# Merry Oaks March kidding thread



## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

In February we had 8 kids and 1 loss so now we have 7 kids. I am ready for spring! Thankfully it looks like we have a beautiful week ahead! Spring break, warm temperatures and lots of baby goats! For my March kids batch I have Mars, Oreo, Pansy and Emarald. Today is 150 days for Pansy, 148 for Mars 147 for Oreo and 146 for Emmy. Emmy’s udder is pretty full and her ligs are almost gone. I shaved her udder and tail last night since I expect her to kid today!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Congrats and good luck!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Well I was at my friend's house all day yesterday and around 5:00 pm Grandma called to tell me Emmy had twin bucklings, I didn't get home till 7:00 pm and was delighted to see their coloring. We have never had such pretty Alpine kids and they have good bloodlines too. I might have a home for one of them and we may keep the other for breeding to the does that aren't too closely related.
The kid in the first pic is Elder. He has thicker stripes on his face, the other is Ebony. Thanks Emmy!
It looks like Oreo is getting close too so I will be keeping an eye on her.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What cuties!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Thank I might have a home for one of them and I think I am going to keep one for a breeding buck. I think Oreo will go tomorrow. Hopefully while I am at home I have had 5 does kid this year and haven't been there for any of the births. Most of the time I have known they are going to kid but haven't been able to be there. With Poppy and Tansy I missed them by just minutes.
I got a cute picture of Elder


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds great


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Oreo isn't showing anymore signs. Pansy is 152 today, lost her ligs and her udder is filling up a lot. Hoping for kids today. I will be gone part of tomorrow and the next day and I really want to be there for these kid's birth.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Don't tell them that.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Lol! Thursday would be a perfect day, I will be gone and it will be windy and rather cold
They like to wait till Sunday mornings, lose their ligaments, then kid while I am at church. Once my doe Tansy had one of her kids, we knew she had another one so we all waited patiently for her to have it. Finally we left the barn, as soon as we left she started pushing!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Well i just helped Pansy deliver an 11 1/2 pound buckling. I named him Sweet Gum This year is a buck year for Merry Oaks. 3 doelings and 8 bucklings. Sweet gum's sire Google has given us 5 kids in 2 years and only one girl! Please Oreo, just one girl? Oreo's ligs are almost gone, tomorrow? While I am home? Please don't let me down Oreo!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow! That is huge! Congrats!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Those little stinkers really enjoy giving me huge single bucklings.


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## rebelINny (Feb 7, 2014)

Congrats! Where's his pic? lol


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Sorry forgot AGAIN to get a pic. I will get one today, Mars had a doeling! Her name is Evergreen, 9 lbs. I will get a picture of her too.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Weird. My does have something going on with singletons and their 152 day. I have had 7 does kid in the last month and a half. 2 I don’t know when they were bred, 1 kidded her 146 day with twin bucklings. Tansy went 152 and had a 10 lb. buckling. Poppy went 152 and had an 11 lb. buckling. Pansy went 152 and had an 11 ½ lb. buckling. Mars went 152 and had a 9 lb. doeling. Oreo’s udder is full and she lost her ligs, today is her 152 day. I am thinking single……..


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Do they eat a lot of grain or rich food while pregnant that could contribute to the large birth weights? 
As for having singles, I think it either has to do with genetics of the buck or does, and/or the time of year bred and their diet.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

They were bred in mid Oct. and Sept. Thy don't get much other than hay, a little bit of grain occasionally. I do wonder about my Boer buck he has sired 10 kids for us and 6 of them singles.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Hmmmm.....maybe next year you could experiment a try a new buck, to see if the outcomes are different?
My goat mentor told me that if you breed from late November to early Jan you greatly increase your chances of multiples, because they release more eggs or something like that.
I breed my does in Dec/Jan and I've gotten twins and trips for three years so it might work!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

A nice ending to our kidding season, Oreo had 1 boy and 1 girl. Both are healthy and doing well. pictures later today. I will try not to forget this time lol.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

I know I promised pictures, sorry. Here they are. Canyontrailgoats I used three different bucks in 2013. Buck 1 my boer buck tends to throw singletons, out of 10 kids 6 were singles. 
I sold him though, tired of crosses, Boers and unplanned breedings. I will stick with my dairy goats. Buck 2, Willie serviced 2 of my does. Both kidded with twins. What i have noticed in all 4 kids is that they are tall, long and lean. I like him and will be keeping one of his sons. Buck 3, Google, serviced my yearling, in 2 years I have had 4 kids from him twins and 2 singles. This year we hope to breed 2 or 3 does to Willie and the others to his son so we will see how that turns out. As for breeding in Nov. and Dec. that is a little late for me this year I am aiming for October, early Nov at the latest. I don't like waiting Do you think flushing them would help? Some year i hope for a bunch of twins, not so fond of these singles. With more twins my kid crop could have been as high as 18.
It is really weird though, all my does that went 152 had singles,the others had twins and quads.
i am done with kidding till June, Rebekah is due June 6.
The first picture is Evergreen, Mars's doeling, second is Sweet gum and the last 5 are Elm and Empress, Oreo's kids. The doeling Empress has white stripes on her face, Elm's face is all black.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Aww, what a bunch of cuties! I know all the sheep people around here swear by flushing and they say it doubles their lamb yield, so I think it would be the same with goats.
And I know what you mean, I hate waiting for babies! I only breed in December because our weather is way too harsh for early spring babies, and then I get the bonus of having more multiples


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Winters tend to be mild in NC so its fine for us to breed in Oct. I do know what you mean about milking in the winter i decided no more Feb kids after this even if we have mild winters. I will try flushing this fall and see if it helps.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Got pictures of my kids a few days ago. Here are Birch and Beech. They are 6 weeks old on Friday. I weighed them today Birch is 22 lbs.Beech is 23. The first picture is Birch. They have grown so much in the past month. It happens so fast!


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Sequoia and Redwood. My big boys. 10 and 11 lbs at birth, now they weigh about 20 lbs. They are a month old today.


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

Sorry but I see the need for education, what is flushing?


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Sugar, Eucalyptus and Hemlock. I love Nigerians, so glad I got them.
Sugar and Hemlock.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Eucalyptus


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## Riggers (Dec 11, 2013)

Flushing is sugar, eucalyptus and hemlock? Like a cocktail?


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Flushing is steadily increasing the doe's grain ration starting about three weeks before the breeding season until about two weeks after.
The reason is because the increase in nutrients and proteins cause the doe to release more eggs and have a higher conception rate.(basically increasing the chance of multiple kids)

And no, it's not a cocktail


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Sorry Chadwick, didn't see your post. If you have read this whole thread you see that i have had a lot of singletons this year.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Out of all 13 of my kids there is one who charms me most. The last kid born this season, I was so happy to get a doeling. There is something about this sweet bottle baby that makes my heart melt, she is small and rather skinny like her twin brother. She is an Oreo daughter. Her sire is from Delta-Rho farm TN. She runs to me and lets a little maa that makes me want to pick her up and never let her go. She nibbles my face and sucks my nose. She has little white stripes running down her face just like her mother and half-sister. Months before she was born I picked out her name, Merry Oaks Royal Empress Tree. I knew as soon as I saw her that she fit her name perfectly. She is perfect. I think this is going to be a very special doe, Thank you Oreo.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Empress


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