Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope, better known as Lexi, died yesterday at the age of 12. She was my first Nigerian along with her wether brother, Harlequin. What can I say about Lexi? She was just a darn nice goat. Although bred a million times(she really liked the boys) she never had kids. Other than making a few trips to see her boyfriend at a neighboring dairy, she never left our farm. She was never shown, never clipped, never milked. She had the perfect life. She died peacefully in her own bed. What more could anyone of us want?

Rest in peace little goat girl.

Barn Cats

Several months ago, right after Hubby's accident, I was driving our truck when I noticed it was running really rough. Being a fairly new truck we took it in to be serviced under the warranty. Trouble is the warranty doesn't cover a rat chewing all the wiring under the hood. With the truck sitting for several weeks a rat took up residence in the engine. $600 dollars later we got the truck back and Hubby was determined to not let it happen again. He wanted a cat.

We haven't had a cat here in years. I was tired of losing them to coyotes and the road so decided not to have an outdoor cat anymore. I have two cats at the farm but the llamas seem to keep them safe from the coyotes that roam our streets at night and early morning ridding the neighborhood of their beloved cats and small dogs that are not watched when let out of the house early in the morning.
Hubby set out scouring Craigslist for a cat. Now my idea was to get a couple of feral cats from the rescue group. They come spayed or neutered with shots etc....and don't want in the house.

I didn't move fast enough. My son and his dad found a cat on Craigslist, made an appointment to meet the owner at Safeway, and came home with not one cat but two. The other was "going to the pound" what else could they do.
House cats.
That want to be in the house. Not at all what I had in mind.

We kept those two cats in the old bathroom for 2 weeks and then moved them to the garage when the weather warmed. They weren't out in the garage twenty minutes when they caught the rat and laid him by the door so we could trip over it.
Hubby was pretty happy with his cats.
I too have grown to love his new kitties and they come and go through the house sometimes sleeping on my bed. But they also catch a lot of mice and small rats. We live in the woods and apparently the rodents were close to taking over.
The other day I saw the small black kitty sit quietly by a fresh mole hill. I told her she'd get canned cat food every day for the rest of her life if she caught that mole. Moles have been plaguing me for years. I hoped she would get one. When I got home that afternoon there was no mole.
We have been putting the cats in the garage at night because of the roving coyote pack. Last  night I forgot. Yes I went to bed without putting the cats away.

I felt so guilty.
Then I went outside this morning and saw what they had been doing all night my guilt shifted to joy.
Three dead moles. Just like that.

His house cats are the best barn cats ever.

Test Driving

 

Bridget and Frances, granddaughters of a friend, came to the farm to see the babies.  Each baby had a turn being held and getting used to those short little people called children.

Hazelnut's tiny buckling was the favorite I think.

Bridget and Twinkle..as in Star

Frances and Sweet Pea

Hazelnut and family

Northern Belle

Sweet Pea



Mister No Name

ZooDoo

PeeWee

The Best Kidding Ever



We just had the best kidding ever at Minter Bay Dairy Goats. Hazelnut was showing signs of kidding this morning and I had to go to work. I could check on her at lunch but emailed the farmer at Herron Hill Dairy and let her know "the Nut" was kidding and could she come by and take a peek. I was able to check her at lunch and not much was happening so I went back to work. At some point in the afternoon my iPad pinged and I saw an email that said "I'm here" About and hour later another ping and a picture of Hazelnut....and her two kids. All born, dried off and resting. My 5th grade boys reading group cheered and high fived and helped me celebrate.

Bucklings, one buckskin with blue eyes and wattles and one cobby little black and white spotted blue eyed boy. Just what the zoo ordered.

Easiest kidding ever. Oh how I love technology.

Thanks goatfarmer, I needed that.

He has his mother's eyes



Belles and Whistles

 

Wedding Belles did it again. Two of the most perfect kids to have been born on the farm. All spotty with blue eyes and wattles and with conformation so correct it takes my breath away. I keep telling myself it is important to get the zoo correct beautiful Nigerians.

Wedding Belles' Buckling

Sweet Pea the doeling

 I can't keep them all...can I?

Sweet and Sour

Boots as a baby

Yesterday was the much anticipated day of the kidding of the zoo babies. The weather was perfect at about 70 degrees. I knew Wedding Belles would kid. She suddenly had that oh my gosh look to her udder and her normally quiet self was yelling at the top of her lungs. I took a half day off to baby watch. Before too long Wedding Belles produced a spotty blue eyed doeling followed by a spotty blue eyed buckling. Easy as pie.

Sweet.

As I was cleaning up from Wedding Belles babies I noticed that Boots was pawing and pacing. Before too long she laid down to push. She hadn't pushed very much
 when she delivered two long front legs and no head. I reach in and found the head way back but could not get the head to stay in the right position to be born. I called my friend and fellow goat farmer who just happens to have very small hands and asked her to please come. She pulled her little girl off the school bus and the two of them flew to my rescue. But alas she had the same problem.
Boots was loaded up in the jeep and rushed to the vet where they tried and tried but to no avail. At least they had drugs to dull her pain and then ultimately put her out of her misery. We delivered the dead kids C Section. These were my zoo babies.
Two spotty blue eyed bucklings....just what I'd ordered.
Sour

Rest in peace my dear little Boots.

Boots a couple of weeks ago

 

Round Two

Well my hair is cut so I'm ready for round two of kidding. I really should have planned this a little better and not had them all kid during our school's week of MSP standardized testing. I'm proctoring (torturing children) so I can't get a sub. I am lucky to be within a couple of blocks from the farm and can run down on my lunch hour, which is only a half an hour, but I wonder what goat farmers that work off the farm do during kidding. I keep telling myself that goats have babies all the time by themselves but I was raised to worry.

I have worrying down to an art.