We've been a bit busy on el Rancho the past two weeks. As expected, Doublestuff kidded on Valentine's Day and Oreo followed on February 15th. Double did indeed have three kids, all bucklings, but one didn't make it. Oreo had a buckling and a doeling. I was there when Oreo kidded and all was uneventful Cute, cute, cute! Kids are so entertaining to watch!I had already decided that the pygmy girls would be leaving after kidding. Between getting my house ready to sell, helping D3 build his house, and, oh, yeah, my full-time job, I don't have time right now to acquire a new pygmy buck and keep the pygmy girls separated from the big bucks. So, when the kids turned a week old, I posted all six on Craigslist, offering bottle babies, or three-in-one packages of mom and two babies. Wow! my phone and email were on fire! I started meeting the potential owners on Saturday and sold all six to the first two buyers.
On February 26, I went out to el Rancho after work to check on Doll who was confined in the kidding pens with Oreo. To my surprise, Khaki, who was in the Middle Pastures with the does, was about to kid! I tried to sneak her out, but Big Momma barged through with her kids, too. While I was trying to sort things out, Dan, my knight in denim, showed up and helped get goats where they belonged, brought loads of hay to everyone, and delivered about 15 gallons of water to the kidding pen.
Khaki took a while getting ready and finally lay down -- not in the hay-filled goat hut I had prepared, but in the middle of the round pen! Eventually, I saw a hoof, a big hoof, and realized the other leg was malpositioned. Going in, I was able to push the baby back and pull the other leg forward. Wow, two big hooves. Big kid with a big head. Good thing I was there because it took me gently pulling and Khaki mightily pushing to bring that ten pounder into the world. Twenty minutes later, his seven and a half pound sister slid into the world uneventfully.
Khaki stepped up as a great mom, cleaning up the kids, making sure they nursed and cuddling up in the hut. The next day, the two kids were bouncing and charming...
On Saturday, DoubleStuff and her boys were picked up by their new owners while I was out-of-town for work. And Doll? Well, maybe she's waiting for the caprine midwife (me) to come home. Or perhaps she just wanted some pampering!
I just found your post out on the web. I am the person who bought "double stuff" (now, Momma) and her twin boys. My grandchildren named the boys Cutie and fu-fu. They are getting big and if you look for (lori langlois-swain) on facebook or Melissa Swain you will find several pictures of them and a small Donkey we bought. They are doing well. Just thought you'd like to know.
ReplyDeleteLori, Great to hear from you and the kids!
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