Monday, January 17, 2011

A New Kid and Winter Milking :)

Well, all my goat questions have been answered...  :)
Last Thursday, I noticed my milk goat, Annie, was displaying definite signs of labor.  I was so excited!  I could tell from some very specific things that it wouldn't be long at all before she kidded.  In preparation, I removed Jem Dandy ~ the buck we had bought for her ~ to another pen....and put some fresh hay out for her.  I decided to stay outside as much as possible so I could be there for the miracle.
While waiting, I got the maul and split some wood.  Last Saturday, we spent the day outside splitting wood and stacking it for the woodstove and I have to admit, I was bedazzled by the maul.  Maybe not the "maul" itself, but the *crack* the wood makes when you finally give it the winning lick... I love that!!  And it's great for frustration release...  :)
I was splitting a log when I heard Annie start bleating...  I dropped the maul and ran to see what was going on.  Guess what???  I was just in time!  The kid's head was just emerging.  Color me excited!  The kids (my two legged ones) must have either heard Annie or saw me running, because promptly, they were out the door and witnessing the scene.  As the baby's head was coming out, it sounded like it was choking...which freaked me out...  we had a not-so-pleasant experience with a goat that had complications ~ the leg emerged but the head was turned back on the shoulder and never would come out ~ it was AWFUL... so, with those images in mind, I was sincerely hoping this one would be okay.  I went over to check it, and decided to swipe its mouth out, in cause that would help.  It was amazing...  I continued to watch...and pray for its safe delivery and out it came.  OMGOSH!  What a miracle!
Just born...how sweet is this?  :)
I was seriously happy to be there for the little guy's birth.  Yes, it's a buck.  Which is good, because based on the buck who bred my sweet milk goat, it probably wouldn't have been a good milker anyway.  He was so shivery....it was really cold.  I helped Annie clean him off and directed him to nurse.  I think I bonded with him instantly.  <3
Here he is bonding with his mommy after some serious cleaning... 
I had previously promised my dear daughter that I would take her shopping that night so I had to leave the new baby and get ready...making sure first, of course, that he was nursing and in good health.
The next day, I went out to check on him and the poor little thing was still shivering...which led to his naming.  I decided to call him Shivers.  <3  
Upon noticing that his umbilical cord still looked pretty raw, I decided to tie a piece of floss about 2" inches down, cut it off, and dip it in iodine...just to be on the safe side.  He was looking so dang cute and fluffy....
A Kodak moment with my little Shivers...  :)

One more picture....  he is so darn adorable.....

As for my other goat question, regarding the milk....that has been duly answered, as well.  Since there's only one kid and he favors one side, there's the other side that's full of milk.  So, after about a week, I began milking her on the side that Shivers has no interest in.  I'm getting a half a gallon of milk per day, milking once a day, from that one side!  I was down to three quarts of frozen milk so I went ahead and bought a gallon of milk from the grocery store.  I really wouldn't have even had to have bought it if I had known I'd be milking.  So, it turns out, she had the baby just in time to supplement our dwindling supply of milk.  How cool is that?  Except for the one gallon of milk I bought, we've not had store bought milk in almost two years.  Now that is a milk goat worth keeping :)





3 comments:

  1. That sure is a pretty lady holding that little goat. :)

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  2. Congratulations, Michelle. He's beautiful. I love kidding time.

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  3. Why, thank you kindly, sir.... :)


    And thank you, Carol! Birth of any kind is such a miracle... I love it. <3

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