# Baggin' up..  :D -- UPDATE...*PICTURES*



## cmjust0 (Mar 5, 2010)

We bred late this year..  Our first scheduled to kid is due 4/14, and she's starting to bag up a little already.

Excited, but nervous...as always.

She was still pretty ROTUND when we bred her, so she's been cut way back on grain through today..  We watched, and watched, and watched...just waiting for her to flip the switch and start burning off some condition.  

Well, the last couple of days have seen some improved weather, and the goats have been much more active..  Walking around, exercising, getting a little sun..

Last night in the barn, under the light of the propane lantern, she turned just in a certain way..  I went over to investigate and, sure enough, her skin's fitting just a wee bit tighter on the shoulders..  Tailhead's not nearly so padded..  The sponginess behind her front elbows is tending a little more toward bagginess.

My wife's gonna split her off this afternoon and offer a little extra grain, just for her.  She's nowhere near ketotic at this point...bright, alert, great appetite.  So the goal now is just to try and maintain her current condition and walk the tightrope between inviting toxemia and inviting overly-gigantic young'ens.  

This one hasn't proven to be much of a mama, but she's a nice goat, sweet as can be, keeps easy, milks well, and throws really nice kids.  If we have to spend a little extra time bottle feeding a couplethree cute, sweet little baby goats...oh well, what a shame, right?  

 

I'm rambling now..  Sun's shining..  Weather's warming up..  Grass looks to be greening in the sunnier spots..  First doe's bagging up..  The old circle of life just seems to be coming back around to the livelier, happier side.

It's a good day.


----------



## aggieterpkatie (Mar 5, 2010)

Glad to hear it!


Oh, and it's Friday!!


----------



## ksalvagno (Mar 5, 2010)

Good luck with her. It is always exciting!


----------



## Roll farms (Mar 5, 2010)




----------



## cmjust0 (Mar 8, 2010)

Weighed a small folger's coffee can (the little plastic ones) full of our grain yesterday.  Just about a pound and a half.  So, she went from whatever she could scrap out amongst the other goats to being pulled off to the side and fed 1-1/2lbs by herself.

We'll see if that's enough to keep her condition steady, or if we'll have to add more.  Eventually...well, within the next little bit actually...I'll work her over to a textured, non-medicated lactation blend.  What she's getting now is a 'developer,' which I suspect is more geared toward building muscle than providing energy....though they do get fat on it.  That said, I feel confident that it's got plenty of carbohydrate.  I'd just feel better feeding a sticky sweet lactation blend to a goat that's going to need energy and who is currently building an udder.

Plus, I'd rather switch her now rather than later when she's already nursing.

And, btw...no scours, no acidosis, no bloat, no nuthin' from bumping her grain from a few hard-fought swipes out of a common pan to 1.5lbs, all at once.  

Then again, I didn't _expect_ any problems...  

I'm just throwing it out there for..ya know..just whomever to read.  

Maybe there's someone out there who needs to quickly boost supplement to prevent toxemia in a late-bred doe that's rapidly stripping off condition...but who, for whatever reason, is equally scared to upset a tummy by boosting supplementation.

Suffice it to say that if I had to choose between a little dietary scour and pregnancy toxemia...there's just no contest.

And I actually haven't even seen a scour.  Soooo...  Do with that what y'all will.


----------



## aggieterpkatie (Mar 8, 2010)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> Weighed a small folger's coffee can (the little plastic ones) full of our grain yesterday.  Just about a pound and a half.  So, she went from whatever she could scrap out amongst the other goats to being pulled off to the side and fed 1-1/2lbs by herself.
> 
> We'll see if that's enough to keep her condition steady, or if we'll have to add more.  Eventually...well, within the next little bit actually...I'll work her over to a textured, non-medicated lactation blend.  What she's getting now is a 'developer,' which I suspect is more geared toward building muscle than providing energy....though they do get fat on it.  That said, I feel confident that it's got plenty of carbohydrate.  I'd just feel better feeding a sticky sweet lactation blend to a goat that's going to need energy and who is currently building an udder.
> 
> ...


