My goodness.. it’ been such a long time since I last posted!   I feel guilty that I haven’t kept my reader’s up with all the little things that have happened since I wrote about Murphy’s passing.

February 14th Oreo finally gave birth to twins… Valentina & Valentino were born without any help from me.  I showed up for morning feeding and “voila” two extra little mouths to feed!  Tina was mostly black, the typical Pygmy goat coloring with gray muzzle & ears while Tino is a solid,  solid jet black.  Not one white hair anywhere!  He is a darling! I have since sold Tina and kept Tino – not sure if I’m going to keep him, castrate him or sell him… I’m on the line with this one because I think he’ll end up being a bit taller than my current stud.  Flip is very small & compact and since I’m trying to breed small, he’s just perfect!  We’ll see.  If the right buyer comes along, I just might let him go.

At this moment my rabbit has 4 little bunnies.  This is her 3rd litter since I’ve had her but all the bunnies from the 2 previous litters died within the first 48 hours.  These little guys born Saturday the 18th are squirmy and very much alive.  Of course it’s much warmer these days than it was when she birthed earlier this year.  I’m anxious to see what the little ones will look like.  Flopsy is a gray Lop Ear and the buck is a solid black  Lionhead.  They should be very cute.

I also have two hens that have hatched 7 chicks.  They’re so funny… they have their boxes side by side in a large cage (to keep them safe from Possums & feral cats), and they keep stealing each other’s chicks!  Strange thing is that hens can be really mean to the chicks… they often peck at one chick in particular and often times wound them mortally.

Stormy my goat loving Llama (referred here as “Uncle Stormy”), was sheared on Saturday.  He looks like a different animal altogether!  I think he’s not too happy with his looks as he’s been keeping pretty much to himself inside his stall.  Maybe he’s cold?  Could be… all of his wool is gone!  Note that this wasn’t a “show” trim but just a plain old shearing – no fancy cuts!  In a few weeks he’ll have some growth & he won’t look so strange!

About a month ago I bought another miniature horse… named Cowgirl.  She’s a caramel color with blond mane & tail and came with a cute little wooden cart.   I renamed her “Ol Blue because of her beautiful marble blue eyes and the fact that she’s at least 20 years old!  I was able to drive her but realized that the cart (and me!), was way too heavy for her to pull comfortably so I bought a little “Easy Entry Cart”.  She does much, much better with it but it still is difficult for her on these hilly roads.

Saturday (April 18), I had my petting farm set up in town and drove Ol Blue all the way into town with Toffee tied behind me.  It took us about 45 minutes to get there… it’s a 5 minute drive in the car!  She did well on & off… she tires easily and I don’t want to overdo it with her.  So now I’m shopping for a younger horse!  Ol Blue is a very gentle horse and very well mannered.  I hope that my farm will be her last… she’s such a good horse – she deserves a final home here!

So, final count, I have 6 adult does  4 of which I’m sure at are pregnant and should kid end of May, beginning June.   That would be Noelle, Chausette, Brownie & Blackie.  I don’t think Old Goat is pregnant (she may never be), and Oreo isn’t yet…  Molly my fainting goat looks pregnant but I can’t tell for sure yet.  She & Bambi would also be due end of May.  My young little Cocoa looks like she’s about to pop a kid any day now & I have to keep a close watch on her.  She’s way too young to be birthing but she came to me that way in January.

I have several kids for sale at this time and you will find their pictures/videos on my “For Sale” page.

What signs should you look for when you think your doe is about to give birth?  Some breeders know exactly when to expect kids because of a strict breeding regimen and then they mark off the days on the calendar.   Here at my little farm, I let my does breed when they show signs of heat and I let nature take its course.  Once I notice that she no longer shows interest in the buck, I just remove him and then mark the calendar for an “approximate” date.

Here are the most common signs of birthing.  However, I’ve had a couple of goats show absolutely no signs at 7pm yet at 7am they came to eat accompanied by a little one!

