As we’ve been blogging, it’s lambing and kidding time. This morning we arrived to the barn with another baby kid goat; a little girl. This is the time of year when the babies throw you unexpected curve balls.
Our first doe this year stayed in labor and wasn’t delivering. We rushed her to the vet and she proceeded to deliver right when we got there. Crazy. One year one of does wouldn’t go into contractions. Her bag was hanging out for 19 hours. We finally had the vet do a C-section and the babies were delivered fine and healthy. We were worried the next year with her but she delivered fine and we’ve never had a problem since.
Well, with our little girl I monitored her all day and she was tiny and thin but seemed very fine. She was nursing throughout the day. Her mom’s udder appeared full and fine.
But, this evening out of curiosity I reached down to the doe’s udder and her udder was hard and not producing milk. All the nursing all day was for not. That is a really bad thing as the baby goat needs colostrum in her first 24 hours.
So, as noted in the title, the first rule broken in farming is no animals in the house….well, right now I am typing this blog with a tiny 2 pound baby curled up in my lap, in my bed. Yep, that is a big no no.
It’s 7pm now and dark outside. But, I’ll be back down at the barn in a few hours with my head lamp on. I am pretty sure one if not two of my ewes are about to go into labor. And, it’s supposed to snow tomorrow and currently 42 degrees right now. So, I plan to be in the barn tonight to be there to towel off the lambs if they are born.
So, it’s not just me who will be breaking the animal house rule. My husband will be baby sitting while I am at the barn. And that is how it rolls in the farm world when you love your critters as much as we love ours.
Here are a few pictures from our day at the farm.
This morning started with an amazing bright sunrise today. The sky was orange and purple. You can see that I am in the process of working on some of my hides this weekend.
Sunrise At The Farm
Our New Doeling Princess Nicketti and Chloe
Bonnet Who Is Two Days Old
All Three New Doelings Playing – Boots, Bonnet and Princess Nicketti
Little Princess Nicketti Saying Hi (She Has Blue Eyes)
She’s Tiny – The Size Of My Hand
Too Cute And Tiny
Boots And Bonnet Have Gotten Bigger And Are Running And Jumping
Boots And Her Mama Want To Be With The Big Girls
Princess Nicketti Is Tired And Sleeps Under Mom
Nicketti Visiting Bonnet For The First Time
Babies Love Sleeping In The Food Bowl
Bonnet And Her Mom Exploring Outside The Barn For The First Time
Bonnet and Boots’ First Play Date
Well, I will get back to trying to teach this little baby on my lap how to bottle feed. As of now she keeps crying and has not yet figured this bottle feeding thing out.
Thanks for spending time with us on our farm!
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