Glad to hear it.    My doe kidded over the weekend, and I doubled her grain (1 lb to 2 lbs per day). No issues.


----------



## cmjust0 (Mar 8, 2010)

Good to hear yours kidded out OK.  Kidding is always nerve racking.  

Something I forgot to mention..  This doe is jet black with frosty ears and muzzle.  And they've all still got their winter coats.  And we bred late.  And she's ginormous.

And it was like 60 degrees and bright sunny yesterday, with very little breeze.

They laid out in the sun, basking, and then one of the boer crosses (...mostly white...) decided it would be a good idea to hike all the way to the top of the hill...where there's ZERO shade.  Not wanting to be left alone, ol' heavy bred Starla hoisted herself up on all fours and started walking along with everyone else.

About twenty paces later, she was panting to beat the band!  Open mouth, tongue sticking out...huhhuhhuhhuhhuhhuhh...

Poor gal.  I actually went into the barn and refreshed their hay, then called everyone down pretty much just so she could get a little respite from the sun.  I let her buffer her rumen with some nice fresh hay, then aggravated her until she bolted out of the hay feeder and ran out into the mail aisle of the barn while everyone else was chowing down.

She figured out pretty quick what I was doing.

That's when we snuck over to another stall and she got her extra grain, just me and her.  I sat and petted on her while she ate...really, though, I was checking for changes in condition over the short ribs, vertebrae, tailhead, behind the front knee over the flank, over the sternum, etc..  

I gotta say...she's just about exactly where I want her right now, for the first time in a _long_ time..  She'd been about a BCS4.5-5 at breeding -- a real tubbo -- and she's back down to about a 3.5 now.  I'm hoping 1.5lbs of grain will be what it takes to stop her right there, without sending her back toward 4 or letting her fall to 3.  If it looks like it's gonna be too much, I'll cut her to 1lb.  If it's not enough, I'll go 2lbs.  

We shall see.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 2, 2010)

Almost a month later, this doe looks ready to EXPLODE.

She's huge...had triplets her last go around, and I can't say she looked this big then..  I'm just hoping there are birthable triplets again, or even quads.  If it's twins...yikes.  

Seriously...she's so big her rearmost ribs are poking out.  When she puts her head to the ground to graze, she snorts and grunts and carries on.  She's jet black, too, with some of her winter coat still on....and it's hitting 80+ today....so she's huffing, puffing, and panting..

Still 12 days from official due date and she's absolutely _miserable_ -- but still up and about and bright and eating like a HORSE.  Her level of condition is stable and she's in pretty good shape (BCS-3 or 3-1/2, I'd say), so we're hoping we can get through these next two weeks or so without her starting a serious condition burn..  She's on about 20oz of grain a day just to herself, plus whatever she can scrap out with the other goats...plus hay...plus new the grass is coming on pretty good now...plus a good mineral, of course.  

If she went at 143, I couldn't blame her..  I think she actually went a little early last time, though we didn't know the exact breeding date to say for sure then.

She 'shore is a whopper though!!


----------



## ksalvagno (Apr 2, 2010)

Just make sure you are telling her to her face how thin she looks! 

My last girl is due on 4/14. She is huge also. I'm praying she will deliver ok since this is her first.

Good luck and hoping pink!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 2, 2010)

Last time, she had triplet doelings..


----------



## dkluzier (Apr 3, 2010)

Good luck.  Can you get a pic posted of the mama so we can follow along??


----------



## RockyToggRanch (Apr 3, 2010)

Good luck My last doe is also due 4/14.


----------



## BellaLulaFarm (Apr 3, 2010)

Could you talk more about a lactation blend vs just regular sweet feed grain?  Our girls are due 5/17, one is also getting huge (triplets?) whereas the other is only just large , and are getting about 1 and 1/2 # sweet feed a day in addition to free choice alfalfa.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 6, 2010)

This is what a miserable goat looks like...






