Spring is fast approaching and with it comes one of my favorite things about spring, animal babies! Our kidding season is less than a month away now and I know many of you are watching expectant mother's to be right now too in your own barns. So wether you have a new calf in the barn, are pulling your hair out waiting on your goats to kid or have a picture of that adorable new lamb you want to share, we would all love to hear about it! I will pin this topic at the top of the board so everyone can come back to it and share their new baby stories!

I have 13 Boer does kidding in March this year, the first one is due March 11th and then the next week I have 8 all due the same week. ( 4 due on the same day! ) I have a feeling things may get a little hectic that week around here! The first one due is our commercial Boer doe "Emma". She is round as a tub, but she has always had twins so that is what I am betting on. (of course I have been fooled before!)

And Dona, I hope you let us know what the "goat float" has! From the pictures you posted awhile back she has to be carrying at least 3! Oh and I love your new avatar pic, those kids are just too cute! Are those some of the purebred Kiko kids you have been waiting on?

Right now with our herd being as small as it is, I have opted to "pen breed" only putting the doe in with the buck when she is in heat and taking her back out in 24hrs. That wouldn't be very workable with a larger herd but for us with our small herd it makes things easier on me, knowing their due dates. All that were supposed to be bred are bagging up. I was concerned about our Nubian because she hadn't started making an udder yet and she always does way early, but I noticed when I fed them this morning she is now! So everyone that should have got bred, did! I ususally run a "clean up" buck a month after breeding with the herd, just to make sure none of the does got missed the first time around with the pen breeding but I didn't this year.

We have quads Sarah our 9 yr. old Saanen doe kidded yesterday evening at 9:30. Thankfully Jim was home (his first day of vacation) for the delivery. I had the easy part, just had to dry them off and get them settled in the house He even milked her out after kidding. (What a guy )
Mother and babies are doing wonderfully. 2 does/2 bucks. Sarah was bred to our Alpine buck, 3 of the kids have the bucks colors and 1 is solid white like Sarah. Of course the white one would be a little buck. I have been wanting a doeling from Sarah and Kerry for a couple of years now, so Sarah can retire. Last year it was 4 bucklings, the year before that 2 of the kids were tangled at birth and the only little doe died at birth. Each year it is obvious that kidding is getting harder and harder on and for her. But she did good this year, no problems, no tangles and 2 girls
Back to twice a day milking...Sarah gives about 17 lbs. (2 gallons of milk) a day.

Congrats Jama!! And Sarah...Now she can live the life of goat luxury. Obviously she has excellent timing if she waited for Jim to be home. Good goat!
Yes, Jen - those are 2 of the doeling triplets - the largest and the smallest. (The middle one is already a troublemaker and won't stand still long enough for a picture!)
I have does due from any day now (the little Nigerian Dwarf doe) up into April. Before reading as far as your pen breeding, Jen, I was thinking how much I now understand WHY people do that!! I hate this "spread out" kidding.
We put the does in with the buck and leave them about 45 days, enough for 2 cycles. I like the idea of being able to pinpoint due dates more accurately better.
You guys will be the first to know what Idgie (the goat float) has. Her sister Ruth has now passed in her size, though, so she might be the one to quad this year! Now watch - they'll both have 1/2 grown twins and laugh at me.

i usually know with in a day when mine will kid. the day the doe shows signs of being in heat i bring the buck up & put them both in a stall togeather i wait there until i see them breed twice then i take them out. so far they have always kidded one day either side of day 150. because i pull all my babies at birth & hand rqaise them on CAE prevention i have to be there.

Well, My kidding has already started. 3 Nannies--6 kids (only have 5 left as I lost one last night)--5 bucks and 1 doe--, have 4-5 more to go. They are all half kiko kids--including a little black doe out of a red Nanny called Esther. She is absolutely beautiful.
My Nubian nanny kidded but wouldn't take care of them. One her kids is one I lost, but the other one is here in the house--being a bottle baby. He is absolutely Gorgeous--Nubian colored with a white heart in the top of his head, frosted ears, and a white patch on his nose. Pictures coming soon.
Esther is the little red polled Nubian doe I bought at Clay Center last summer. She had the little black doeling who has 4 white feet, and a dark red buckling like her. Red had two bucks--a r/w paint and a cream colored buckling.
Daisy the Nubian doesn't like to be milked and has never been milked til yesterday when I had to milk her to get the colostrum for the kids. Kicked me in my left hand and have a big lump/bruise there. I don't have a milk stand--yet--It is still over at our other farm by Abilene. Need to find materials here at the new farm to build me one, plus another pen for "Paige" who is so big, she waddles. Last year she had trip bucklings and looks like trips this year.

