Calendula's Journal -- Nubian Pictures

[frustratedearthmother]

That's great!

 

[Calendula]

I'm finally sitting down for a little bit to do some college homework before I get some sleep before having to gt up early in the morning. I figured out that about the time these two get easier to take care of and feed and are just about weaned, we'll have newborns. Thankfully they will be dam-raised.

Today has been long.I woke up early so that we could start getting everything ready since we have not had any time to get anything ready! The bunnies were very disappointed to lose half of their home to the newcomers, but I think they will survive.
And then right when we were supposed to leave, I started to head inside and realized Bandit was limping. The darn dog broke his nail and had a horribly bloody paw. He accepted that he had messed up and needed help and followed me around the house while I cleaned up from being outside and got the stuff to fix him up, and then he just demanded to be held. He's way too big for that.
Anyways, so for the goats, we were going to put up a heat lamp, but the area she had them was colder than the area they are in now! So instead, they got some fashionable goat coats. If they look cold, we'll either throw on more layers or give them the heat lamp, but so far they seem fine.

The visit to the farm was also lovely! We got some ideas for our future farm plans and she told us about herd shares and the things she does. We met one of her bucks and then met the mothers of our does. I loved them. Nubians are a lot less obnoxious than the Nigerian Dwarfs... at least, hers were. They were so calm and didn't scream at us to love them! I never knew it was possible for goats to see you and NOT demand attention.
We also saw her milking room and now know how to perfect our kind of failed milking stand.

We also thought that we would have a choice between three doelings. I chose a black doeling but my boyfriend was having trouble choosing between two brown ones. He finally chose a roan one and then we went out to view the farm. Once we returned, I noticed that the little brown one that he had NOT chosen came running up to greet us first, but no, we had made up our minds! I would not be swayed!
Well then she picks up the roan "doe," only to realize that she is actually a HE! She apologizes, explains that it was late, and we reply that it's really not a problem.
I thought it was perfect that even though we got "stuck" with her, she came running up to us. I'm a believer that some animals choose you. I mean, I certainly didn't choose Stanley the wether or Bandit -- they definitely chose ME.

And finally, some pictures!

This is Risa. She was from a first freshener and was a single. She is "my" goat. Her great grandmother was apparently voted Top Ten Milkers through the ADGA (I think?) for three years in a row. She is an absolute sweetheart, although sometimes when she's hopping around and trips, she'll just flop over and refuse to get up. At first I thought there was something wrong, but no, she's just lazy.

And Mocha, who was a triplet. Her mother was very social and sweet. She is my boyfriend's goat. This is actually the best picture I got of her since apparently, I favor Risa. What can I say? Risa poses for pictures.
Her mother had a very nice udder, though. And the breeder did say that she had a bit of a hockey leg...? Something along those lines that I can't entirely remember the name of. Basically, she said that one of her back legs was turned in a little bit but I was staring down the rear end of this goat and I didn't really notice anything. It certainly does not limit her at all. I'm thinking maybe she's starting to grow out of it?
And in this picture, that dark expanse is the rabbit cage. They were making some crazy noises that got her interest.

And a bonus picture of the pair, rocking out in their great coats that my mother sewed. After this, both girls were looking at me and I tried to get a picture of their faces, but it ended up being a blurry photo of foreheads and noses because they were right in my face.

Overall, I'm certainly loving these little guys. They're very different than Nigerian Dwarfs. These guys are calmer and QUIETER. They did not make a peep on the ride home whereas I remember the Nigerians would not stop screaming! And here I thought Nubians were supposed to be the loudest breed of goat.
The family is also in agreement that although these guys are adorable, Nigerian Dwarf kids are way cuter. No offense to you guys with Nubians, but something about a small, puffy, pudgy ND kid is adorable. I know I've seen goat people saying "There's nothing cuter than a Nigerian Dwarf kid" and now I can agree.
They remind us of Bambi.