Comparison to her daughter (left), who's also bred...but not nearly so far along.





Appetite's holding up well, and her condition is stable with about 1-1/4 lbs of grain per day.  We really don't think she's gonna make another 8 days, though..  Weather's supposed to turn off colder Thursday with a chance of rain and night time lows around 35..  We're thinking she'll decide the change in weather means it's go time and crank'em out in the early morning of day 145...

We shall see..


----------



## DonnaBelle (Apr 6, 2010)

Great Picture of Mom and Daughter!!!  Thanks so much for that side by side photo.  What date do you think she will go??

Also, do you think there's more than one in there??

DonnaBelle


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 6, 2010)

The biggun's due 4/14...can't remember when her daughter's due, but it's not for a while yet.  Six weeks, maybe?  Daughter's a first freshener, too, so that should be interesting.

As for multiples...there had better be.  She's at a point now where I'm almost hoping for quads, because she seems big to me even for triplets..  The pictures really don't do her justice..  She's GINORMOUS.  If she's hiding triplets in there, I can't help but think there gonna be pretty big triplets.

If she's packing twins...or worse, a giant singleton...we could be looking at some real problems.

So,...  for some serious multiplicity.


----------



## ksalvagno (Apr 6, 2010)

Here's hoping for multiples!


----------



## dkluzier (Apr 6, 2010)

She is huge.  We have a saanen mix though that was that big and had a 10 1/2 lb single - both years that she was bred.  She is normally on the big side though, at least in the rumen. 

Your girl is gorgeous.  Good luck.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 7, 2010)

Something my wife and I were talking about last night...look at her front legs.  Look how far apart they are, as compared to her daughter.

She doesn't normally look that way.  

Those of you who have processed goat or deer will understand that a goat's front legs aren't really connected to their body except by muscle and ligaments.  They don't have the same ball/socket type architecture a human shoulder has; the front legs of a goat just sorta float over the ribcage.

Remember me saying how her ribs were sprung out?  Yeah...  Now scroll up and take another look at the width between her front legs.


----------



## Chickenfever (Apr 7, 2010)

I'll be keeping an eye on your post, I'm very curious to see what comes out.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 7, 2010)

She is a beaut!

I'm betting she'll go on day 151.....just for grins.  Trips.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 7, 2010)

She's looked better, btw..  I see these pictures and I'm like...DANG...she looks _rough_. 

Then again, they all look weird right now..  Especially the black ones.  They're losing their winter coats and they're all wavy curly and itchy looking.  To me, they all look like they're suffering some kind of mineral deficiency but....well, I don't think that's it.  They've got EXCELLENT mineral, and they use the crap out of it.  All of them..  

Sometimes I think they're just putting on acts to be as frustrating as possible.  :/


----------



## The Egg Bandit (Apr 7, 2010)

Here's my miserable goat.  I wonder which will kid first?  I too am hoping for major multiples - this little lady is TINY!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 12, 2010)

Well...we're at day 148, and still no babies.  :/

She's getting miserabler by the minute, but still has a good appetite and follows the herd around the barnyard...waddling every step.  Her ligaments have _aaaaaaalmost_ gone a few times, but there's yet to be a time when I just flat-out haven't been able to find them.  Sometimes they're more obvious than others, but they're staying pretty soft at this point..  

No goo.  No head-pressing.  No other obvious signs of anything.

I saw her standing the other day, chewing a cud..  Then she stopped.  Kinda closed her eyes just a little..  Then *BAM*, her whole side shook.  Just a few seconds later, _*BAM*_, her whole side shook again..  She stood there for a moment afterward, then commenced to being a goat again.

Ya know how olympic swimmers do the little roll/kick thing on the wall of the pool when they reach the end and switch directions?  Ya...pretty sure that's what one of the kids was doing in there.


----------



## glenolam (Apr 12, 2010)

Wow - she is a big goat.  Poor girl must be praying for rain to kick start everything!

Mom and daughter are very beautiful!  Thanks for putting them side by side, too, it really shows the difference between them.

