Friday, February 27, 2009

Busy Day In The Goat Barn



Each kidding season is different, but it seems when there are a plephora of does heavy with kids there is normally at least one day when they let loose at once. Today has been one of those days!


I keep two white boards in the barn. One contains my normal feeding rations, just in case someone should have to take over. The second board is where I draw up a chart that lists the births. One thing extremely important when birthing in numbers is to keep the kidding board up to date.


I just woke from a restoring power nap a short bit ago. The first thing I realized is that the kidding board is not quite up to snuff today. It was perfect at 10:00 A.M., not so perfect from that time forward. Are you giggling with me?


We had to take 2 kids away to bottle feed this morning. From time to time something goes awry. We had strong storms roll through in the early morning hours. One of the does gave birth. She kept up with her twin doeling, but seemed to not realize the buckling was hers. Another first time mother today, Sarah, is oblivious that she gave birth, even though I assisted the birth (the only one so far this year). As soon as I pulled the kid, she wanted our human attention. She was a bottle baby herself years ago. When a dam wants to ignore a kid(s) I try all sorts of tricks, from taking a drop of colostrum and rubbing it on the kid's mouth (so the doe can smell herself on the kid), to trying to graft a kid to a different dam. Sometimes, due to the urgency of getting the first colostrum into the kid, you have to give in to the bottle.


So...it has been an eventful day. And it just might remain that way!


This morning I packed up soap for shipments. The funny thing is, each time I was almost ready to print shipping labels, something in the barn broke loose. As soon as Bob heard Sarah's straining on the intercom, for example, we threw on boots and coats. Sarah is a special doe to the both of us.


I finally got my clothes changed, teeth brushed, hair brushed, and made it to town to get a few necessities, and a stop at the post office (since I missed the mail run this morning).


Ahhh...life on a farm. And yes, I still love it.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL, been there done that, hehe! Yep, that is life on a farm. Been looking at the Dairy Goat Journal which the latest issue just came today!

Mary Humphrey said...

Amy, I received my DGJ issue a few days ago. My favorite section is normally the dairy farm journal itself. I love this issue, the man that runs the large dairy barn. His wife works and he does the milking and tending to the animals. I think the article on the natural goat care is a good one too!

Boozy Tooth said...

Damn Mary. I walked on the treadmill. I am so freaking lame compared to you - and btw... sometimes I don't get my teeth brushed and I have no goats falling out of their mothers round the clock.

I'll tighten up the ship, I promise.

You are a Goddess. AND you got shipments out. I bow to you. I worship at your altar. I dream of being you.

Rock on Mary.

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

I'm a napper, Mike is not. Good luck keepin' up.

KathyB. said...

Ha ha ! I once observed one of my Nubian does eating alfalfa while a large buck kid wriggled out of her all by himself. She seemed totally nonplussed that a baby had been born, OUT OF HER, thank-you very much, and kept on eating. The clean-up was left to me. Goats are funny aren't they? Well, you got a nap! Happy days ahead, huh?

Is Sarah taking care of her baby now?

Twisted Fencepost said...

Boy, it really sounds busy at your place. Goats, kids, dams, does, soap...
I don't know how you keep up.