Anyway, I will try to keep everyone updated on these two as they grow up. At least now I'll be so busy with them I won't even feel the days dragging by while I wait for the girls to have their kids.

 

[Bruce]

Congrats!

 

[Latestarter]

Sweet! Nice looking kids!

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Great pics, love the coats!

 

[Calendula]

Thanks! We are loving them. And considering showing them, although I'm a little nervous about it. And I don't know how well they would do.

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Go for it, then take what you learn from each show and work it into your breeding/milking program.

 

[Ferguson K]

It doesn't matter how well you do when you're learning. It matters that you tried. Heck. Even when you're not learning what matters is you tried and you learned

 

[Calendula]

I think I might, @HomeOnTheRange. I might visit one or two first just to see how they are and go from there.

Thanks, @Ferguson K. I'm just glad that my learning curves never resulted in dead babies. I feel lucky and blessed in that regard, especially after reading so many horror stories from first time animal owners. Especially first time goat owners.


Anyway, the duo are doing great! They are a lot more independent and so much quieter than the NDs. They don't yell at me to not leave them, which is also nice.
Risa is definitely the bigger one. She is growing like a weed and is a little bottle hog. Mocha is having some trouble concentrating on the bottle. She'll see Risa out of the corner of her eye and go over there to bug her and try to steal her bottle. My dad figured out that picking her up, giving her the bottle, and then setting her back down works pretty well. However, when I'm alone, I have to feed Risa first.
The word spread and all of my grandparents were coming out, some unannounced, to meet the new kids. I'm exhausted, especially since I just got off work. It's been a long couple days, but I'm hoping it'll slow down a little now.

In other news, the Nigerian Dwarfs are doing great! They saw the new kids through the fence the other day and I think they were offended that they were "replaced."
Daphne's stomach has finally stopped growing and Pixie still isn't showing... I think. I can't tell if it's a baby bump or just fat bump, but I'm not expecting her to show until we're closer to the due date.
Fairy also isn't showing, but she should be a week or two behind the others.

 

[Calendula]

I have been busy with the new Nubian doelings. If I get a chance, I will post some updated pictures of them. They are growing FAST. And they still hate eating hay, grain, and their alfalfa pellets, but love eating dead twigs and some weeds in the yard. Whole milk also ended up being WAY cheaper than the formula.

Anyway, Pixie STILL isn't showing and she's due the beginning of April. I'm a little worried she might not be pregnant, which would suck. I was really looking forward to babies from her.
Fairy is finally starting to fatten up and Daphne is still huge but thinks she's skinny.

Tomorrow, my boyfriend and I are going to pickup a breeding pair of Standard Rexes. They are seven months old and I am very excited. A little nervous, but mostly excited. Meat rabbits can now be checked off our extensive list!

And then FINALLY, there has been a strange animal hanging around. I was never sure what it was because I never got a good look, but figured it was a cat. The only time I actually saw it was when I opened the door to head out to feed the kids their morning bottle and my cat is sitting at the bottom of the stairs and this black thing takes off. My boyfriend also saw a black thing in the middle of the night another time.
Well last night, we finally saw it up close and in person.
Boyfriend and I had just returned at the perfect time because my mother was trying to call Bandit off of something he was fighting on the porch. We run up there and realize that he is in a battle with a cat! I manage to call him off (he listens to me but not anyone else ) and get him to go inside. Now, my dog is a very sweet thing to our cats... but any animal that he doesn't know is "ours" suddenly becomes the biggest threat in his mind. Hence why he tried to kill the poor cat.... If the cat ends up sticking around, we will introduce them.
Luckily, neither Bandit or the mystery cat got hurt from the fight! Not that we could tell with the cat, anyway. The poor cat was growling at us for a while but eventually calmed down enough we were able to pet him. We gave him some food and he scarfed it down after a few minutes. We were surprised he didn't take off after that fight.
We also realized that since we first started seeing that mysterious black blob, we haven't had any problems with mice. They were running rampant. So he can stay.