Right before my doe kidded she was stretching in the sun on a very low balance beam we made for them.  All of a sudden as she's stretching her chin up I saw the rollercoaster going on in there.  Later on that day she was laying along the fence and there was this horrible angle protruding out of her side - must have been a hoof or something - it was hard as a rock!

Keep us posted - I, too, am thinking she'll wait until day 150 or so just to make you mad...


----------



## DonnaBelle (Apr 12, 2010)

CM you and I are in the same goat-boat.

Lenora is GiNormous also, and chewing her cud, and lays down an kinda "chuf, chuf, chuf"s.

But she is also eating well, and no discharge.  She looks like she has a 15 lb watermelon on each side of her!!

Just waiting and waiting and waiting.

DonnaBelle


----------



## dkluzier (Apr 12, 2010)

Poor girl - hope she goes soon and hope you get triplets out of there, although my girl also named "Tiny" got that big and had a single doeling over 10 pounds both years she has birthed.  Go figure!  We added to her name while she was pregnant and call her Tiny Barrel. Teehee.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm on day 153 w/ Levi (red boer x) and she is making me nuttier than usual....I feel your pain.

If she does go on day 151, do I get a bozo button or anything for being right???

Good luck!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 13, 2010)

Day 149...still no babies.  Her ligaments have been soft-ish for days now, but they're still palpable.  Still no goo.  Wife said she crawled under an old truckbed trailer in the barnyard a few minutes ago, which is weird..  Could be seeking cool shade, or could be way early labor weirdness.  Hard to say.  Very uncharacteristic, though, given it would have taken quite a shimmy to get under there.  

She came right out as soon as my wife went out to feed, though, sooo...?

On a side note, we found an undercoat rake for dogs at Wally World last night on clearance that looked like just the thing for a fat, jet black, miserable goat who's gigantic preggers during an unusually hot early Spring, so she got her coat raked out last night.  She's been...not so sweet...lately, but she couldn't get enough of the rake thingy.  LOVED it.  I raked, and raked, and raked...pretty sure I could have formed a new goat out of all the downy, linty stuff that came out of her coat.  Much sleeker now.  Should be cooler and more comfortable.

So, anyway...the watching and waiting continues.  :/

Roll:  No bozo button, but you will get braggin' rights.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 13, 2010)

I got home from the grocery a bit ago...as I'm carrying in groceries, I hear much moaning and groaning on the baby monitor....I never put the ice cream and perishables away so fast in my life....ran down to the barn only to discover...It wasn't ms. 4 days past due....it was a the doe who had quads 3 weeks ago, she's just a loud drama queen...grunting as she lay in the gen. pop. pen 10 feet away.

*stomps foot*

I want babies.....and a bozo button.  I never get my way.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 13, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I got home from the grocery a bit ago...as I'm carrying in groceries, I hear much moaning and groaning on the baby monitor....I never put the ice cream and perishables away so fast in my life....ran down to the barn only to discover...It wasn't ms. 4 days past due....it was a the doe who had quads 3 weeks ago, she's just a loud drama queen...grunting as she lay in the gen. pop. pen 10 feet away.
> 
> *stomps foot*
> 
> I want babies.....and a bozo button.  I never get my way.


This one's a grunter, too.  :/

Every night, we kinda listen toward the barn and here her going "eh...eh...eh...eh...eh...eh... ... ... ... EHHHHHH...eh...eh...ehhh...eh...eh.."

I dunno why we even listen, really.  I guess we're waiting to hear her go "eh...eh...eh...I'm in labor, btw...eh...eh...ehh..."


----------



## glenolam (Apr 13, 2010)




----------



## dkluzier (Apr 14, 2010)

> This one's a grunter, too.
> 
> Every night, we kinda listen toward the barn and here her going "eh...eh...eh...eh...eh...eh... ... ... ... EHHHHHH...eh...eh...ehhh...eh...eh.."
> 
> I dunno why we even listen, really.  I guess we're waiting to hear her go "eh...eh...eh...I'm in labor, btw...eh...eh...ehh..."


