# Gabby's countdown



## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

Today is day 133 for Gabby. I am getting ready to trim Gabby's tail but I need to know what a good trim looks like. Does anyone have a picture to post that would show me what it should look like when I'm done?


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

yay! she's getting close! I don't know what the right way is to trim but I just cut away all long hairs from her tail and down the sides of it and her back legs as close to the udder as I can. Good luck!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

You could probably search thru a few 'kidding threads' and see some good cuts... My doe's cut was horrible.. I just glad she couldn't see it! I will be doing another in a weeks or so, Hopefully I will have improved on my 'technique' ha ha


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

Thanks for the advice Carolyn. I hadn't thought of clipping down the legs a bit, but now that I think of it it's probably a good idea. 

And thanks milk and honey. I'll see what I can find in some older threads.

btw Carolyn - Dolly is FINALLY putting on some weight. I couldn't get her much over 50# but now she is weighing in at 55# first thing in the morning and a bit more by the evening. She won't be due until the end of July but her belly is starting to fill out.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

> Dolly is FINALLY putting on some weight. I couldn't get her much over 50# but now she is weighing in at 55# first thing in the morning and a bit more by the evening. She won't be due until the end of July but her belly is starting to fill out.


Just be careful not to overfeed. The last 2 mos of pregnancy the baby does a lot of growing and you don't want kids to big to fit out. I do increase food a little the last 2 weeks but just a little.


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

Dolly grazes and has hay free choice. Right now I am giving her 1/4 cup of grain twice a day because she is normally quite lean. Do you think that is too much for a 50# doe? How much would you feed her in the last few weeks?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

kid'n'kaboodle said:


> Dolly grazes and has hay free choice. Right now I am giving her 1/4 cup of grain twice a day because she is normally quite lean. Do you think that is too much for a 50# doe? How much would you feed her in the last few weeks?


I give preggy does 1 cup once a day from 2 months to 45 days before they deliver, then cut it back to 1/2 cup once a day til they deliver...freechoice hay , no browse because mine are preggy from October to February :wink:

I think what you are giving Dolly at this point is fine, she has browse and hay and that also contributes to her nutrition during pregnancy, too much grain during the last 6 weeks will make the kids grow too big. Before I started to feed this way...I fed all my girls 2 cups of grain once a day and my kids were chunky, thankfully not too big for delivery but definately bigger than what I've had born the last couple years.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

you sound right on track! I fed about 1/4 cup until 2 weeks before kidding then go to 1/2 cup until they kid and I do that 2x a day. 
Everyone has their own amounts. 
Free feeding the hay and brouse is fine! Also free choice minerals are important. (If she doesn't have them now I would add them)


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Aw Geez... I've gotta cut back on my does feed....She is due June 10, and is probably getting too much grain...


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

D'oh.....forgot to mention...I give Dolly about 1/2 ounce of Bio-Ag's standard goat mineral mixed with peanut butter when I give her grain in the morning. She will not eat mineral otherwise. The label indicates to feed 1 to 1.5 ounces. That is for a standard goat so I prorate the amounts needed based on the weight of my goats.

I started using Bio-Ag mineral early in the spring because my does were losing hair around their eyes and on their noses. I had been using mineral for beef cows prior. The hair is growing back in and I have also noticed an improvement in the condition of their hooves.


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm interested in the Bio-Ag mineral. Where do you get it? Thanks for all the congrats on my birth announcement thread. It was really sad to lose 1 kid and I don't know why we lost him and the other 5 kids are doing great so far. I have 2 more does to kid, 1 any day now and the other mid-june, and that's all for this spring. I would love to see recent pics of Gabby. How many kids do you think she's carrying?


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

I had to drive to Bio-Ag in Wellesley to get the mineral. We get our chick starter there too. They gave me a card for Ted Glauser, the rep for this area and said I could call him if I wanted something delivered. They have a toll free # for him - 1-800-363-5278. The minerals were pretty dear - just over $50 for 25 kg. I decided on them after I looked and looked for goat mineral and couldn't find any. The cattle minerals I could find do not have the right copper to zinc, selenium, etc. ratios and none I can find had chelated minerals. If I gave them the right amount of cattle mineral to satisfy their selenium requirements, they would not have been getting enough of the other key minerals. Couple that with a bad year for hay and we had a the perfect conditions for nutrient deficiencies. It wasn't until Dolly started to lose hair off her ears that I decided to bite the bullet and spend the extra $ for the organic mineral. So glad I did, but with the girls being out on pasture I can't really tell if it was the mineral or the nutrients in the grass (or both) that has improved their condition. 

I'll hopefully get some pix of Gabby tomorrow when the light is better. She doesn't look any bigger this time than last time she was carrying kids so I think she might have twins. At least that's what I'm hoping for. I'll watch for your birth announcements Carolyn!


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

Okay, so today is day 139 for Gabby. Got 'er hind end all trimmed up and a few pix of my chubby tubby.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Awww...she's a purty girl!!! Babies soon!


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

she's lookin' good!  I can't wait to see what she gives you! Thanks for the info on mineral. I've been happy with the latest one I got but I'm always open to something better. I wasn't sure either if it was my minerals or being out on pasture that got everyone's hair growing back on noses. It's great they can be outside again now that winter's over! good luck with Gabby!


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

:leap: :wahoo: :girl: :girl: Gabby gave birth to 2 doelings unassisted yesterday between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. I did 4 barn checks through the night on Thursday and spent most of the day in the barn with Gabby yesterday, but she decided to kid during the half hour I was in the house for supper. Both girls were up and nursing by the time I got back to the barn at 6:00. Mom and babies are doing very well.

Thanks immensely, Carolyn (and Tucker - Carolyn's buck). The girls are beautiful.


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

:stars: :stars: :stars: congratulations!!! I'm so thrilled for you! and girls too! I was afraid Tucker might have given you boys with all the boys we had born here this month. They are beautiful! And Gabby's being a good mom. That's great!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Beautiful Girls!!! Congratulations! Well done Gabby! You are SO LUCKY to have gotten twin girls... I'm hoping I get at least one girls from Mimi in a couple of weeks....
Have fun with those new babies.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

So cute! Congrats!


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## kid'n'kaboodle (Mar 5, 2011)

Thanks y'all for the congrats. I'm having a blast with the babies.....can't get enough of them. I forgot to mention that the little brown one has wattles. 

Gabby babysat last night and let me get some sleep, but I was up checking on them at 5:30 this morning.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Awwwwwww  

Congrats to you and Gabby :stars:


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