What a day! Bought 7 chicks last week, 14 more yesterday, went to get hay this morning and my bunny buck to go with the 3 bunny does I bought a few weeks back.
Come home and across the porch, step in the door and what do I here, the sweetest sound on earth, a new born cry! I said to Hubby what was that and as he is asking what? I turned to look across the porch and see, my first Mini Boar buckling. I have decided that if everything bred to NDs become Mini whatevers, then my boar or boar mix whatever she is will have mini boars when bred to my NDs too! Who would want a mini meat goat hehe...me! She was still cleaning him up and I could see a little bubbly spot about quarter size at her backend, #2 would be here soon!
Yippee! (This is the little girl who was only about half grown last year when she had the dead doeling about 10-14 days preemie...about 2 1/2 weeks after I purchased her.) So I am an extra happy goat granmommie!
So I proceed to check out my first Mini Boar ( discover he is a buck) and she or I neither one seem to realize another baby is arriving! All of a sudden she hit the ground right by me! I almost passed out when I saw her...a good bit smaller... ok her dad is an ND and she looks ND sized, whereas her brother is not so much...but that color...OMG check it out! You are seeing what I first saw, still wet...wait til you see her dry! I can't even describe the color! But I know moonspots when I see them! Not one or two spots, but moonspots all over and one on her little chin that touches her lip! Ain't she awesome? I know she is mixed, and almost definitely with more than two breeds. But I couldn't be more happy with her!
They are 100% pure goats after all! LOL! You gotta love'm Here are my 2 new mixed, but beautiful kids!
I am worried about momma, since I don't know about the placenta! I had to leave after a while and I can't be positive that she passed it, so what do ya'll think? Is there anything I can or should do,or do I just pray she did?
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Margaret, your new babies are adorable! :) Huge congratulations, and I think starting a mini meat goat herd is an awesome idea.
We did finally weigh the babies yesterday and I think we have names!
My mom (Lillie 85) saw them today and really thought the doeling should be named after her! So my Katie (10) says that is ok with her! So to be completely unoriginal (everyone needs a common name once in a while I guess), if we don't change our minds, we will call him Billy (5lbs. 4 ozs.) and her Lilly (4lbs.). Spelled a little different than grandmas to match her brothers name better!
I found another moonspot under Billy' armpit to go with the one on each of 3 feet, for a total of 4. I just think that is weird that I didn't see them when he was first born!
They are sooooo much fun!
And BTW, so far so good on momma. It's been over 48 hours and she still seems VERY ok, so I am thinking that I just missed the afterbirth! Having Faith here!
Thanks Guys! She did of course have that hanging after the second kid and when I returned home a few hours later she was a pretty bloody mess but the slime wasn't hanging. She had several little helpers through all this though, that were not only helping her clean kids but were of course after everything else too. So I am sure that if everything passed ok, even if she didn't clean it all up, someone would have.
I had wondered since all her puppies (4) slept with her every night what she would do when she delivered. Just as I suspected, she took care of her kids but also let her puppies check them out and help! In fact you can see one in the top pic of the buckling sniffing him. Momma was way to interested in him to pay a lot of attention to the does arrival and cleaning, so she was mostly taken care of by the pups! I wiped her face and made sure they were safe but let the pups help because I knew that there could always be the chance that I may not be around and their help might just save some kids one day!
I know nothing about how to properly train LGDs. But my teanitsy dogs love their goats and take good care of them. The biggest predator I would have are neighborhood dogs and they always raise cain when any come around and chase them off down the road! It doesn't matter that they only weight about 10 or 12lbs. on average, because even when big bulldogs see & hear them coming, they haul butt with their tails between their legs (if they have one). LOL for sure!
The dog pound lady was down this way a few weeks back and they were all in the road. I stopped and told her they would go back in the yard when I left. that they like to follow the car down the road and then they would go home! I told her they were my LGDs and explained how well they do. She got a BIG kick out of it all. Said she just wanted to make sure she didn't have a bunch of pups to deal with but since they were mine and not abandoned ok! She is new and hadn't seen them before. All the regular ones know us and don't worry about us. The old guys just slow down for the dogs and shake there heads because the dogs think they own this whole end of the road.
No, I am not hording a hundred dogs! Yes, I have a lot! 4 adults and the 4 pups from last spring. (Less than 80 lbs. worth) But with several acres to patrol, and them being so little, it doesn't seem like many at all! Our land is very funny shaped (and we have 2 pieces) being in a court and connects to at least 10 other properties, so they have a lot of directions to watch! I would be very worried about all my livestock if I had to depend on 2 or 3 big dogs or less little ones for that matter!
Totally cute!!! Congratulations!
As for the placenta ... if you see nothing hanging out of her back end, she probably passed it and ate it already. After the last kid is born, there are usually membranes hanging out about a foot long.
Got some little better pics this morning with them dried out, but still kinda curled up from the cold! Little doe has her ears splinted cause one is folded and I don't want it to stick out like her mommas! If anyone knows how long the splints stay on, let me know please! I also realized on closer examination this morning that he also has chocolate moonspots on 3 of his feet!
What cuties! Not sure what advice to give you on the placenta now what ? but I feel totally qualified to say the babies are CEE YOOT. :)