  

....  mine actually chewed the cord OFF of the baby monitor recently and I am NOT replacing it.  I am done with ALL of their whining and "eh eh eh" crap.  We have one doe not due until June and she does it all night and all day long already -  I could just scream.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 14, 2010)

Day 150....still nuthin'.  :/


----------



## AlisonJ_SFW2 (Apr 14, 2010)




----------



## Roll farms (Apr 14, 2010)

Wondering if I can sneak to KY, take the goat on a bumpy ride, give her a hot shower, and then take her for a long walk so she'll go into labor on 151.......


----------



## chandasue (Apr 14, 2010)

While I was impatiently waiting for Ness to go into labor a friend of mine suggested I take her for a long walk, have her bounce on an exercise ball and feed her something spicy.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 14, 2010)

I got a bottle of something spicy, alright..  It's called DEXAMETHASONE.

 

ETA -- I told my wife what you said about her going on 151 just for meanness..  She laughed then..but we were on like 144.  Just today she said "Maybe the lady from Indiana was right!!?!"

  rollyso


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 15, 2010)

Ligaments disappeared last night.  She'd had an on-again/off-again relationship with them for the last several days, but they're GONE now...officially.

She was super bright and started acting a little goofy, so we were up with her until...oh...I dunno...ABOUT 3:30AM THIS MORNING.

Nuthin'.

She was out grazing when I left (way late) for work this morning.

So, pretty sure today -- day 151 -- is the day.


----------



## SDGsoap&dairy (Apr 15, 2010)

Yay!


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 15, 2010)

That's why I like the baby monitor...I gave up on Levi at 11 pm and went to bed the other night.  At 2, she woke me up pushing.  You really can hear a difference between regular grunts and real pushing.
I keep thinking I might get a visual monitor, but the sound monitor works soooo...why put out the extra $$.

Sending *easy kidding* vibes.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 15, 2010)

Thanks for the vibes.  

I like the idea of a monitor, but I'm not sure how far one will "reach"..?  I guess I sorta always figured it would be too far (it's like 200'+ from the house to the barn) so I never looked into it very much.

Maybe I should just buy her a nextel?  

"BBBREEEP..  eh eh eh I'm in labor eh ehh."


----------



## aggieterpkatie (Apr 15, 2010)

I borrowed a video monitor this year and it saved me!  It's only around $100 for a video one, but I'm not sure I want to spend it since I really prefer to lamb on pasture.  I only have the one goat right now, so I'll just not worry about it until next spring.


----------



## dkluzier (Apr 15, 2010)

> Maybe I should just buy her a nextel?


  

Ya know...  that may be an idea... call it and then place it close to her and she can let you know right? 

"eh  ehhhhhh  eh  eh - ummm hey Lady!!  Baaaaaaaaaaa! Get your butt down here PRONTO!"


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 15, 2010)

If CM's goats say, "Hey Lady" to him....I wanna watch.

Our monitor was 40$ at Wal Mart, it's a 'long distance' one...brand is Fisher Price....we are about 175' from our barn and it does fine even though the barn is metal.

I didn't bother for years, even though my best goat bud SWORE by hers.  One year I thought, "What the heck" and BOY am I ever glad I did...I don't have to make 758 trips a day anymore during kidding season.  I LOVE IT.
It's actually saved 2 kids lives, both born unexpectedly.  One was found buried in soupy mud on a cold day.  I happened to get up and turn on the monitor and hear her weak cry....if not, it would have been a while before I got down there and I'm sure she'd have died by then.

You really would be amazed at all you hear over it....every crow, goat toot, burp, cat meow, etc.

The only time it's not worth a hoot is when it's raining.  
Metal roof makes too much noise.

OH, and if I am right and she kids today, it's not magic....90% of my Nubs kid on day 151, I was just going w/ the law of averages, LOL.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 15, 2010)

Something else I have to say here:  With labor pretty much imminent at this point, she never went into toxemia.  

