Annie Returns Home

In This Blog Post from September 30th we communicated that we brought Annie, our Nubian doe, down the road to a nearby community called Hathaway.  It is there that we know a gentleman who has a Nubian buck.  After Annie's first pregnancy in which she presumably lost her first kid(s), we wanted to get her bred this Fall so that we will have Spring kids.  It is still a mystery to us how she lost her first babies, but it is not productive to theorize about what happened.

Goats go into heat during the fall, and we wanted to make sure that we got her to visit her suitor in time. So in late September we dropped her off at the gentleman's house, and as we walked her to the corral where she was to stay for the breeding period, the buck introduced himself to her. Last week I received a call from the neighbor down the road letting me know that Annie was bred and ready to be picked up and brought home.

He told me that he observed his buck breeding Annie a couple of days after we dropped her off.  He observed semen dripping from her and marked the date on his calendar.  Now, a doe's heat cycle is approximately every 18-21 days, so he watched her beginning on the 17th day after the breeding date that he witnessed and continued watching for signs of her going into heat for about a week after that.

Annie showed no signs of going into heat that he could observe, which tells us that there is a very high probability that the breeding was successful and we'll have a kid or kids in early spring.  A goat has a gestation period of about 150 days, so according to our calculations, Annie's due date should be about March 29, 2016. Baby goats are so cute.  Here is a picture of Annie from April 9, 2013, when she was just born:

Cute little Annie

Annie has grown a lot since then and is about to be a momma herself.  We went and picked her up and this time we put her in a Pet Carrier that we slid into the back of the pickup.  She barely fit into it, but the trip was better than the rodeo we had on the trip over where we laid on top of her in the back of the truck!

We brought a bag of feed for her when we dropped her off and we wanted to pay the gentleman a 'stud fee' for having his buck breed Annie.  He would have none of it and would accept no money. He simply said, "My payment is the pleasure I get out of helping a neighbor."  What a nice thing! We're certainly thinking of something that we can do for him to express our appreciation.  There are many people who are a blessing to us and I feel indebted to them.  We are certainly fortunate to have such giving friends and neighbors!

Annie in the pet carrier

Annie could not wait to get home.  She hopped out of the pet carrier and high-tailed it to the gate of the pasture.  She roamed around, re-familiarizing herself with her home, and I showed her the newcomer, Luna, that she had missed out on:

Little Luna

Daisy was either curious to see Annie or didn't appreciate Annie nosing around her baby.  She quickly came and nudged her away.  The other Jerseys appeared to tell Annie hi.  The little animal family is reunited (and growing!)

Welcome Home, Annie!

It is nice to have Annie back on one hand.  On the other hand, it takes a little getting used to.  Having a goat is like having a nosy, mischievous toddler around - always getting into trouble and going where she's not supposed to be.  Annie is healthy looking and this spring she should deliver a kid or two.  We can't wait for that!