These signs are in no particular order:

• The doe digs a nest, paces, paws at the ground or bedding
• There is white vaginal discharge, loss of the mucus plug, followed by a streaming of clear, runny mucus
• Has loose tail ligaments; tail lifts up
• Appears restless, rises and lies down frequently
• Eyes are luminous and possibly stargazes
• Smells the ground and may exhibit the Flehmen reaction (curling of upper lip)
• Looks behind her, licks or bites her sides
• Hollows out: from the side, hollow areas above the back leg under the back
• Elevates her front end by standing on something with her front feet only
• Bottom of her belly starts getting lower to the ground
• Squats and urinates frequently
• Udder begins to fill, teat have a waxy, shiny look or are strutted (pointed slightly out to side rather than downward) – this sign is usually right before birthing – expect kid in 24 hours
• Vulva becomes flabby & puffy
• Bleats or “baby talks” to the unborn kid
• Grinds teeth
• Breathes faster, pants, yawns
• Goes off by herself to a “private’ place (that could be out in the rain or cold)
• Acts out of character: becomes more affectionate or more standoffish
• Acts uncomfortable and pushes and rolls as the babies get into birthing position
• Vocalizes or grunts when contractions occur
• May refuse to eat the morning of delivery (very rare here!

Remember, all goats are individuals and may or may not show any of the above signs.  By knowing your animals, you’ll know when something’s up.

Being present at birthing is a beautiful gift – it’s unlikely that your doe will need help but if she does, just do what comes naturally!  Most times all she needs is to hear your comforting voice, especially on first timers.

I love holding wet babies and having them smell me from the moment they’re cleaned off.  Then suprisingly, watch them jump around only hours after entering this world!  What a joy!

Winter kids have it very hard.  I’ve experienced it first hand this year.  I’ve lost a few to chills (moms kidded outside in the rain when they had access to a warm dry barn – go figure), and at this time in January most of my kids have the sniffles, runny noses and lots of coughing.  It’s very hard to see these little babies not healthy as they should.  Because of this, I will not allow any of my does to breed between May and October (hence avoiding kidding between October & March).  I’ve had to learn the hard way but certainly not as hard as my little goats!

Although I’m not ready to show my stuff on a full time basis, I truly enjoyed both times that we have brought our small group to a public event.  The first time was at our county fair.  We brought Boris the camel, Madigan & Daisy-June the miniature donkeys and a group of Pygmy & Nigerian Dwarf goats.  Kids and adults were thrilled at being up close and personal with Boris and the smaller children absolutely loved being able to be in the pen with the little goats to feed, pet and play with them.  I think my goats enjoyed this as much as the children!

Most recently we were invited to our local elementary school for the Kindergarten & Pre-Kindergarten classes.  Once there we were asked to stay a little while longer so that the rest of the students could come see, feel and experiment being close to these animals.

I was surprised that although we live in a rural area, most children had never seen a donkey or a goat!  Of course none had ever seen a camel!  After our visit we heard some of the cutest stories… kids would tell their parents that a camel came to school and the parents didn’t believe them!

This was a last minute arrangement that was organized by one of the teachers, Mrs Billyinthia Hill, the wife of my good friend Danny.  He owns and operates L & J Farm Supply here in Spring City.  I get all of my supplies and feed from his store but what is more important is the wealth of information I get from Danny and from others through him.  As a matter of fact, Danny provided all the fencing for my animals for both of the times that I had them out.

Speaking of Danny (L & J Farm Supplies), I’d like to give him credit for all of the help he’s been to me.  This man is so knowledged  – there is not much that he doesn’t know when it comes to farm animals.  And if he doesn’t have an answer for you, he knows who does & he gets right on it!  It’s not all about the stuff you can buy in a store but what you can learn from those who’ve been there before you.  Thanks Danny, you’ve been a great help to me!

As I said earlier, I’m not in the “Petting Zoo/Farm” business but if you’d like to come with a small group of children for them to experience mostly miniature farm animals, please contact me and we’ll see what we can arrange.  For me there is no greater pleasure than to be able to share all that I have been blessed with.

To whom much is given, much is expected!