Yeah, this winter kidding is a lot of fun. Not really my choice, but next year, they will not be bred til October/November for Spring Kids.

Yeah Leah, I know I said no "Bottle Babies again", but this guy is so cute. He snuggles up in his "Goat Mama's" lap wrapped in a towel, all snuggly and warm, drinks his bottle, and then heaves a big "Sigh" and goes to sleep.
Hope to get some pictures of all the new kids if this blasted weather will just moderate and not be such a Yo-Yo.
Seminole Wind in Central Kanas.

Congratulations SW on all the babies. Sorry to hear about losing the one.

Jennifer I have to share...I am beside myself

We have our first Angora kid born to the farm! A little white doe. She was born yesterday about 2 in the afternoon. I am a little surprised in her being white. Her mother and father are both black. Which means she is a "color carrier or colored factor" Angora. Meaning that she carries the recessive color genes and can produce highly colored kids She is a keeper

This was a total shock to say the least! We are waiting for the other dairy girls to kid. Went out to check on all and their was this little bundle of joy

The breeder could not give us an exact due date, but told us that Bella should be kidding in early March. That she had put Bella with the buck for a two week period of time but saw nothing happen and was not sure of date. I do believe that they got down to business the first day or so of being introduced.

I will get photos as soon as I can. She looks like a little lamb, with long ears. I ask Jim if he had a good name for her. He not being good at naming said Curly I have to get her a name soon.

You guys have been busy! And so have your goats.
Congrats to all! Sorry to hear about the one you lost, SW. An all black doeling? YIPPPEEE!!
SF - Angoras must be like Kikos? White is the dominant gene? This yearling guy I'm trying to sell is all white, but his sire was solid red and grandsire was solid black. I wonder what this guy will throw?
And of course..........PICTURES both of you!!

Wow! I get a little behind and miss this post for a day and now there are new babies everywhere!

Congrats on the new babies Jama! That is awesome. How many times has Sarah had quads now? 2 gallons a day, she sounds like such a great doe.... I can sure see why you wanted a doeling out of her! Congrats on the new Angora baby! That is exciting, I can't wait to see pictures of her and the other too!

Congrats on the new babies Seminole! I am sorry you lost one though. I can't wait to see pictures! You got a black doeling? How neat!

We raise meat goats primarly so we let the mom's raise them, but I agree, it can be nice to know their due dates, mostly just because it saves me sleep and I know if someone is too early or way over-due. We had to cut the herd back last year, but if we build back up that may change and we may go back to running the buck with the does. For a small herd the extra effort of pen breeding makes it easier come kidding time on me. Well we always try to let the does do their own thing, raise their kids on their own naturally, and all the experienced moms we have now are excellent mothers, but half the herd kidding this year are first timers, so it is nice to know their due dates.

Dona, how is your nigie doe doing today? Those are going to be some super cute babies!

Sunflower wrote:

Sarah has quads every year. She has never had less. The majority of the time she throws bucks, or bucks and 1 doe. This year she had 2/2. I have always been impressed by her milking capabilities, the one year we did not breed her, she kept milking 2 yrs straight. Her amount dropped a little bit over the course of the 2 yrs. but she kept giving. I personally believe that the Saanens are the best milkers. We have had a variety of the large dairy breeds over the years Nubians, Alpines, La Manchas, Saanen, Tog. Our Saanens have been the best.

I prefer to dam raise all but the dairy kids. Just one of the kinks in milking, is a bit more work, but I feel is well worth the effort to have the milk. The kids are big pets too.

all these babies being born makes me want my kids now!


Mine aren't due till May 1st which is 2 months and 5 days away!

Talk about a fertile myrtle, that is amazing!

I just rechecked my calendar and our first doe is due in less than 2 weeks!

Wahoo!!! Mine are due in 2 months and 3 days