Lily and her twins, Jingle and Jangle
I am so appreciative of the unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing here in southwestern Pennsylvania. The mild temperatures give both the mama goats and the babies time to recover and get on their feet without fighting the elements. All total, we had twelve babies born. To date, we have ten thriving, healthy babies.
Merry Berry, the little girl I spent the day warming and nursing, is doing well. My girl, Big Red, came through and accepted her. She does not dote on her the way she does Merry Berry’s sister, Noel, but she permits her to snuggle and eat. After her stay in the house with us, Miss Merry Berry is one very sweet, friendly little girl. She bounces over to greet us when we enter the barn. The Bean has laid down the law and declared she does not care what The Bibbed Wonder says; she is keeping Merry Berry. Because Merry Berry is a little girl, and even better, a little girl with spots, Eric is complacent with keeping her. There will not be any repeat offenses like last year when he sold little Finn.
Sadly, we lost little Peppermint, the little brown girl who came into the house, along with Merry Berry. Peppermint’s mom accepted her back, although she was not super attentive. Also, Cindy Crawford had taken to little Peppermint; we thought all was well. However, a few days later, Eric found her in a nest of hay, and he said it looked like someone had sat upon her. I question if a mother goat will cull her offspring if something is wrong. Peppermint obviously wasn’t very bright and did not stay with the herd the way the other babies did. I have not found any information stating this, but I plan to ask our vet if this happens. Although sad, nature has a way of working things out.
My Lily-Wa had triplets which was very exciting. However, the last one born was much tinier than the other two. Lily is an amazing mom and took care of all three babies, but again, Eric found the littlest baby in Lily’s nest, and it looked like she had been flattened. I have read where baby goats pile onto each other to sleep, and the bottom babies suffocate, but I haven’t read anything about mama goats’ suffocating little ones. The babies were with their mama’s when they passed on, which makes me think that perhaps the mama’s are responsible. We work to save every little one, but sometimes we lose them without explanation.
At this point, all the babies are thriving, eating well, growing daily, and enjoying being outside with their peers and their mamas. As The Bean says, it’s nice to see them “get their bounce on.” There is nothing cuter than a baby goat bouncing about and playing. With this unseasonably warm spell, the babies have the opportunity to grow and thrive without any stress from the elements. For that, we will be grateful.
As always, dear reader, stay safe, be smart, appreciate the small gifts life gives you, take joy in those gifts, and keep washing your hands.