Kidding Season - Another Kid

I've got some good news and some bad news tonight.  Let's start with the bad.  On Sunday, Bunny gave birth to twins.  The largest one was born dead.  The youngest was very small and weak.  For the past four days we've worked hard to pick her up, put her on Bunny's teats, and encourage her to suckle.  I was going through this process five or six times a day.  She'd drink and show some strength.  She was never able to get up on her own, make her way to the dinner table and drink milk.  Last night I noticed she was getting weaker.  I worked with her and gave her encouragement, but my efforts proved to be ineffectual.  By late this afternoon she died, and I dug a hole with a shovel and buried her.  I've buried several goats this year.  Tonight when I got back from the Beekeeper's meeting, I could hear Bunny crying hauntingly as she looked for her baby.  C'est La Vie (and death).

Bunny's unnamed doeling - RIP

Let's switch to the good news.  Agnes is another momma goat.  She's the only goat on the farm with horns, and she uses that to her advantage, bullying all the other goats.  She's mean.  But she is a good momma, always delivering healthy babies, strong and vigorous.  Coming on the heels of Bunny's situation, we were hoping for a better outcome with Agnes.

It's Agnes' time to shine

Tuesday afternoon I went to the barn to gather eggs.  As I rounded the corner, I was greeted by a surprise.  Agnes had given birth to a big black baby goat.  She had cleaned her baby up, and it was up and walking.  Since Agnes had not had a gender reveal party, I checked the little goat's equipment and it's a little buckling.  We'll name him Kit!

Without any assistance from me, Kit immediately started nursing and got his dose of colostrum, giving him the best shot of health moving forward.  That little dude drained one teat in no time flat.

I always like to get proof the babies got the colostrum.  "The proof is in the pudding," they say.  That saying is literally true.  I checked Kit's "pudding," and it is bright orange.  Yep, he got the good stuff digested.

Kit is jet black and full of spunk and energy.  He'll be a welcome addition to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

We've always said that if you are discouraged or depressed, the best thing for you is to sit down and watch baby goats hop around playfully in the pasture.  It's sure to put a smile on your face!

The Kidding Season Comes to a Close

We had five momma goats pregnant.  Popcorn, the billy, has proven to be quite the fertile fellow.  One by one, they kidded.  Bunny had a stillborn buckling.  But with three healthy baby goats running around the pasture, we were ready for the last one to be born.  It was time for Callie.  Her bags ballooned, letting us know that any minute, there would be a baby.  So far this year we have 1 doeling and 2 bucklings.

Tricia came around the corner of the barn and said, "We have a new baby.  It's a little buck."  Callie already had him all cleaned up.  They say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.  That means the offspring are often like the parents.  So is the case with Callie and her little boy.  This is Callie's face:

And this is her little buckling's face...  White, black and brown.  She marked him well.

The little fellow got right down to business, drinking his colostrum to ensure he gets a good start.  Since Bunny lost her baby, we're milking her twice a day and keeping the milk to make kefir and cheese.

We still have a little leftover goat milk that we feed to the laying hens.  They really enjoy it.

But they must drink fast.  Belle, our Great Pyrenees, has developed an affinity for goat milk.  She comes around the corner, chases off the hens, and makes quick work with her tongue of lapping up the goat milk!

Goodness and Mercy

Yesterday morning in Morning Worship, we sang the hymn, "Surely Goodness and Mercy."  It is such a happy, catchy, fun song to sing.  The hymn is based off of the Scripture Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

I remarked that Goodness and Mercy would be great names to name sheep or goat twins!  Wouldn't that be the perfect names?  Just so happens, Mathilda is very pregnant with her first kids.  This morning at sunrise we went to the barn for our daily chores.  I put together all the feed and then I began to milk Clarabelle, the cow, as Tricia was feeding the chickens, opening nesting boxes and getting the goats in their places.  She said, "Mathilda is in labor!"

She updated me that Mathilda had feet poking out of her.  As she brought her into the barn and separated her in the stall, I could immediately tell that there were some problems.  Legs were protruding, for sure, but from the feet, you could tell that it was a breech birth.  Labor was not progressing and to make a long story short, Tricia timed Mathilda's contractions with pulling and was able to deliver the kid.

It was a female, but unfortunately, it was dead.  But, Mathilda wasn't done.  There was another kid coming.  Her labor was not progressing and Tricia had to assist with this delivery as well.  This was a male, and he was dead, too.  A very sad morning, to be sure.

The female, on the right, below, looked just like Mathilda.  The male, on the left, below, was spotted.

We are watching Mathilda closely after this ordeal.  She is very swollen from the stalled labor and delivery.  We were hoping to be able to be able to name these twins, Goodness and Mercy, and have them follow us all the days of our lives, but we'll save those names for later.  We'll have more twins come along in the future!  

Kidding Season - Annie's Doeling

Tricia keeps tight records and announced to me that Annie's due date was today, January 17th.  Plus it is a full moon.  Annie is our 9 year old Nubian momma goat.  We happened to be outside when the labor began, and we coaxed Annie to push.  Hooves pointed outward and we see the little face.  Everything seems to be positioned right.

In three shakes of a billy goat's tail, the little kid was on the ground.  We checked it out and it is a doeling?  Healthy, active and vocal.  Annie began licking her to get her all cleaned up.  She scratched the ground all around and threatened all the chickens who wanted to venture too close.

Annie's teats are huge, and as a dairy goat, that is a good thing, except Annie's bags are messed up.  Mastitis in the past have rendered her unable to provide any milk to her offspring.  Therefore we have goat colostrum that we'll bottle feed and then this little doeling will be a bottle baby.

At first, she didn't get the sucking reflex too good, but after a second trip to the barn, Tricia had her draining the bottle.

