Blue Eye Mystery Solved

We finally got to the bottom of the mystery of where all the blue eyed kids came from!  I was beginning to fear that we had a fence jumping buck when we ended up with blue eyed kids from all our does.  One parent must have blue eyes for the kids to end up with them.  I found out last week that BOTH the bucks we used (Maxwell and Trevor) have blue eyes.  I had thought that only one of them did.  We ended up with 5 out of 6 kids this year having blue eyes.  It looks like we'll have a lot of blue eyed kids in our future!  I certainly wasn't breeding for blue eyes.  I want good milk, and as much of it as possible.  Blue eyed goats do seem to be pretty popular with people, though, and it looks like I'll be able to accommodate folks in the future.  Both the bucks I'm going to keep have blue eyes, as do the doelings I'm keeping.  Now that the exhaustion of kidding season is over, I'm already curious about what we'll have next year.  This is addicting!

Shere Country SH Starlight X Gerle Ranch Trevor

We had our last kids for 2012 on May 2, 2012 at 6:30 P.M.  Though I'd tried very hard to be there Starlight waited until we were eating supper to go into labor.  By the time my 7 year old checked on her, she already had all three kids on the ground!  She'd cleaned off their faces already, but they were each still partially in the sacks.  I was concerned about the tiny doeling, but she's proving to be strong, and Starlight is taking very good care of all three of her babies so far.

doeling: 1 3/4 lbs. pale gold
buckling: 2 3/4 lbs. chamois with white belt
doeling: 3 lbs. chocolate chamoise with white poll

Wren Farm Cupcake X Gerle Ranch Trevor, Twin Buckling and Doeling

Cupcake had twins, a buckling and a doeling, on 4-26-12 The doeling is white with medium gold spots, and the buck is a solid light gold. Dispite Cupcake not being the most attentive mother, her twins seem to be doing pretty well. I've had to bottle feed the twins and milk mom a few times because she's not consistently caring for them, but I think she's doing better now. The little twins are adorable! I just want to keep them all, but I think either the buckling or both buckling and doeling will be for sale, depending on what Starlight kids with.

Introducing Shamrock

Update on the Girls

I think I can say with certainty that all the girls are bred, and due any time after April 22. Woohoo! :) They are all looking big, and beginning to get udders. I can also feel and see their babies wiggling around. I'm breathing a sigh of relief and doing a happy dance at finally meeting this first goal. Now for healthy, safe kiddings, and handsome bucklings! :)

Uncomfortable Pregnant Girl(s)

My girls are all looking a bit more uncomfortable these days. It's really gotten warm here in MN. Well, warm for MN, anyway. It's 60 degrees, and the girls are still wearing warm winter coats. They're shedding now, but it seems they'd like to be shedding faster. :) It doesn't help that they've got little heaters inside keeping them warmer, and they're big and uncomfortable looking. Cupcake (white) is looking like a basketball with a head when she lays down, and she's breathing heavily. Her kid(s) are really moving a lot today. I can say for sure (I think) that she's pregnant now. :) I never want to say anything "for sure" when it comes to goats. They seem to be out to prove their caretakers wrong about most things. Gotta love 'em!

New Pics of the girls, and waiting...

This waiting is just too much for a farmgirl! ;)


Starlight



Japanzy



Cupcake



Cute Cupcake



Japanzy always worried about her stomach :)

We should have 2 months to go until we can expect our first kids to arrive. I don't know if I can stand the suspense.