top of page

Baby Goats Are Here!!!

Writer's picture: Julie@alltailswagginJulie@alltailswaggin

Welcome to Tiny Dream Farm, home of House of Jewelz Nigerian Dwarf goats. I can't believe it has been a year already since our first set of baby goats. Well it is that time again, and to make life a little easier, Sweet Pea and Selene decided to coordinate in order to have all of their kids in one day. The goats on our hobby farm are Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Why did I choose this breed? Well they were the perfect fit for our property being they are smaller, yet still excellent milk producers for their size. What we didn't know when we first got them is just how good their milk is! Trust me, what you buy in stores which says goats milk does not hold a candle to what it tastes like in real life. I'm not able to drink cow's milk, due to lactose issues, but goat's milk isn't an issue for me. We use it here on the farm for milk, cheese, ice creams, and, last but not least, our All Tails Waggin' Peanut Butter Goats Milk Dog Treats.


Okay, so I'm sure you would much rather hear about baby goats, but I can't help getting excited about my girls and their awesome milk. Getting back to the baby goats...around 4am this morning I was awoken by a loud agonizing scream. Normally things like that you don't really hear from the barn but my babies are spoiled so we set them up with birthing stalls in our garage. Perhaps I'm a little spoiled too but I would much rather help deliver in our garage then go outside into the little goat barn. Anyways, the garage is directly under our bedroom, so I definitely heard the call of childbirth. Up I jumped, threw on my fleece lined sweat pants and barn shirt, and jogged down the stairs.



Check out this video of all of the babies born today on the farm.


There Sweet Pea was, absolutely miserable. The look she gave me was so terribly pathetic, but she soaked up my comfort as I promised her it wouldn't be long until she had a new little bundle of goat to love. Last year Sweet Pea gave birth to a single kid and that kid was huge! Poor thing, that's what happened yet again. Her little man is actually a BIG boy. No wonder she looked at me like she did. Thankfully, after the ordeal, I was forgiven as she decided I was in need of kisses and loves before she started in on cleaning up her boy. As you will see below, he is a gorgeous boy! That was 5am...mommy Sweet Pea got a treat of hot molasses water and it was time for a cup of coffee for me. (No, I'm not like a normal farmer who is up with the dawn...I really enjoy sleeping until 7am or at least until 6am. Starting my day at 4am is not the norm.)




After taking a break I went back to check on the little man and his mom and then get the rest of the farm animals ready for their day. Once that was done, Selene gave me her beautiful doe eyes and said "Mom, it is so nice outside; I don't want to stay in the birthing stall. I promise you, it's not time." Like an idiot, I believed her. Around 11am I was working in my home office and heard a moan outside. Not the scream like Sweet Pea but I suspected something was up. There was Selene, laying on top of the hay I had put out that morning, just about to give birth. I rushed over just as her first little boy was born. I gave him to mom and told her, "Just wait, stop pushing. I need to get the towels." I don't know why she can't just listen to me, it would make things easier. Anyways, the towels were just inside the door to the garage (I like to be ready) so I grabbed them and ran back. There she was, in the process of giving birth again.


Last year, Selene gave birth to four kids, two bucklings (aka...boys) and two doelings (aka...girls). Apparently it is a trend, because it happened again...well kinda. It took a little longer delivering the second buckling but the third, who was a doeling came shooting out right behind him. Poor little buckling two...his sister had pooped on him on the way out. He was covered in ickiness....ewww. Here I was, out in the middle of our goat yard surrounded by mud & little piles of snow, busily working to help mommy dry off her babies while discouraging the other nosey goats from getting in the way. Selene's two daughters from last year, Tiny & Ayala, were fascinated. Oh, and I can't forget Freya, my year old Dalmatian who was out with us too. She is currently in heat herself and was determined she needed to help with cleaning the babies too. Ahh....chaos, how you keep things interesting.


That's when I started thinking, she had 4 last year, is she having a fourth? I took a look and there was the tiniest little goat who had already been delivered. He was so small, mommy Selene didn't even notice. For those familiar with Tiny last year, he was even smaller than her. I scooped him up with a fresh towel and started cleaning him up while mom was working on the first three kids. I was so worried I was going to break the little guy but baby goats are pretty tough (at least in some regards) and he was breathing well, so I rubbed him up good with the towel and gave him to mom for a bit while I pondered, how am I going to get all 4 kids & mom back into the garage and kidding stall. I like to keep mom's and kids together in their birthing stalls for at least a week to bond and recover. I couldn't think of anything better at the moment, so I simply scooped up all the babies in my arms and made my way into the garage with them. I then ran back and had to convince Selene I knew were her babies were and if she would simply come with me they could be reunited. It took a little convincing, but I soon got her where she needed to be too. She sucked down her molasses water too (it's a good pick me for the does after delivering), and I was able to observe all of the babies get in a little milk (very important because mom's first milk contains colostrum which is necessary for baby goat health).



What a day! We ended up with 4 bucklings and 1 doeling, and this is just the beginning. Later this month, Sassy & Theia will be due to kid. I swear Theia looks like a house already. I can't wait to see how many are in there. As of this evening, all of the babies are doing really well. They are tired but that is to be expected. I've named the tiny buckling who was born last, Itty Bitty. Boy does he live up to his name. He was only 1 lb 4 oz. To give a comparison, his siblings were all between 3 lb 4 oz and 3 lb 12 oz and Sweet Pea's boy...5lb 7 oz.


If you enjoyed the goat adventures, be sure to stay tuned for future goat updates from our Tiny Dreams Farm and House of Jewelz Nigerian Dwarf Goats. If you love the goat videos, be sure to follow our House of Jewelz Nigerian Dwarf Goats YouTube Channel.



Comentários


bottom of page