Agnes' due date, according to what we had marked on our calendar, came and went. We watched as her bag grew to large dimensions. We were a little concerned, but she seemed to be acting normally. Agnes is the only goat on the place that has horns. She uses them to her advantage and bosses all the other animals around. The only goat she gets along with is her doeling, Mocha, pictured below with all the spots.
This past weekend, when I went out to the barn to check on things, I found Agnes had just given birth to two kids. The female was standing up and was already nursing when I arrived. The male, however, was not. He was a lot smaller than the female and had not gotten on his feet yet. Agnes was licking him and getting him cleaned up.
Agnes continued grooming her kids, and I worked on getting the little buckling up. He was so weak. I put him on Agnes' teat, but he barely had a sucking reflex. I even milked Anges out and tried giving him a bottle. That didn't work either. The doeling, on the other hand, was nursing like nobody's business. Agnes went into labor again and delivered the placenta. She promptly ate it. That's what goats and cows do.
The little doeling has wattles, like Agnes. Wattles are dangling 'tails' of skin that hang off of the neck of some goats. The doeling's wattles are both black with white tips. Scientists don't know what the purpose of wattles is. They just dangle and look cute.
I would like to be able to give a happy report about the little buckling, but I can't. I made my way out to the barn more times than I can count, trying to get the little fellow to stand or at least nurse on his momma. But it was no use. I began noticing that he was getting colder and colder. Finally, the last time I went to work with him, I found him dead in the hay. This is part of it. We've gotten used to it.
The doeling is quite healthy. She is spunky and strong. She looks like she has white tube socks on her legs, with one sock being pulled up high and the other slouching lower. She also has a white stripe running between her eyes and down to her nose.
She has a pink nose! This is the first goat we've had with a pink nose. Tricia said it makes her look like a bunny, so she named her "Bunny." I think she likes her name. In the photo below it looks like she's smiling!
Day by day she gets stronger. Soon we'll be able to milk Agnes and Bunny will share some of the milk with us. Until then, she's drinking a lot!
We keep our eyes on ol' Bunny. The other animals, especially LuLu and Elsie, the heifers, are very curious. They come and check Bunny out and like her with their long sandpaper-like tongues. They are a little too rough with Bunny. Agnes and Bunny sat down near the garden on a beautiful early spring day and soaked in the pleasant surroundings.
Welcome, Bunny, to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm!
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