Five months have rolled by since my girls entertained Augustus. Doe goats have little use for buck goats unless they are in season much to his disappointment. Now is the time for new little goats.
Getting Ready for Kids
The does get ready by eating well and getting fat. Their udders swell with colostrum. The kids settle leaving space under backbones and tailbones.
I get ready by having old towels, clean kidding pen, clipped fingernails and plain soap. A bottle with nipple is waiting. Although I don’t normally bottle raise kids, it’s so much easier to milk colostrum into the bottle and feed the kid than to try to get them on a teat.
Then We Wait
Spring, Juliette and Natasha waddled out to pasture and back in. They laid around chewing their cuds. They showed all the signs their kids were due any time.
The new little goats were in no hurry. Days went by. We continued to wait on these already spoiled brats.
New Little Goats Arrive
Spring’s kid came first. Surprisingly, she had a single doe kid. I’d expected twins. We accept what arrives.
This new mother, although she’s had kids before, is a nervous doe. She was not going to stand still to nurse her kid or let me milk into a bottle. At least she didn’t bite me as one did once. Milk stands insist on obedience.
One is Not Enough
This little doe is up and walking around. She eats well and will have nursing down pat by her second night. Spring has settled down and is enjoying motherhood.
But one kid has no one to play with.
Juliette indicates she is willing to add some new little goats to the play group. Are they? We’re all waiting. And the little doe has a little buck kid as a playmate.
Bittersweet Time
Those new little goats are so cute. They grow up so fast. For years I would look them over deciding which ones to keep.
Now I watch them grow, pet them, play with them. And let them go. Age catches up with everyone including me. No new goats will join my herd. But I will still enjoy those little spoiled brats for a few months.