# RainySunday Ranch Kidding Watch 2011: New baby pics and weight update!



## RainySunday (May 9, 2011)

Yay!  It's my turn to have a kidding watch thread!  Peekaboo is due in June (she was with the buck the first couple weeks of January).   I am very excited!  

Here is Peekaboo:







and her udder so far (taken yesterday; please ignore the piece of hay hanging from her tail!):


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## elevan (May 9, 2011)




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## oakmarsh nigerians (May 12, 2011)

Chelsea:

Isn't she beautiful?! She looks very satisfied. I love your pasture, too. One of the 3 states I've not been to, I always heard how pretty Washington is. Now, I know...we're waiting for the kid games to begin!!


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## RainySunday (May 16, 2011)

oakmarsh nigerians said:
			
		

> Chelsea:
> 
> Isn't she beautiful?! She looks very satisfied. I love your pasture, too. One of the 3 states I've not been to, I always heard how pretty Washington is. Now, I know...we're waiting for the kid games to begin!!


She is a very pretty goat!  I know color is not what's really important, but I do love the tri-color nigis.  You should definitely come to WA sometime, it is so pretty here! Kid games indeed!

No new news really, she still has at least a couple weeks to go.  I am hoping her udder gets significantly bigger, especially since my two in milk seem to be dwindling their supply.  

They were all stuck in their smaller pen yesterday and today, since it was/is raining.  Which means Peek is in the kidding stall and she is none to happy about it!  She butted the side of it so much this morning that she scraped her head bloody.  I got to use the multi-purpose wound ointment I made on it though.  I really don't feel comfortable letting her out with the other 3 though (in the pasture is fine, she can get away if she needs to), because our herd queen chases her, tries to head butt her in the side (and likes to do so against fences), and also likes to bite her in the rear!  I assume it is because Peek is the new one and they are trying to establish herd placement, but with Peek so close to kidding, I really don't want her taking hits in the side right now, so they'll just have to work it out after she kids.  Luckily, it is supposed to dry up tomorrow am early and be sunny the rest of the week, so they can spend the daytime out in the pasture.


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## RainySunday (May 19, 2011)

Putting together the kidding kit, yay!  She will probably get her kidding trim this weekend as well, then in a week-10 days, if she hasn't kidded, we'll do it again.


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## warthog (May 19, 2011)

Good luck, she is a lovely looking goat, look forward to cutie pie pictures.


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## RainySunday (May 19, 2011)

Thanks!  I hope they are cute!


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## RainySunday (May 23, 2011)

Update today:  Peek has a bit of discharge, but ligs are still super solid.  Udder is a bit bigger, but not way full yet.  Really the earliest she should go is May 27th.  Assuming the breeders dates were right, haha.  I check her everyday before I let her out to the pasture, and again when I bring them in at night.  And keep an eye on her from the window in between, lol.  We've decided we want to bottle feed this first group (hopefully more than one!) of babies, since it is summer, and we are home anyhow, and it will be easier than weaning later, especially since we really need the milk and I want to know how much she produces.


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## RainySunday (May 29, 2011)

Update:  Peekaboo got her kidding trim yesterday.  She was actually really good about it!  I have added her in to the milk stand lineup, so she gets practice getting up there now and being brushed, touched, udder messed with etc.  The first day she needed some convincing to get up there, the 2nd day on, no problem!  The girl loves her food, and that's where the food is now!

Today, her ligaments feel a bit softer, maybe...Like there is a bit more play in them, if that makes sense.  Could just be wishful thinking I guess.  Her udder is fuller, but not huge yet.  She has some discharge off and on, but nothing amber colored yet.  The baby monitor is up in the barn, and she is staying in the pen now, not going out to the bigger pasture with the others (I can't watch her as well from the pasture) until she kids.  Instead, we are taking her on "snack walks" a few times a day (in addition to her hay/minerlas/water and grain).  She sure likes those!

Last night (we go out and check ligs/udder/babies/etc right before bed) she was looking way way huge/wide.  Today, she looks more like she did a few days ago, still wide, but not "Oh wow, you're huge!"


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## RainySunday (May 29, 2011)

UPDATE:  Her udder is definitely much bigger this afternoon!  Yay! We are making some progress!


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## ksalvagno (May 29, 2011)

Pretty girl! Good luck!


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## RainySunday (May 29, 2011)

Thanks!

New tonight:

She seems to be breathing differently, and for the 1st time ever she stayed laying down as we entered the stall, and stayed laying down while we approached and pet her (she never ever ever has done that, and tends to get jumpy if we try and pet her, always needing a hand on her collar to handle her).  Also, ligs feel very different and can almost get my fingers all the way around her tailhead.

Everything is in a tote, ready by the door.  Bottles are sterilized, hubby is briefed on how to help me and kidding 101, monitor is up, and we'll check her every hour or so until we go to bed.

