Snowday!
Well, poo. My 6 year old ND doe that I bought earlier solved a mystery for me last night. She's very fat and has gotten fatter since she freshened. She didn't freshen with much colostrum despite having quads. She is never more than about 2 cups full despite having what I can tell is a lot of capacity. She has really nice teats and attachment but never bags up. She flips out for the sweet grain but not the nicer higher fat, higher protein grain. I bought her second hand for a normal goat price while if I'd bought her from her breeder she'd have been as much as a nice pedigreed cow (wAAAAAY over priced for any goat, much less a lower producing breed like a ND, IMO). Last night I got more alfalfa hay so I wanted to clean out the feeders before milking so I could feed right after (keeps them standing while the orifices are still kind of open and tops them up with calcium and protein!). So instead of immediately letting the 2 ND out to go milk I slipped by them and went to go flip feeders while they yelled at me in that special, shrill, ND way. Well, one feeder in the older doe stops following me around and yelling at me. I look up and she's cocked a leg and is self sucking and milking herself. Yep. Suddenly it all adds up. I have hope for her kids.
My plan was to use her as a foundation doe and get her her milk records and production awards. Unless I can tape her properly she will probably not get her production star, however she is a 75 lbs ND and she only eats a 75lbs ND amount of food every day. It's not much. And she's just reproduced her self in female form 4 times bred to the son of a 1k+ lbs producing, 2024 1st place aged doe (and 1st udder), champion doe so she's probably paid for herself and her vet visit. I really wanted to milk my doe through and have the data, but I'm happy enough with what I can see of her udder and her kids to keep her anyway and just breed her again in the fall. I can't say I'm not bummed though.
This morning was also exciting because Snooter is losing her ligaments so we're starting round the clock checks. Her day 145 due date is today. She's also extremely, extremely witchy and decided to kick the crap out of me AND the doe next to her while she was eating while I was milking the neighbor, jumping and kicking us and her own udder so hard colostrum drops started flying everywhere-full on hand stands and going for the impact cow kicks, non stop and I wasn't even touching her. I have a feeling milk training this one is not going to be fun. Kidding may also be a riot, and definitely my fault even though her breeding was DEFINITELY her choice (shorty buck only had enough "ammo" for only one or two rounds per breeding and while built like a bulldog, he can't reach much if they don't hold still) Her probably low value kids will most definitely be pulled and hand raised so she can get milking through her polled, hard headed skull (she's bred to "frozen" pedigree Beaul and she's a multi generation mini, meaning a mutt so IDK who will want them or what their chances will be since they're not even going to be unregistered ND). Her udder is gorgeous, well attached, extremely soft, silky smooth and I can tell deflatable, of course. And it already has milk able teats, but it's attached to cow kickin' legs! She's not that big, maybe 100 lbs, but I'm still preparing for battle.
FF are so fun. Freakin' Snooter.
Geesh....how's your well water now ???? You've had some hurdles!!
It's a "man thing". 
