She was pacing about in the pen and bawling a bit. She was due to kid in a week and a half, so I checked out her "rear view" . No discharge, just a bit swollen, although that's pretty normal at this point in goat pregnancy.
I came inside and got a few things done and then around lunchtime went out to check on her.
Surprise!
Tottering beside her was a wee kid. Really tiny! I checked and it was a little buck. I looked in the goat house and found the still body of a wee doe kid. The doe kid was easily twice the size of her twin.I checked over the little body, looking for obvious defects and found none. I have no idea why the doe kid died.Perhaps she was just too big and strangled during birth, I don't know.
But,the little buck was fine and frisky. On an adorable scale of one to ten,he is a solid eleven!
We have named him Cornelius.
And cuddly...oh how cuddly!
Champagne is a good mama...and one of my most cooperative milkers.
I am sad we lost the wee doe, but am happy that this wee kid is doing well.
We have decided to NOT breed our does this year as we are planning on moving.
So, I placed an ad on Craigslist to sell Wang,our big buck. I got a few responses and had to weed through them...a couple of people thought he would be good to butcher (uhmmmm....NO.Older goat bucks are NOT a good choice to put in your freezer!), so I weeded them out immediately. Finally talked to one guy that wants him for breeding. He'll be here this afternoon to load up Wang and take him to his new home.
We have also decided to re-home Andy, our untrainable German Shepherd. He is a danger to the livestock...and occasionally US! He has broken windows trying to get at the goats and chickens when they were in the yard. He has knocked most of us down the back steps on numerous occasions trying to rush out the door. Andy has also gone after the peafowl and the geese.What Andy needs is a family that will love his goofy self and not have him around livestock. So, placed an ad for him as well. Have gotten a few responses, but not what we are looking for yet.
So, Cornelius is new...and Wang and Andy are soon to be gone. We should have had two new kids,but, alas, it didn't go as well as we hoped.
Good for you. Nice little addition. I do hope someday to have enough land, far out there, to raise animals...you're a lucky lady.
ReplyDeleteCornelius is SO CUTE! Sad about the little doe, but it just happens sometimes. It's part and parcel of raising livestock.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found a good home for Wang and hope you'll soon find a good home for Andy.
: )
What a cute kid! Sorry about the doeling though :(
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess I'm not the only one with having to re-home a livestock eating / chasing German Shepherd, hugh? I can't comment on my own blog, but saw your comment about Harley (I think it was you), and we were able to find him a home ten days ago, and just about 15 minutes ago I talked with the lady & she & Harley are doing GREAT! Hope you have good luck with finding homes your your critters!
And the circle of life goes around again. So fun to see the new kid on the block!
ReplyDeleteStephen, indeed, I AM lucky! I love all my livestock on our wee homestead.
ReplyDeleteHossBoss,Cornelius is so adorable! And his fur is just as soft as it looks. He seems to love being snuggled...by his mama,by us.He even likes my dog (who thinks ALL babies here are HER babies)Waiting on the guy to come pick up Wang now.
Carolyn, either we have to find him a new home or take him to a local shelter. Andy has simply caused too much damage at this point. Sounds harsh, but every animal here has to pay it's way. Andy is not even useful as a guard dog as he makes friends with every person that comes into the yard. His bark is all bluster. The stray, Baby, has proved herself to be a good mouser.Siona has been trained to guard, attack and detect drugs. Neither of them attack livestock. Andy has tried to attack just about every chicken,goat, goose and peafowl.
Rozy,You should see the little cuss bouncing around the pen! So cute!
Sweet Lamb, there will be a post on Jan 23rd over at my place that has nothing to do with you so please lets not have any misunderstandings. It is meant for others.
ReplyDeleteyour friend, the rat
Congrats on the new buck, so sorry about the doe. Also glad you found a home for Wang. I'm sure someone right will come forward to take Andy, if nothing else you might try a teen outreach center. A lot of these places that work with troubled teens might be the perfect place for a lovable hyper pup. Just a thought, as I know the shelter is a last resort.
ReplyDeleteWang has been sold to a guy that was starting out his own goat herd! YAY!
ReplyDeleteAndy, I am happy to say, has found a new home. The family wanted a large dog and likes German Shepherds. They have 3 rambunctious teenagers that have the energy to keep up with Andy. They also have a fenced yard and will be able to take Andy to the vet for his shots, etc. as needed.
Andy is a lovable, goofy dog, BUT he kept trying to attack all the livestock. The Darlin' Man got him as a 1 yr old...and since Andy was not brought up around livestock...and was,quite frankly, too dumb to understand that he wasn't allowed to eat the goats and chickens,etc., we HAD to find him a new home where he would be loved for who he is and not constantly endangering other animals. The family that got him seemed to be the type that will spoil him rotten.
And MohaveRat...now I am curious, lol!
Cornelius is such a perfect name, and he is just too cute. I wish I had a goat!
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