She has all kinds of interesting markings on her face!  

We welcome yet another kid to the homestead.  Now we have to figure out a name for this new arrival.

Annie's Time Is Coming Soon

Annie is our Nubian Goat that gave birth to triplets back in early March 2016.  We named the little trouble-makers Buckwheat, Darla, and Jane.  They are fun to watch, but like we always say, they are like having some bad little kids around.  They are always getting into trouble.  The little family of four has entertained us time and time again.

Tricia let me know that she noticed that Annie is "bagging up."  This means that Annie is pregnant and will be kidding again within the next few weeks.  During all this rain, we've kept her in the barn where it is warm and dry and there is plenty of dry hay to serve as bedding.  She's really not fat at all, so I don't think she's having triplets again.

The expectant Annie giving you "the eye"

But here's the proof of the pregnancy and soon delivery of at least one kid:

Goats are different from cows in their lactation equipment.  A cow has 1 udder with 4 quarters.  There is a teat for each quarter.  If you watch a calf nursing on his momma, it will go from teat to teat until all are empty.  A goat also has four quarters, but has only 2 teats.  1 teat drains 2 quarters as there is an opening in each quarter that empties into the teat.

Regardless how many teats Annie has, they are filling with milk and we'll have another little one on the farm soon!  We will keep you posted.

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!

What's Going on with Annie?

Annie is our Nubian goat.  She was born back in April 2013 to Nellie, our first goat on the homestead.  She is quite a character with loads of personality and floppy ears.  She cocks her head sideways and holds her ears outright sometimes when she walks and we jokingly refer to her as the "Flying Nun."  Over the holidays this past winter, we brought her to a friend's home for a while so that she could be bred. The friends have a herd of registered Nubians that roam along the banks of the Atchafalaya River near Melville, Louisiana, and we were hoping that "Iron Man" one of their billies would breed Annie.

We picked her up and brought her home after she was there for a little over a month.  Now a goat's gestation period is on average 150 days, with a range from 145 to 155 days.  To take the most conservative stance we counted forward from the very last day that she was exposed to Iron Man - the day we picked her up.

Well, yesterday was day 155.  We are anticipating more goat milk as we haven't had a good goat milk kefir smoothie (from Annie's mother, Nellie) since December.  But as of yesterday: No baby goats! And at Day 155, I think it is impossible that there will be one coming.  We are scratching our heads... What happened?  Here's what we know: she started developing a bag.  Her teats, especially the one on the back left side enlarged considerably.  You can see it below.  So we know she was bred.  She is in great health and perky and mischievous as always, so she's not sick or in distress.  It is indeed a mystery.

Could she have miscarried?  Perhaps, and probably that is the best explanation, but we never found the baby or placenta and no evidence from Annie of going into labor.  Baby goats are small and there is a possibility that a hawk or other predator may have taken the carcass, but the fact that we didn't see anything out of the ordinary is mysterious.  Now, one rainy day in mid-May, we found what appeared to be (maybe) a puddle of blood mixed with rainwater by the round bale, but we checked Annie and all the surrounding area and found no evidence of delivery.

We are disappointed.  We were really hopeful for at least one kid to be born, but we'll just look forward to this Fall to re-breed her.  Goats are seasonal breeders, meaning they come into heat in the Fall through early winter.  We were certainly looking forward to Annie kidding, but we'll have to be patient.  Things like this happen.  Despite our best laid plans, things often go awry.  Crop failures and animal illness and death is all part of it.  We accept it and will focus on the future.

Speaking of the future, Rosie, one of our Jersey cows, is very pregnant and should be calving in a week to ten days, so we'll anticipate that baby and the freshening of Rosie.  We should have a new baby and fresh milk shortly.

Annie The Nubian Goat - Pregnant?

Earlier in the month IN THIS POST we talked about how all 3 of our Jersey cows are pregnant.  All three should calve before the year ends, giving us 3 calves to keep or sell and lots of fresh whole milk!

What we didn't talk about is another animal that we suspect is pregnant - Annie, our Nubian Goat. We brought Annie to some friend's who live on the Atchafalaya River who have a Nubian buck named "Iron Man."  Annie was on a long 'date' with Iron Man that spanned the time between December 3, 2014 through January 4, 2015.

Annie the Nubian Dairy Goat

While we don't have any definitive proof that she's pregnant, we do notice (we think) a mysterious bulge in her belly.  Goats' gestation period is 150 days.  If we count back to the earliest day that she might have bred to the latest, we get a range of due dates from May 2nd to June 3rd.  So that means she could be the first momma out of all of the animals on our little farm to give birth this year.

Annie looks just like her mother, Nellie,  with almost the exact same coloration. Now Annie was a single kid, but twins are pretty common in goats.  Goats can have from 1 to 5 kids, with twins being the most common.  At this point she just doesn't look that big, though.  If she is pregnant, it just doesn't look like she's big enough to be carrying twins, but what do I know?

Now Annie appears to be in great health.  Although the cows aren't very fond of her, she likes to go out into the pasture and graze with them.  She also really likes to get on her knees, poke her head through the hog wire and nibble on weeds growing just outside the fence.  There's lots of fresh clover that the cows can't reach and she capitalizes on her dexterity to reach it.

We'll start keeping our eyes on her very closely and ensure that she's getting the very best of goat pre-natal care.  We give her snacks of alfalfa pellets and then I've been cutting privet, oak and pecan tree branches to give to her.  She really likes eating the tender new leaf growth.  Hopefully, she is pregnant and will give birth to at least one healthy little one.  We're looking forward to her freshening with milk so that we can once again enjoy fresh goat kefir smoothies made with fresh fruit for breakfast.  We haven't had any of those since we lost Nellie in December.

We'll keep you posted and will of course show baby pictures when/if Annie kids.