Itty Bitty Hooves

Sneaky Sneaky Doe!

I’ve been watching my Nupine doe Alex for a few weeks, but just casually until yesterday. Day before she started to really fill out her udder but her ligs were still rock hard pencils. For a few weeks my previously very affectionate girl really didn’t want to be touched much, and seriously didn’t want me looking ‘down there’ (picture me running around the barn yard chasing a doe to look under her tail, lol) then suddenly yesterday, she snapped back to being my affectionate big girl wanting to be petted, and sticking to me like glue, her udder got really full, and her very hard ligs disappeared…. uh huh, I was geared up for serious watching and checked on her every hour on the hour… did she do anything, nope, didn’t look like any kind of serious labor at all. I could tell she was in early labor, but no hard core stuff going on–she was determined to drag it out. By late evening her udder was feeling a little bit warm, so I was like, cool, tonight, please do it before bedtime, don’t you read the books? They say does prefer to deliver in the daytime (that’s certainly been the majority of my experience here now and in the past. I’ve previously only had one doe kid in the middle of the night. One this year did go at 6 am, but that’s sort of skirting the time barrier between night and day, haha).

Anyway, I kept up my checking every hour as the evening turned to night. Eleven oclock I went out, Alex is laying down, but on her chest, munching cud and looking for all the world like she was just as satisfied with herself as can be. No contractions, no goo, nothing to alert me to imminent birth…

Midnight I walked into the barn and…

BOTH DOES.

We are 8 for 9 this year with does, one lonely little buckling in the yard, haha.

Now what I want to know is where did the color go? I expected big color from this one, and I got danged near solid white. One doeling is pretty much completely white, with just a very very minimal shading of red on the head, but not hardly noticable. The other has ‘eyeshadow’ and a couple little color marks on the very top of her head:

I don’t know how such a colored doe threw such colorless kids, haha, but I know one thing, these two does are HUGE. I swear the one is bigger than my two week olds in the other barn, and the other is about the size of the two week olds out there.

I’m just happy there were no problems. Alex delivered those babies and fast, by herself, and is a GREAT mom. She had them clean although was still working on dry, and I dipped their cords and feet, and made sure they were nursing which Alex handled like a champ. She’s very protective, she’s cool with me, but won’t even let the cat in the stall with the babies, haha, poor kitty she likes greeting the new arrivals. Mom says no go though.

Now I am just so befuddled, I have already picked two keepers from previous two kiddings, and wasn’t going to keep either of these since they’re just 50%er’s, but dang, they are beautiful big bodied girls, and I think they’ll follow in momma’s ‘no problem having big babies’ shoes. So, I think I’m gonna keep one of these too… oh lordy, potatoe chips anyone? LOL

Like I Promised

I just got in from taking the pics of my new girl ‘Polly’. So like I promised yesterday, here she is in all her Alpine splendor.

I think Miss Polly gives me just the right finish to my new goat herd. Her, my two 50% boer/nubian kids, my 2 PB Nubian kids, and the 4 three-quarter boer/Nubian kids I’m getting from Sherry, plus the powerhouse Mickey will give me a fantastic kid crop come next spring.

I can’t wait. Now just to make it until May when Polly here is due to kid from her breeding to a pretty carmel colored Alpine buck. Kids of my very own this year already! How cool.

Whoops, I did it again

LOL, well I just couldn’t resist. I have a new addition again. A beautiful registered Alpine doe that my friend Ellen helped out in buying. I mentioned to her when I was picking up milk for the kids this morning that there was a bred Alpine doe for sale in Indiana, but I wasn’t sure because she was said to be ’small’ and also, I really didn’t have the money at the moment.

Ellen said “I do” let’s go see her. So after running errands she came by with her trailer and we were off to Indiana. Polly was destined to come home with us. What a personality this doe has, and she’s BLACK and WHITE which is something I really wanted. I’d told Ellen that on the way there… I sure hope she’s either black, or black and white. Well she was. But it was her personality that won the day. What a lover. She’s really not all that small either. Maybe not as large as some Alpines, but not particularly teeny either. She’s bred to a purebred Alpine buck (also quite the lover) and due to kid in May. She’s pretty large already though, and we even felt the kids kicking in there. What a neat feeling.

So, Mickey has a new lady friend waiting for him, and Ellen has a partnership in the kid sales… and I have a new friend. LOL

Pictures tomorrow when the sun comes back up.