That was actually my primary concern with this doe because she was ROTUND when bred..  Like, BCS18_ fat_.  We were able to slim her down while bred -- usually not a great idea -- and then stave off a big fat burn when the time came..  Right now, she's _fit_, and she's kept a good appetite the entire time.

I'm convinced that she would have been a serious toxemia candidate if we hadn't paid close attention.

I's just kinda proud of that and wanted to pat myself on the back for a minute.   

That's all I've got to say about that.

Wife said the doe's still not gooey or anything, but was still super bright and alert and was just lounging in the barn at last check..  She was gonna head and and give her daily grain, but probably just go ahead and keep her in the birthing stall afterward.

Now watch...she'll kid Sunday or something.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 15, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> If CM's goats say, "Hey Lady" to him....I wanna watch.






> Our monitor was 40$ at Wal Mart, it's a 'long distance' one...brand is Fisher Price....we are about 175' from our barn and it does fine even though the barn is metal.
> 
> I didn't bother for years, even though my best goat bud SWORE by hers.  One year I thought, "What the heck" and BOY am I ever glad I did...I don't have to make 758 trips a day anymore during kidding season.  I LOVE IT.
> 
> ...


Very interesting, especially considering this is the first of...jeez...six (maybe five  )does expected to kid over the next little bit?  Three (maybe two  ) of which are first timers..



> OH, and if I am right and she kids today, it's not magic....90% of my Nubs kid on day 151, I was just going w/ the law of averages, LOL.


Also very interesting..  Good to know!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 15, 2010)

Update...we have mucus plug.  Wife's in attendance.  

I'm stuck at work.  :/


----------



## glenolam (Apr 15, 2010)

Good Luck!


----------



## chandasue (Apr 15, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Our monitor was 40$ at Wal Mart, it's a 'long distance' one...brand is Fisher Price....we are about 175' from our barn and it does fine even though the barn is metal.


Sounds like the same one I have. It's about the same distance to our goat shed to the house. TOTALLY saved me as I was in the middle of making dinner when Ness went into labor. Heard it loud and clear and got there JUST in time.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 15, 2010)

No update?

*sadness*


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 16, 2010)

Did I say "mucus plug?"  What I meant to say was "nothing important, apparently."  

She went into early labor at about noon yesterday.

She had triplets...two doelings and a buckling.

Three hours ago.

_You_ do the math.

Also, three words you never want to hear as the first baby presents are:  "It's a tail."

Yeppers...first doeling born breech with no bubble.  The bubble burst at 3:30am, and I'm pretty sure she wasn't even in the canal yet.  My wife said "What do we do now?!?"  I said "We pull."  

And pull we did...  

Luckily, she was smallish...5.5lbs.  Once we got the rump out, mama squirted her out without too much trouble.

Then the doeling didn't want to breathe...  She tried to gasp...nuthin.  Had to hang her upside down, run our fingers down her throat, the whole nine.  FINALLY she started to gurgle a little and then cried the teeniest tiniest little cry..  We put her up by mama and just about then...mama pushes.

Yay!  An actual bubble!

Yay!  A head!

Yay!  A hoof...wait...one hoof.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

And, wow...that's a big noggin'.  

So, ya...2nd to be born was a monster buckling with his right leg hung backward.  There was literally ZERO room in mama to get the leg turned back forward so...screw it...just pull.  

And pull we did...again.

Once the shoulder came out (the does eyes were bugged plumb out of her head, btw..  pretty sure she thought she was being split in half) the rest of him came squirting out no sweat.

He did the wobble/gurgle/cry thing pretty quick and seemed pretty solid..  We dried him off a bit and got him up by mama.  He weighed in just a hair under 10lbs.  Yeah...I know.  :/

By this time, the first doeling is trying to get up.  

Just about that time...hey, another bubble!  Yay!

Oh, wait..that's two bubbles.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Oh, wait, that other bubble's empty.

Yaaaaaaaaaaay!



