The theory is, the average dairy goat gestation is 145-155 days.  Monday was day 150 for Memphis’ pregnancy, and we were worried about having her hold the kids too long.  Then [...]

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Kids and Kids

As you can tell, the neighbors came over to visit little Rock and Doris, see the horses and other animals, and help me milk Jacqsonne last evening!

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Oh Happy Day!

I woke up to my alarm clock going off at 3:30am for a middle of the night check on the pregnant does. As I laid in bed, urging my body to cooperate and get up, I heard a goat cry out, and in response I heard a much smaller cry. I jumped out of bed, [...]

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Measuring Up, 148 days

Today marks 148 days bred for Abba and Memphis.   This morning I measured the circumference of their ever-widening abdomens.  Their last measurement was at a month out, so about 3.5 weeks ago. Today’s measurements: Abba – 50 inches Memphis – 51 inches That’s a gain of nearly 5 inches each!  It’s been a lot of [...]

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146 days

Today marks the girl’s 146th day of pregnancy.  I took photos of them yesterday to show their developing udders.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to take photos of the girl’s hind ends when you’re by yourself?  It’s nearly impossible! because they want to inspect what you’re doing.  I found myself dipping [...]

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it’s good to see some green

I guess the grass is readying itself for St. Patrick’s Day? We’ve been blessed with a week and a half of warm weather.  Overnight lows in the 50′s and daytime highs in the 60′s, sometimes nearly 70!  It’s wonderful!  I’m always amazed by how quickly the grass rallies when warm spring days begin to appear.  [...]

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she teases me

For the past few weeks I’ve occasionally seen discharge coming from Abba.  Since yesterday, she’s had a small amount of discharge every time I’ve checked her.  Her ligaments seem to be getting softer.  Her respirations have increased. Thus begins the waiting game. First freshners are notorious for showing premature signs of labor.  I pulled out [...]

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Measuring Up, Less than one month

Tonight as I worked with Memphis and Abba on the milking stand, I decided to see how the circumference of their bellies has changed since I last measured them a month ago. So, drum roll please Abba – 45.5 inches Memphis – 47 inches That’s a gain of 3 inches each! Some people say they [...]

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