A breath of fresh air, and new born babies

November is the time of the year that I finally get to take a deep breath, and relax. Fair season is over, and it’s not yet time for National Western. We have had our first snow, and the goats are starting to grow out their shaggy coats in preparation for the cooler weather.

The Boer does are starting to show signs of pregnancy, which means they are progressing along. They are three-fifth of the way through gestation, and they are all due within about a week of each other. This will make my life easier, as I won’t be waiting for several weeks for the kids to be born.

The dairy goats should also be bred, and they will kid in March and April. Last month, I was waiting for my second Nubian doe to kid. On October 7, she decided it was time for her babies to enter the world. It was chilly, so I brought both Nubian does inside so the babies would not be chilled when they were born.

Nubians are notoriously loud, and this doe is no exception. She is also loud when she kids, and this gives me a slight advantage. I use a simple voice activated baby monitor to listen for her distinctive sounds. I hoped that I would be home, or that I would wake if I heard them. Just like before, she waited until I was home and then gave me her notice.

I was just starting to watch the Broncos game, when I heard the unmistakable sound of her in labor. I rushed out to her pen, to see her water had broken and she was in full labor. I grabbed the towels I had waiting, and then patiently sat with her while she continued to push.

Finally I could see feet, followed shortly by a little nose. After a few more pushes, out the kid came. This one was a little buck kid. Lilly seemed to sigh in relief, briefly licked the kid, and then began to push again.

I waited as the second kid’s front feet and nose appeared, and could immediately tell this kid was going to have beautiful markings. Once she pushed the baby out, I had to check to see what it was. To my delight, this kid was a doe kid.

Both babies were healthy, and Lilly immediately began cleaning them. Within a half hour, she had both kids trying to stand, and trying to nurse. Their long legs and wobbly nature always put a smile on my face.

My sister was home and got to watch the birth with me. We started discussing names, as I still hadn’t named my first doe kid that was born. We decided to stay with the Disney theme I’ve had for other dairy kids this year. We decided to pick names from “The Lion King.”

We named the twins Simba and Nala, and named the single doe kid Kiara. After a few days the kids were old enough to go back outside with the rest of the herd, and they were soon jumping on the feeders and chasing each other around the pen.

Both Nubian doelings will be kept to be shown, and I may show the buck at the first show as well, depending on how he grows. He is one I cannot keep, however, as he is related to all of the other Nubian does in my herd.

I hope to have several goats to show through next spring and summer, and am looking forward to the smell of shavings and clean goats. It’s one of my favorite smells.

Last week I attended National FFA convention in Indianapolis, and had the opportunity to meet showmen from across the country. I love hearing their stories, their favorite animals, and their upcoming projects. My favorite part is to listen to how passionate they are about what they are doing.

While at the convention, I also had the opportunity to spend a little time shopping. Now, most people would be focused on clothes or jewelry, but I was focused on my goats.

There was a show supply booth, and they had almost anything I could ever want.

I tried to contain myself, and decided my best investment would be in some goat tubes. They are spandex tubes that cover the body and neck of the goat, and help to keep the goat clean.

Many of the shows I attend I wash the goats before I go, and they always seem to find a way to get dirt spots. This will prevent that from happening, and allowed me to come away from my shopping trip very excited.

On the pig side, I made the decision to cut back to the three sows that fit my breeding program best, and retain two gilts from my summer purebred Hampshire little to breed next year. I am very excited about these two gilts, as they possess nearly everything I am looking for in a show hog.

At times like these I wish I was still young enough to show hogs, but there are no breeding hog shows in my area for people who are over 21. Someday I’ll be able to take these young gilts to the national shows that host a breeding show, and compete at the highest level.

I’m going to enjoy the break I’ll have the next two months, because as soon as January rolls around, it will be back to the grind.

Click here to see the published version in The Fence Post.