Third one out was two hooves and a head, for all it mattered.  After all that, she practically _fell_ out anyway.  She weighed 7lbs.  Think about that...7lbs, and she shot out pretty much in one push..  Mama was canoe'd out pretty good, huh?!?  

Long and short...mama's fine, babies are fine.  Mama's not a first timer _per se_, but we stole her babies last time on account of her....well, just her inexperience I guess.  She let one die and ran from the other two when they tried to nurse.  Not cool.  So, she still doesn't have that much experience..  Wife's talking about bottle feeding a little colostrum (and collecting a little for future use) and then maybe putting them in a tote for safekeeping.

Mama's proving to be a little clumsy so far.  

We'll see.  They may wind up being full-on bottle babies, who knows.  At this point, it's the least of the concern.  

Anyway..._that's_ how _that _went.  


(ETA weights and such.)


----------



## glenolam (Apr 16, 2010)

Congratulations!  I'm glad that, even though it wasn't perfect, everyone is fine!  I'm sure Mom feels better to have all that weight gone.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 16, 2010)

glenolam said:
			
		

> Congratulations!  I'm glad that, even though it wasn't perfect, everyone is fine!  I'm sure Mom feels better to have all that weight gone.


Yeah...and the _heat._  Having 22lbs of baby inside you with all the accompanying fluid and whatnot...  She was panting like a dog in early labor.  Mouth open, tongue out.  Misery.

And, you guys...I'm not kidding here...she went from being about 3' wide to about 6" across under the short ribs.  Seriously.  Her ribs are still popped out but she's sooooo hollow now.  It's truly amazing.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 16, 2010)

I understand completely what you're saying about the 'hollowed out' part....Doodle (quad haver) looked PITIFUL after she had hers.  I thought she looked like she'd been in a Nazi death camp.

Congrats on the trips.  Heh...I believe I called that, too.  

Enjoy them!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 16, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I understand completely what you're saying about the 'hollowed out' part....Doodle (quad haver) looked PITIFUL after she had hers.  I thought she looked like she'd been in a Nazi death camp.
> 
> Congrats on the trips.  Heh...I believe I called that, too.
> 
> Enjoy them!


Actually..._technically_...since she had them starting at about 6:30am this morning...it was day 152.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 16, 2010)

Fine, but I was a heckofalot closer to calling it than YOU were.  So there.


----------



## chandasue (Apr 16, 2010)

pics???


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 16, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Fine, but I was a heckofalot closer to calling it than YOU were.  So there.


You're 100% correct.


----------



## ksalvagno (Apr 16, 2010)

Congratulations! Where are the pictures?


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 16, 2010)

Might be a while on pictures, actually..  

See, I just finished up something here at work that I've been hammering on for quite a while..  My boss is out of the country right now, but I did a little IMing with him just a while ago.

I'd mentioned taking a week off sometime soon, so he said "You still thinking of taking next week off?"

Uhhhh...sure!

So..   ..hopefully, here in about 20 minutes, I'll be leaving and won't touch a computer for about 9 days.

I might hop on just long enough to post pics, though..  Maybe.  _Maybe._

In the meantime, suffice it to say the 7lb doeling looks a lot like her mama; the buckling looks similar to mama, but with a white mohawk and some brown on his legs; the other doeling is brown/red with darker brown spots (  ) and grey/black frosty ears...she's an absolute DOLL...and a keeper.  

Now...just use yermaginations.


----------



## ksalvagno (Apr 16, 2010)

POST PICTURES! I'm too tired to use my imagination. Although my bottle alpaca crias finally went home!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 26, 2010)

Here they is.    These pics were taken...sheesh...not terribly long after they were born.  Later on that day, maybe, or the next day?

In order of birth:

Doeling #1...presented breech...5.5lbs....keeper....already named "Cocoa" by my 9yo niece. 





(She's lengthening, it seems.  Started kinda 'square,' but she seems to have added a couplethree vertebrae since she hit the ground.   I like a long goat, and that was my only issue with her at birth...really glad to see her stretching out.)

