Rose's New Family - Goat Birth Pictures

*Warning, graphic pictures of the birth process of a goat below*

This is Rose, she is a red Boer/Nubian cross doe in our goat herd. I knew what day she was bred by our Boer buck Joker so I knew about when Rose was due to have her kids. I was keeping a close eye on her. She was checked less than two hours before and she wasn't showing the typical signs of pawing the ground, getting up and down or talking back at her stomach so I thought she might have her kids later the next morning. My 10pm check however found Rose had sneaked one by me because she already had one kid on the ground when I got there. Not that Rose needs my help but I do like to be there just in case there might be a problem and this night was rather cold as well.
I didn't miss everything though, as the water bag indicates another kid is on the way. This is Rose's second kidding, so she gets right to business giving birth to her second kid.
If you look close you can see the front legs and head of the kid. This is what you want to see, two front feet followed by the head resting above and between the front legs in a normal presentation.

A good push later and the head is out now. The hard part over, the rest is quick to follow. It looks like we have a pretty black and white paint colored kid! I was crossing my fingers and thinking pink thoughts hoping it was a doeling.
Rose is such a good mom, she starts cleaning and talking to her baby before it is even all the way out.
It is a cold night so I am sure to help Rose get her kids dried quickly so they do not get chilled. After this I dip their umbilical cords in iodine but otherwise I don't interfere so Rose and her new babies can bond.

Congratulations and good job Rose! They are both girls! What a nice looking family.
It does not take them long to stand up and start looking for their first milk. Rose continues to bleat and talk to them, she must be telling them how precious she thinks they are.
Now they are "punching" at the air and Rose's stomach looking for her teats so they can nurse. You are so close...getting warmer...
Nope, that is her armpit..no milk there....but neither kid gave up and it did not take them long at all to find their first meal. With full bellies they laid down and napped for a bit. Rose passed her afterbirth and got some well deserved warm molasses water which she drank down with enthusiasm. Mama Rose and her two new girls are doing great!

*Pictures can be made bigger by clicking on them.

Look What the Cat Dragged In

Three more of the mama goats have kidded since I last posted. The baby count is now five new doelings and three bucklings born on the farm recently. Some may wonder with adorable new baby goats on the ground, why am I posting pictures of snakes? I actually think snakes are very cool but I also haven't had a chance to go through the new baby pictures yet and pick some out to post. I will do that very soon though! I did however come in the house today after being outside with the new mother goats to take a short break. I sat down in my chair and happened to notice this little worm snake sitting on the living room floor. They are harmless snakes that spend their time under rocks and underground eating earthworms. So what was he doing on my living room floor? I don't have any proof but Lily the cat looked very guilty. He didn't appear to be injured, so after a quick picture he was released unharmed back outside. I hope he found his way under the house or someplace warm. Good luck little snake!


*Pictures can be made larger by clicking on them.

Paint the Kidding Pen Blue. We Got Boys!

Shiloh Prairie Farm welcomes the first two goat kids born in 2009! Two pretty, paint colored Boer bucklings. The very dark chocolate colored buckling is a little bit smaller than his brother and he looked just a little bit thinner than some kids right after he was born. That is when these pictures were taken, at only a few hours old; however I noticed today he is already fattening up and looks so much better. The two brothers are doing well today. They are starting to really test their legs out by doing playful little hops around the pen. So cute! Luckily these kids were born before the weather turned bad, but I still have does that are due this weekend while we are under a winter storm warning. (Funny, I thought it was Spring? Apparently not yet!) I am hoping they hold off until Sunday when the weather starts to improve a bit!

What Happened to Spring?

There is some bad weather headed this way for the weekend. That is the news from the weather Channel.

A wild ride for Friday

Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

Mar. 26, 2009 8:34 pm ET

Heavy snow and fierce winds will move southward and eastward out of Colorado into New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma and Kansas where many locations will pick up a foot or more of snow. Blizzard conditions will occur at times across eastern Colorado, western Kansas and the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandles. The drifts could be in the double digits of feet high !! The Plains in this area have been desert dry so any moisture is welcome. This could be one of the most impressive March blizzards for this area on record. More...

Even though I could do without the predicted cold temperatures, I am very happy we are getting some rain because this area can certainly use it. In a perfect world this weather would have been earlier in the month before any of the goat moms were due to kid though. I have quite a few does right now that are due to kid anytime. Now I know what they have been waiting for. They have been holding onto their kids until this storm moves into the area. They did not forget about The Doe Code of Honor this year! One doe however must have missed the weather forecast because she kidded before the storm with two colorful bucklings. More on the proud mother and new goat kids later. I have to charge the batteries in my camera.