Feeding Babies

Many people have asked how we feed all of the babies.  They do get fed with bottles for the first few days.  But after that we use a lambar bucket.  This a a bucket that has 10 niples in it, with hoses that run into the bottom of the bucket.  We put a pre-measured amount of milk in the bucket, then let the babies drink.  This video should give you a better idea.  Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

It's been a while since I posted an update. I had the best of intentions - things just got a little hectic around here over the past week. We are up to 19 new babies at the farm. We had a new Saanen doe kid born on Thursday, March 19. We've had some ups and downs over the last week, but I am happy to say that we are finally getting back to some sort of schedule. By we I mean Chris and I - not the goats. We adjusted the babies to 2X feedings yesterday. That will be a huge help. Now we don't have to run home in the afternoon to feed or arrange for someone else to fill in for us. Also, we are starting to get to sleep at a reasonable hour - for the whole night! Now, we can actually do chores at 6 AM and 6 PM. This means that Chris gets to work on time in the morning, and we both get to bed before 10 PM. I know all of this sounds fairly boring - but, right now this is our life. Just trying to fit everything in to one day and trying to get enough sleep for the next day. It all seems very busy right now, but it will all be worth it.

We had lots of visitors this weekend. Family came over to see the babies and celebrate birthdays. Friends stopped by to see the babies and pick up milk. We love seeing everyone.

More Babies... More Bucks

It must be the year for buck kids.  We had another  doe freshen on St. Patrick's Day around 9:30 PM.  Raven, a beautiful black Nubian doe that we purchased as a kid finally freshened with no trouble at all.  She even has a perfect udder for a first-timer.  The only problem was that she had 2 buck kids.  I had been hoping for doe kids - so badly.  She is such a beautiful girl, and I wanted to start a line in our herd with her at the beginning.  At the very least, her boys, who we have named "Guinness" and "Bailey's" in honor of the holiday are extremely handsome.  My hope is that someone will see them and want to include their great features in another herd.  

You may notice that the photos of these boys do not have the barn as a background.  That's because these 2 lucky guys got to spend the night in the laundry room so that we didn't have to trek out to the barn at midnight.  How lucky are they?!

We now have a total of 19 babies.  There are 6 does, and 13 bucks.  There is still 1, possible 2 does due from now until the beginning of April.  Then, there will be 2 more due in June.  

We have started getting a number of visitors at the farm.  We love having people out.  This is the time of year we get to see neighbors, friends and relatives that we may not see very often.  Many people want to know when the best time to visit is.  We generally ask people to come during chore time (5-7 PM) since that is the time we are milking does and feeding kids.  Also, we are already in the barn, so having people there is not an inconvenience.  We do ask that you call us first, to make sure we don't have something planned.  Sometimes we do schedule larger groups (scouts, 4-H, etc.) and would like to put a limit on the number of people at that time.  Also, we do still have to get the work done here- so sometimes we may ask you to have a second choice of visiting time in mind.  Thanks for understanding - and we look forward to seeing you!

We're Back on Schedule... Maybe Not

We have a schedule for feeding the babies when they arrive.  They get fed every 6 hours (4X daily) for the first two days, then every 8 hours (3X daily) from day 3-7.  We decided to adjust all the babies to 3X feeding yesterday.  That way we feed them at 6 AM, 2 PM and 10 PM and we get to sleep like normal people!  In addition we are training them to use a lambar bucket instead of bottles.  A lambar bucket is basically a pail with about 10 nipples all the way around it.  Inside the pail, each nipple has a hose that reaches the bottom of the bucket.  This way they still suck on a nipple to drink, but it is a lot faster and easier to clean.  When they get really good at it, we can feed 10 babies at the same time in under 1 minute.  We'll post a photo of the babies using the lambar bucket soon.  All of this means we can get in the house by 10PM, have time to catch up on a few things, and crawl in bed before midnight.

That's how is should work.  Not this time.  As I was going to bed about 10:30 I checked the camera monitor in the barn.  Claira, our Nubian herd matriarch, was clearly in the process of pushing a baby out into the world.  We got our there as fast as we could and in the course of 15 minutes we welcomed 3 new babies.  Claira had 2 buck kids and 1 doe kid.  They were a little slow to drink, but after we dried them off with towels and the blow dryer and re-warmed colostrum (the first milk from the doe that contains all the good antibodies) they took right off!  All are doing well today.  By the time we got back in the house it was 12:15.  I guess we could have fed at midnight after all.  So, for now, we are in between schedules again.

Whoa Baby!

To say that Thursday, March 12th was an eventful day would be an understatement.  We started the day at 4 AM thinking that one of the goats was showing early signs of labor.  Chris went to work around 5 AM, and I (Laura) continued to watch the monitor for another hour.  Then I went out and did morning chores at 6 AM and everyone was fine.  No new babies over night.

