AClark kidding thread

[Wehner Homestead]

Praying things go well when you attempt milking Dolly, that the kids transition well to bottle feeding, and that Buttercup’s kidding is uneventful and the kids are healthy.

 

[AClark]

Thank you. I've had Dolly on the stand, clipped her, touched her all over, she squats when I touch her udder but she doesn't kick at me. She's a food hound so I bet she can be bribed with extra tasty treats. She really likes Quaker Oatmeal square cereal, I only give her a handful of them, but they are pretty good - my kids think so too, I think they finished the box this morning. Bribery gets stuff done! I still have plain rolled oats and sweet feed to bribe with though.

I do have concerns with Buttercup, as she is teeny tiny, only 18 inches tall, but she's pretty stocky. I'll be keeping a close eye on her, even though it's not her first time. She never came around from being wild like Dolly did, so she's hard to handle at all. She was pretty nasty when I "poodle clipped" both of them the other day. I don't plan on milking her anyway though, she'll be sold after her kids are weaned, though I'm going to try my hardest to keep them gentle. Gentle goats aren't just easier to handle, but more valuable, and since pygmy's are more of a "pet" variety, gentle is good.

 

[Goatgirl47]

Congratulations on the triplets! They are so cute.

 

[AClark]

Yesterday morning I went out to a storm, of the manure variety.
Buttercup went into labor sometime very early morning - after 2 when I was up feeding the babies. Since we didn't have a due date, we had no way of knowing approximately when she was due - she's been in the barn for over a month.
I go out to milk at 0630 and Buttercup has tried to have a kid. There's a head and neck out, but that's all and the kid is obviously gone. I got DH to hold Buttercup and attempted to pull the kid. It was stuck so bad, by both shoulders, and poor Buttercup's pelvis wasn't wide enough at all. I finally managed to get 1 finger in past the kid to hook a shoulder and get enough grip to get it out. The head and neck were swollen and I couldn't push it back in far enough to bring a foot forward. All in all took maybe 10 minutes, but it was a harrowing 10 minutes since I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get it.
After removing the stuck dead kid I went on a fishing expedition and didn't feel any others in there. So the tiniest goat I have only had a single monster sized doeling. Buttercup got a big dose of antibiotic and is recovering. She's pretty swollen on the back end, but there's no obvious bleeding and she's eating.

So for now, we are done until April - maybe April, not sure she's even pregnant. I'm doing blood draws in Feb on everyone and I'll know then.

Aside from that, Dolly is a super good milker! Maybe not so much in volume (2 lbs a day so far) yet, but she learned very fast to hop up, and not be a total a-hole or kick at me.

 

[Hens and Roos]

sorry to hear that Buttercup had issues with delivery and lost the kid, hope she recovers well for you.

 

[AClark]

Thank you, she's looking a lot better today and not as depressed. She doesn't seem to be upset over the kid, I did let her clean it off and whatnot before we buried her. Her kid was almost 4 lbs, she weighed as much as all 3 of my triplets combined, and Dolly is a lot bigger.

Once she has recovered she'll be sold. I don't have a buck that small for her and was already moving away from the small goats. I will keep Dolly because she's turning out to be pretty decent with milking. This is day 4 or 5 and she's increased up to 2 lbs a day so far. I'm not sure what is considered "good" for Nigerian Dwarf/ Pygmy (I think she's a mix) goats, but it ends up being a full QT bottle a day.

 

[Latestarter]

So sorry about the lost kid. Glad you were able to get her out and save mom. Glad it wasn't a "total" loss.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Sorry about losing the kid but glad you were able to get it out and save the dam.

Glad milking is going well!

 

[Pamela]

Oh man, that sucks. I am so sorry that you had a loss. I get the desire to sell her. I have a doe that threw the cutest doeling twins last summer. However one of them is very tiny. She looks like a mini boer if there is such a thing. there's not much of a market around here for anything other than big meaty goats. I don't want these doelings bred, and I am not sure I am keeping the mom. (We think she is half kinder. If so, the pygmy Gene has manifested itself)

 

[AClark]

That's the same reason I'm selling Buttercup, pretty much nothing other than large goats has any market around here, and as cute as they are, I can't afford to keep them all, especially if they aren't productive. She isn't super friendly or anything either, so as harsh as it is to say, she's another mouth to feed and that's all.

I see a few pygmy/boer crosses for sale on occasion, they are almost always very small - not a cross I'd make intentionally from what I've seen.