Velvet's Baby Goats

We've got kids! Today was Velvet's big day. But before her kids arrived, we were doing some standard Saturday stuff. Making our traditional Saturday morning biscuits and as a bonus, we had gravy today, making sourdough bread (I set out the sponge last night), making yogurt and trying to clean up the kitchen while I continued to mess it up. You know, a normal day.

When I went up to the barn to milk, I noticed Velvet's hips and tailbone were very visible, so I knew her babies had dropped.
 

The hip bone to the left is very prominent.

Right along here, her tailbone is very visible. It's much harder to see in a picture.

A comparison of how hollow Velvet's hips and tail look. She is on the left.

Velvet on the left, Ivory on the right

Over the past few days her udder had filled up nicely and she was not cleaning up her feed, she just didn't have much room with the size of the babies.

Yesterday. Velvet on the left and her sister, Copper, on the right.

Yesterday afternoon

I finished off the milking and took the milk back to the house. Instead of chilling it after we strained it, I just heated it up and made yogurt. Then we added water to the incubator. The eggs have been going for a week now, only two more weeks until we have baby chicks.

 

 

Then I mixed up the bread and set it aside to rise. Since I used a half cup of butter in the bread, I set out more cream to make butter.

I also used up the honey we had ready to use. So, I got out the gallon jar of honey we are using. It has gone to sugar so I put it in jars to heat and rejuvenate it. Which made more messes, by the way.

Then it was back to the barn to check on Velvet. The goats were a little ways out in the pasture. Velvet was slow to make it to the barn and she was definitely in labor.

 

So, I fixed up the nursery.....

And penned up her mother, One Stripe, beside her for comfort. Here is the peanut gallery where I pull up a chair.

 

After a while it didn't look like anything was was going to happen soon, so I went back to the house to bake the buns and have some lunch. The buns didn't turn out right, they were kind of hollow. I am still getting used to using sourdough instead of regular yeast bread. Maybe some experienced sourdough folks can give me some pointers.
 

 

Then it was back to the barn. This is what I found when I arrived. Twin bucks. Nice big healthy boys. My concern with this birth was Velvet. Last year she had a big single doe, but she was kind of in shock for hours afterward. She wouldn't clean up the baby, nurse it or talk to it. She just stood there. Thankfully, this was not the case today. She is a very attentive mother and patiently stood for her boys to nurse. I am very grateful. It's hard to get newborn baby goats to pose for the camera, but here they are.

Velvet is the first of three does to kid this almost spring. Ivory is due next Sunday.

 

Copper is due the following Friday on March 7th. Then we will be swimming in milk again.

I'll be giving you updates on how everyone is doing. For now, at the end of a very busy, productive day I thank God for His many blessings, two healthy little boys and a healthy mom. Now it's back to the barn to check on the babies.


Until next time - Fern