And so, we wait...


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## RainySunday (May 30, 2011)

No babies yet, but her ligs are really hard to find and she is leaking some goo now too (more substantial amount than the occassional dab before).


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## willowbreezefarm (May 30, 2011)

Oh how exciting!! Good luck to Peekaboo!!


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## PJisaMom (May 30, 2011)

I've been waiting!


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## RainySunday (May 30, 2011)

Babies are here!  Twin bucklings!  Very cute!  Both are healthy and have had their first bottle of colostrum.  I will post pics later! We are just waiting on the afterbirth now.


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## RainySunday (May 30, 2011)

Here they are!

Twin boys






Hopscotch (baby #1, 3:20pm, 5/30/2011, 4 lbs)





Tag You're It (baby#2, 3:30pm, 5/30/2011, 3lbs 3oz)


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## helmstead (May 30, 2011)

Gracious me those are some pretty babies!


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## oakmarsh nigerians (May 30, 2011)

Cutie Pies!


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## oakmarsh nigerians (May 30, 2011)

nurturingnaturally said:
			
		

> oakmarsh nigerians said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We have had our new mamma and babies in the stall during the really hot part of the day. She is the herd queen and is butting the other adult doe for existing these days. She has rammed hard enough to break the skin somehow. Or she's cut the top of her head. I know we're not supposed to interfere with herd dynamics, but I fussed at her with a sharp, "No!" and a wagging finger this week. God Forbid, in front of her kids at that. I've now seen a goat "shocked". But I also found that she knows the word, "No".


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## willowbreezefarm (May 30, 2011)

They are just adorable!!!!! They are so teeny tiny, just so cute!!


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## Roll farms (May 30, 2011)

Congrats, they're beautiful.


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## mossyStone (May 30, 2011)

ohhhh they are adorable........ Congrats.. I love the names you have picked out......


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## Snowhunter (May 30, 2011)

Those are some adorable kids!! Congrats!


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## country freedom (May 30, 2011)

I'm sure you've told Peekaboo that she's got two beautiful baby boys!


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## jodief100 (May 31, 2011)




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## greenfamilyfarms (May 31, 2011)

I'm loving their color! They look like cookies and cream ice cream.


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## RainySunday (May 31, 2011)

Thanks everyone!  They sure are super cute and fun!  I know there's that whole doe code thing, but seriously...no one told Peekaboo!  She was towards the beginning of her due date window, it was a no-school day (so hubby was home), middle of the day, other goats out of the way in the other pasture, pleasant weather, BOTH my human kids napped through it...She couldn't have picked a better time if she tried, lol!

The boys have had their first three bottles, and seem to be figuring it out pretty good.  So far, they are taking about 3-3.5 oz each per bottle ( I read somewhere that 1oz/lb of body weight is good (per bottle) the 1st day, so at 3 and 4 lbs, they are getting right about what they should).

Peekaboo is not giving tons of milk, but she is giving enough (well, last night's bottle I stretched with about a 1/2 oz of cows milk).  Some of it maybe her holding some back too, since we did let her lick them right after they were born.  We will keep them separate for a few days, then hopefully after that she won't let them nurse.


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## ksalvagno (May 31, 2011)




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## elevan (May 31, 2011)

They are just adorable!


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## RainySunday (Jun 6, 2011)

Thanks again everyone!  We are having fun with them!  I thought I'd update with their weights.  We weighed them yesterday (so one day shy of a week old) and Hopscotch is now 5 lbs 4oz (up from4 even at birth) and Tag is now 4 lbs 6 oz (up from 3 lbs 3 oz at birth).  We have been feeding them 3x/day from the start and increasing about a 1/2 a day (per bottle; so one day was 6 oz/bottle, the next day was 6.5 oz/bottle).  I kept them at 7 oz today (yesterday they weren't quite finishing their bottles).

We are thinking about keeping one of them intact to breed our other three girls.  The mom, Peekaboo has amazing udder texture!  I never knew what people meant when they said "butter texture udder," but NOW I DO!  She is producing about 2.25 lbs/day at 1 week fresh.  Her rear udder is pretty good, her fore could stand to be improved.  Her teats wing forward a bit too.  Their dad was super long a level, very well muscled.  So, we need to decide who stays intact (or neither), and all that.  Which, since I've never evaluated a baby buckling, is going to be interesting.

They will also be getting disbudded tonight.  A local mentor is going to show us how.

Tag You're It (Setting himself up (ie, taking a pee)):










Hopscotch (who really needs a better picture taken):


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## elevan (Jun 6, 2011)

They are so cute!


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## Lizzie098 (Jun 7, 2011)

Oh my gosh!!!! They are sooooo adorable!!! Congrats!!!


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