Buckling...right leg back...10lbs...we're calling him "Dewey", but he's not staying.




(gonna make someone a heck of a buck, IMO...he's a BRUTE, but very sweet.)

Doeling #2...normal presentation...7.5lbs..._wild child_...this baby goat is, um, lively to say the least...she's not staying (subject to change!  )





So, there they is.  Sweet babies, one and all.  




BTW....look at the last picture.  The baby (doeling#2) is what a black goat's coat should look like.  Now look at mama.  Now look at the baby again.  

And our goats have excellent mineral available 24/7.

Kinda wonder if the mineral didn't get sucked out of mama, right into the babies..    Just thought it was kind of an interesting juxtaposition..


----------



## aggieterpkatie (Apr 26, 2010)

They're very cute!  

And the black coats get faded by the sun.


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 26, 2010)

Doodle (quad mama) went partially bald the last 2 weeks of her pregnancy.  I had the vet out, he blamed it on hormones / kids pulling everything from her.   She didn't have creepy crawlies and her copper / selenium levels had just been tested in the 'good' range....she looks a LOT better now but still has a way to go.  

Congrats, they're beautiful, I'd be keeping Cocoa too.


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks.  

Mama's doing a great job with them, btw..  We weren't sure how she'd react, considering she rejected her first set.  She got really full a couple of times with these guys and kinda balked at nursing, but we simply hit the 'reset' button by milking her out.  The key with this one, apparently, is to make sure the kids are staying just a wee bit ahead of her production so she doesn't get burstingly full and tender/sore.  As they've grown and have begun to take more, it's been less of an issue.  

Overall, mama gets an A...possibly even an A+.  

Cocoa's a real sweetheart, too, and we've figured out that she's mama's "special" baby..  The other two are just NUTS, but not Cocoa..  She's very calm...almost _mature_, in a way.  When all the kids wake up after their little power naps, the buckling and doeling#2 immediately start kicking their heels up, jumping all over everything, but Cocoa goes straight to mama to say Hello...  They nuzzle each other a little "good morning" and then Cocoa sticks right by mama's side.

She's about 10 days old now, and about a day past ready for disbudding..  She's not overdue, mind you...just _way ready_, if that makes any sense.  That happens tonight, but man...I really dread it.

The other two have been done already, and it wasn't a big deal or anything..  Well, not beyond the usual sense of loathing and nausea that's considered "normal" for disbudding around here...but those two are crazy and wild and strong.  Cocoa's just _sweet_.  As much as I hate disbudding in general, I *really* don't like burning _sweet_ baby goat heads.  

Oh well.  Gotta be done.  Such is life with goats.  :/


----------



## glenolam (Apr 26, 2010)

Congratulations again!

They are really nice looking kids!

BTW - hope you enjoyed your week off!


----------



## cmjust0 (Apr 26, 2010)

I _did_ enjoy my vacation!  I was super stoked to get a week because I *really* needed to get a bunch of stuff done around the farm.

I didn't do any of it.

So, ya...very enjoyable.


----------



## ksalvagno (Apr 26, 2010)

Very adorable!


----------



## warthog (Apr 27, 2010)

Absolute cuties


----------



## Chickenfever (Apr 27, 2010)

Nubians make the cutest babies!


----------



## Lil-patch-of-heaven (Apr 28, 2010)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> I _did_ enjoy my vacation!  I was super stoked to get a week because I *really* needed to get a bunch of stuff done around the farm.
> 
> I didn't do any of it.
> 
> So, ya...very enjoyable.


lol too funny!

That really are beautiful kids. I like your description of Cocoa. Reminds me of my littlest doeling. She's not wild either, just sweet and always wants to be by my side. Well, except for that little independence and curiosity that's just starting to show when she's following me in the front yard. Apparently my husbands stuff in the garage is just too interesting. I'm surprised she hasn't yet discovered my flowers ...

Glad y'all are so pleased with Cocoa. Looks AND personality!


----------

