Kid . . . Kid, Kid, Kid . . . Kid, Kid, Kid

With these "lazy days of Summer" there is not much hawk related going on.  Birds are molting like mad in their chambers.  I would like to weather them if I could, but they would get eaten alive by the biting flies, which take a fair chomp out of me when I go out with the dogs.  I'll spare them the discomfort until the bugs die back a bit.

What has been going on around here . . . is a lot of goat births.

For now, I have three breeding females, and they gave me one kid, triplets and triplets, for a total of seven new kids.  With the exception of one, they are all doelings (females), so my herd is going to get quite a bit larger.  This coming fall I have three of my doelings from two summers ago ready to join the breeding herd, so little by little, I'm becoming a "goat Baron".  They are not being able to keep up with the pasture for now, as it is the height of grown.  They will catch up as summer wears on and the plants don't grow as fast.

This year's kids are going to be named after nuts, or have the word "nut" in their names somewhere.  Here is the start of the rundown.  I'll finish this posting as I bring them all out from the maternity barn to join the rest in the pasture.

Oreo was the first one to deliver, on May 30th.  She had a single female kid.

She is already out in the pasture with her mamma.  She's also already figured out she can slip through the fence.  This is a typical problem for us during the early days of the kids, until they get big enough that they can't squeeze through.  Recently, handling her, I can feel she has horn buds.  I don't have a disbudding iron, and frankly don't care if some of my goats have horns, so she will be allowed to grow hers.

Her name will be Pistachio!

The next goat to deliver was Biscotti.  On June 1 she had our first set of triplets.  I will be moving her and her kids out to the pasture tomorrow, so will get some close-up pictures of them at that time.

And here are their pictures and names.

The first one is the only brown colored kid we got this year.  Also, you'll notice that all three of Biscotti's babies have the long, floppy ears, which are a trait of the Nubian goat, of which I think Biscotti's dad was.  I've decided to name this doeling Cashew. I forgot to check if she has any horn buds, and now she is out loose in the pasture, so unlikely I could easily catch her and check.

Then there are two mostly black babies.  I decided to keep a kind of theme, with their mom being named Biscotti, and include a few of the ingredients you may find in that tasty, crispy snack you dunk into coffee.  The one above, that Rich is holding, is just about all black.  No horn buds on this one.  I shall call her Cocoa.  The one below has a big white patch on her belly, and I can feel horn buds.  She shall be called Almond.

Always, when we separate a goat, then put them back with the herd, there is some politics and head butting to establish the pecking order again.  Biscotti had to show this young wether born last year that she meant business, and to leave her and her kids alone.  

After awhile, they all moved off, and got busy with the important work of weed eating.

Our final goat mamma, Macaroon, had her triplets on June 9.  I'll post their profile when I let them out from the barn, most likely in a week or two.  They were born over a week later than the others, but look so much smaller.  Fortunately, they do seem to grow quickly.  I also checked them over today, and found two of them needed a little back side cleaning.  The first milk poops can be a bit sticky, and two were plugged up.  

Fun work . . . all part of goat keeping.

And now we are more than a week later, and I've let my last mamma goat out into the pasture with her triplets.

This baby below has very curly fur, which you really can't see well in this picture.  I am calling her Coconut.

Richard is holding the only buckling from this year.  I'm taking a suggestion from my friend Darla, and have decided to call him Wingnut.  He even has a white patch on his back that looks like a folded up wing.  He's not too happy in this picture, as I just "banded" him . . . that is, placed a tight band around his balls to make them loose circulation, dry up and fall off.  Don't need no stinkin bucks around.

The last, and smallest of this year's kids I'm calling Hazel.  She really is quite cute.

Again, there was some head butting and pushing when I brought Macaroon and her family back into the pasture, but they settled down quickly, and now the whole herd is back together.

Now if they would get busy on that pasture.  Even with all the goats, it is overgrown right now.