At about 9:30 I saw Wisteria, one of our Nubians, starting to show strong contractions.  I went out to the barn, prepared for the delivery and the first kid ( a pretty black doe) was on the ground by 10.  No problem, I've got another 20 minutes before the next one comes, right?  Nope.  Try 5 minutes.  With the addition of a handsome brown and white trim buck kid, now I have 2 soaking wet babies in a barn that is 20 degrees.  So what do I do?  Call in reinforcements!  My neighbor Mary came over and helped dry off/blow dry the babies and get them fed.  All of this was in time for me to go to work by noon.

Chris came home about noon for the afternoon baby shift.  I had to be gone for the rest of the afternoon because I teach a class on Thursday nights from 6:30-9:30 PM, and had another appt at 2:30.  We asked Chris's Mom and sister if they would come over and be available to help "in case" a goat should freshen.

Well, my appt wrapped up around 4:45.  When I returned to my desk I had a message from Chris at about 3 PM that LuvBug, one of our Saanens had just given birth to twin bucks.  Everyone was doing well.  When I returned his call, he informed me that Wylie, one of our Nubians, had started showing signs of labor.  By 5 PM she had given birth to TRIPLETS!  1 doe and 2 bucks.  By this point I think he was happy to have extra help at the barn.  I was feeling a bit left out of al the action!  When I left the barn this morning, I had 7 babies, now there was 12!

By about 7:40 PM I called Chris to see how things were going.  At the start of the day we had agreed that he would bring a few babies to my class for everyone to "oooh and aaah over".  We had agreed that he would be there between 7 and 7:30.  So, I call... and he answers to tell me that he will be on his way in a couple of minutes - after he milks Tilly.  Wait... did he say Tilly??  When did she come into the mix?  Tilly is one of our Saanen does.  He then tells me that she freshened nearly effortlessly at 7 PM.  Oh my gosh!  

Chris, his mom and sister were absolute champs.  They did all of this work, and then they did bring down Tilly's twins and Wylie's triplets for the class to see.  Everyone loved them of course.  They just couldn't fathom that they had just been born a few hours before.  I am very grateful to have such an understanding, hard working spouse.  And my adopted family (in-laws) are just gems.  Who else would put up with and dive into all of this?

We now have 14 babies on the ground - and I missed the last 7!  What kind of mama am I?  As soon as I get a chance to snuggle all the new little ones and take their pictures, I will post some for you to see.  I'm sure Chris's account of all of this is different than mine.  I'm going to see if he'll jot down his thoughts sometime tomorrow so that we can compare notes.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

When we woke up this morning for chores, we had quite an adjustment to make.  Overnight temps had dropped significantly and the wind was fierce!  The thermometer read -2.  Ug, we really thought we were done with all that crazy cold weather.

After a long wait, Princess decided that twins was all she was going to have.  So, we got some cute pictures of them this morning.  Now, we just have to wait patiently for the other 5 goats who are over due.

In Her Own Time...

Chris and I made a deal last night: I would stay up to do the midnight feeding, and I do morning chores since I was planning on going into work a bit later.  In return, he would get up early (4 AM) and come home by noon to feed babies and be on "Baby Watch".  Sounds good.  It was except that I couldn't sleep for various reasons - so today has been a long day!

Princess started showing the very early staged of labor at about 5 PM this evening.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally at 7 PM we decided to go in the house and watch her on the camera.  Wouldn't you know - no sooner do I get in the house, get all my barn clothes off, and set the tv to record - and she decides to start pushing!  So, everything went in reverse and I ran back out to the barn.  At 7:30 she gave birth to a very big buck kid.  And as all wonderful Saanens should be - he is white as snow!  Wahoo!  

Then we waited, and waited some more and at 8:30 I decide that I should check her to make sure everything is going okay.  Well, she apparently was reading my mind, because just as I stepped in the pen to check her, she gave birth to a smaller doe kid.  This one is just cute as a button (and also white - as she should be!)

We stayed in the barn until 9:00 wondering if she was finished, or if she might have a third.  She has done this in the past...  We'll see what is waiting for us when we go out for the midnight shift.  We will post photos a little later.  The cold spell that we just got today seems to have zapped our camera batteries faster than expected.

Kidding Season Has Begun!

Well, it's official - kidding season has begun at Four Seasons Farm.  We were expecting one of our Saanens to kid yesterday, but that has not happened yet.  We actually had a surprise today.  We were in the house, both doing our own thing around 5 PM when we heard a grunt on the "baby cam".  This is quite alarming because we did not have anyone in the kidding pens to watch!  Both Chris and I rushed out to the barn expecting the Saanen that was due on Saturday to be in labor.  To our surprise - Lynn, one of our Nubians - had given birth to 1 baby and was cleaning him off!  This was a complete surprise because Lynn was not due until Tuesday!  Just to keep us on our toes, she decided to give birth to 3 babies - that's right, TRIPLETS!  She had 2 beautiful bucks and 1 very cute doe.  Everyone is doing well, and we are excited that kidding season has begun!  Now, Chris is taking a nap until the midnight feeding, and I am staying up to get some work done that I have a deadline for tomorrow.  Anytime you want to volunteer for the midnight shift, just let us know!  See you soon!