As hard as it is to believe, we are very nearly in kidding season. We bred our three Angora nanny goats to kid beginning around March 10th. Of course, it could be much later than that, depending on when Jack, our buck, actually got the job done. Goats and sheep both gestate for about 150 days.
As you can see by looking at Mrs. Doubtfire here,
the girls are getting that “about to pop” look.
The last four to six weeks of gestation are the most important in terms of nutritional requirements for the bred goats and sheep. We will slowly be increasing their grain ration to nearly four times what it was earlier in pregnancy.
This is also the time to order all of the supplies we will need for kidding and lambing. Most of the things we need are already on hand here at the farm, but we lost some of our refrigerated vaccines when the power went out, so I’ll be placing an order for more tomorrow. We will also be keeping an eye out for old towels to use to dry off newborn kids and lambs, checking to make sure the heat lamps are working and cleaning out the stalls in the barn where all the action will take place.
Goat-wise, we are expecting two sets of twins and one single. That’s based the number of kids these particular nannies had last year, but it’s entirely possible that Nanny McPhee could have twins; this will be her third time kidding. Honestly, I’d rather she didn’t. We have way more than enough goats!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
But you could get super lucky and get another one like Dimples!!! Would you like all my old towels??? I’ll pack em up and send them…gives me an excuse to buy new ones!
Will they be up on the lambcam??
YES! I’d love them.
Yes! We’ll put them in the stall with the lambcam when the time comes.
OMG! Is it at all possible for locals to come by for an afternoon when all the action starts? Or would we be in the way too much? I wouldn’t want to impose or cause stress.
Its so interesting to read about the process of pregnancy. Thanks for letting us know all this.
Greetings from sunny but cold Munich. Annette
Bring on spring! Lambs! Kids! Grass and sunshine! I am so grateful to be sharing such a complete experience of what spring really meant to our ancestors via Juniper Moon Farm. This is so cool – just remember your thankful fans and friends when there are down times. May those down times shrink into moments!
I don’t know anything about shepherding, so this might be a dumb question, but I am really curious. If you don’t really need any more goats, why do you have to breed them? I imagine that cuteness alone, would be a great reason for me, but I suspect that there are much more serious considerations at work here.
That is a really good question, Chris. One that I ask myself all the time. The reasons are 1) baby goats are the cutest thing in the whole world and 2) first-clip kid mohair is the best fiber in the whole world. All of our goats shear fine “kid grade” mohair, but nothing beats that very first shearing. We will likely keep these kids until the Fall, shear them and either sell them to other small producers or do another goat giveaway.
If you are still thinking about naming conventions for the young uns, how about drinks: margarita, daquiri, bellini, manhatten, martini, etc, etc, etc.
How many sheep are bred? When will they start lambing? What are your plans for the lambs?
Yahoo! Here we go again, Aunties.
The kidding and lambing area is light years above last year’s. I will miss the yurts, though.
I too will miss the yurts…I already miss the daytime view of the whole paddock area…seeing them all milling about in waiting…and the glow at night.
Oh, I’m getting all teary remembering last year!! Yay!!!!
dang i just gave away a bunch of towels to goodwill a month too soon! oh well…
i am looking forward to seeing the babies again
seems like just yesterday it was last year
will you be saying “hooha” again?
lol
i presume the hooha checking will begin soon.
love to u all
big hugs included
rona
The mention of heat lamps makes me wonder if you have a generator. We finally caved in after 18 years and bought one last summer. No more losing the ice cream when the severe thunderstorm rumbles through and takes out the power for three days!
Ack, heat lamps. Over a decade ago, we have one get knocked down into the straw and catch our 120 year old (built by pioneers) barn on fire, with all the animals inside. Fortunately a caretaker saw it in time and he and the fire department were able to put it out. There is still charred wood up one interior wall as a reminder of how close we came. I won’t use the things–too damned dangerous. If the babies need help with the cold, I bring them inside where I have a kid-lamb warmer set up, otherwise snuggling up with moms seems to be good enough. It is amazing how mother nature has built these little guys to survive and thrive (and I live in Idaho where it can get plenty cold). Some of my shepherd friends around here have nice safe setups for their heat lamps in their barns and Premier makes some pretty safe looking ones, but one barn fire was enough for me–I will never have a heat lamp in my barn again. Just a friendly caution from one shepherd to another, be extra careful with those heat lamps. Make sure they are really secure and don’t use them unless really necessary.
ooh, I might have some towels for you … will see what Mr. Marmoset has done with them.