Goat Whisperer's & SBC's kidding thread: kidding storm

[frustratedearthmother]

Hey FEM you know you want to play the count the goat game with us.

I can play now that I'm under 50! At least I think I'm under 50... guess I better actually count 'em soon, lol. Of course, the number is gonna change again cuz I've still got two does left to kid....sigh.

 

[Latestarter]

Mine is easy... 3 adults, 2 kids and hopefully 2 more kids pretty soon. Need to go buy a herd sire for this coming fall so I'll start the breeding season with 8.

 

[Southern by choice]

All the rain has really had an impact. The does did not want to eat as much, production is down... all except...
Millie and you guessed it her daughter Trouble. We ended up needing extra milk yesterday so at 4pm Trouble was brought up and milked... then milked again at 9. This am she still gave 1/2 gallon.
I love Trouble. She is the kind of goat that says "oh, mommy must need more milk so I will make more milk." Millie was seperated from her kid for 8 hours and omgoshk poor thing...

We also had something happen that has never happened on our farm... Leah has scald on one foot. All the coming back and forth to the milkstand through the tall wet grass...her poor foot was raw, red, chapped. Never have we seen anything like this. She runs up the hill instead of walking on the driveway. Poor thing. GW has her all fixed up and foot is treated and wrapped.
I just did a bunch of hooves but with all this nasty rain I will be checking everyone's feet. Don't need mud or debris caking up in those hooves.

Another first for us with Nigies... happens alot with our minis and standards but Ruthie's lil gal (Isaac's daughter) "Red Hot" ( yes that is her name - we call her Hottie! ) has a precocious udder.
It is so stinking cute! And when you touch it she squats for you to milk her! I checked her age ... ummmmm yeah, time to wean miss princess Hottie! 10 weeks, she does not need bottle fed anymore! I am sure that lil udder will be gone after we "wean" her. Milk glutton! Just realized ALL our Nigies SHOULD be weaned by this weekend so there are lots that should have already been weaned. tsk tsk @Goat Whisperer

Ruby could have as little as 4 weeks to go! That is day 145! Officially day 150 is the 31st!
These will be our first PB standard Nubians! Not minis!
Jane is the only yearling we bred and she is due in about 6 weeks!
I think it was the right call to breed her and wait on the others. She was the biggest and since she was bred she has grown!
I think it may have not been good for the others and I was concerned it may stunt them. 50% of LM breeders breed everything the first year and say it grows them. The other 50% don't breed yearlings ( or under a year) because they say it stunts them. Considering we have seen both I don't think there is a right or wrong, I think it is individual, may be lines too. Don't know but we did what we felt was right for all the does. No rush so why risk it.
You know what's a couple more goats for another YEAR to wait on udders.

I am really impressed with Lucy?isaacs two bucklings- we have retained the doeling but these two boys.... really nice looking boys especially the one. I want to keep him.
Everyone tell me NO DO NOT KEEP HIM! Tell me I do not need to keep a buck that is already related to everything I have. Because then I will need to get a doe that is unrelated and that is just stupid because I don't need more goats. But he really is nice. GW really likes him too!

Pics soon I hope when we can get some.

Kenji (Lamancha Buckling) is my LOVE right now!
He is growing well but the boys haven't been eating too good because we have all the baby boys in with Isaac and the wether Jellybean. Isaac has been so naughty and has had to be separated. He just pummels all the babies. We have never had that before. He hates them and targets them, Sad really because We wanted Isaac and this group together but he has to go with the other big boys now. The big boys won't bully him but Henry won't take any crap from him either. He may be in for a rude awakening. Maybe we coddled him too much. The baby boys run to us for safety and hide in the trees.
You can see in this pic he looks at them and then runs them down.

These are the Kiko bucklings- hard to get a pic from far away....

And baby Olaf! He hurt his leg and was in isolation for a few days. He was so sad without his buddies we had to put him back... he cried and cried. He really is a big baby!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

DO NOT KEEP HIM! That was so easy for me to say...not so easy for me to do. I'm kinda, sorta, thinking about keeping a kinder-ish buckling this year.

 

[Southern by choice]

With the heat it seems our goats just don't want to eat. Weighed a bunch today. Olaf lost 5 lbs. JJ (mini Nubian) however is a tubba tubba! 117lbs!

Even the does ... with the rain they did't want to eat and temps dropped and then 90 degrees and too hot... it's like come on guys. GW is trying to figure out who she wants to take to the spring shows. My littlest DD will take a few too. I can't go as we have 2 does due on the show dates.

Ruby has a month to go and her darling udder is growing!

Jane- 5-6 more weeks... isn't her little FF udder looking adorable! She is a hormonal mess though I tell ya!
Can't believe how much her color has changed! She is the olny one we bred out of the young lamanchas.
I am guessing single possibly twins

This is Raina being her nutty self.. I got a video too and of cours I missed her leaping through the air but she is a hoot! Such a comical girl!

My fav- I think she wants to be a dancer... maybe a clogger!

Keep trying to get a pic of Lucy's udder- she can be a jerk if someone is behind her... she is dam raising so we took her kids away today to try and get an udder shot... black goats do NOT photo well. Really need a real camera for taking pics of her. You cannot see it but her udder is very nicely shaped attached well with a nice medial... teat placement is my only gripe!

We have done "quick" clips on 6 goats now... so many many many more to go. Too hot out today though.

A couple more sweet pics!
Goofy girl! She wants a kiss!

Zephyr being possessive and demanding more love.

 

[Hens and Roos]

we have yet to clip any of our goats- this past week it's been rainy and cold again....

 

[OneFineAcre]

I don't think Lucy's teat placement is bad
Word of advice if you take Lucy to the show clip her a couple of weeks before
Black goats are hard to get smooth looking when you first clip
Better for the hair to grow back a little

 

[dejavoodoo114]

Do you give them baths before clipping? Do you always clip all of them in the spring?

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I don't think Lucy's teat placement is bad
Word of advice if you take Lucy to the show clip her a couple of weeks before
Black goats are hard to get smooth looking when you first clip
Better for the hair to grow back a little

Thanks for the tip!
I had originally wanted to show her but since she dam raised her kids she is a complete turd.
Nearly impossible to milk, she just lays down. She's being a total brat about walking too, she just wants to be around HER kids Last year she was fantastic. We are seriously considering drying her off and re breeding her so we can pull her kids. She is going to stay home this time

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Do you give them baths before clipping? Do you always clip all of them in the spring?

We try to clip everyone in the spring.
Some get baths if needed. Most of our girls actually like it.