# Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-15-11*



## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

This was a surprise for several reasons. First of all, the doe who had this one was the one i was sure had the longest to go before she was due going by size/udder development. Second, it was a surprise because when i checked the girls at 5am and gave them water no one had lost their ligaments, no one was standing posty, and no one had any discharge at all. So imagine my surprise when i went out at 6:30, 7am and found Rosemary with a single little buckling!!
























Even with the heat lamp he was a little shivery so I put a sweater on him and he toasted right up. he very quickly figured out how to get under the heat lamp. 









Rosemary is torn between trying to be a good mom and just being horrified by this thing that keeps following her around nibbling on her. She does not want to stand still to let him find the teat but once he latches on she stands really well for him to nurse for about a minute then fidgets away. I've been holding her still every half hour to hour so he can latch on and she is actually letting him nurse longer each time. he just got a full belly for the first time , he'd just been getting a few sips here and there prior to that. I did milk her out a little and give it to him myself with a syringe because at first he didn't seem to understand what he was looking for and that kicked his appetite into high gear.

I'm kind of bummed I missed the delivery but am VERY excited to finally have my first kid! I love his colour, I hope I get a doe out of Sage this colour. His little ears are already as big as his daddy's ears, but clearly tiny compared to his mom's ears.


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

awwww! sooo adorable! what a gorgeous surprise to find!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Awww Congrats!!!! What a wonderful surprise indeed! And wow she was really being sneaky about having him! 
Sounds like she'll do fine with nursing him once she understands what she needs to do. I can see it being extremely confusing for her. I have a doe that is due at the end of the month that I think could be the same way. She's a yearling but she's still a baby if you know what I mean....she's just got 'child or young teenager' written all over her personality.

Again Congrats!!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Awe what a cutie - sounds like she will figure out the whole mom thing just fine. You are doing a good job with assisting him and her with that bond

Congrats


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Well, he's just perfect and gorgeous! What a good mom... both of you!
Congrats!


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

She still won't stand to let him find the teat, but if I hold her long enough for him to latch on she stands fine and lets him fill his tummy. She was cuddling with him under the heat lamp for a while too, and she has been wagging her tongue at him and licking his face and bum. I've seen him pee but not poo yet, but I've been in and out trying to let them bond without me around but still make sure he gets a full tummy frequently so I may have just missed it.

He is getting a little more coordinated. It warmed up enough to take the sweater off but I may need to put it back on tonight. Sage, my other doe who I THOUGHT was going to be the first to go, was feeling a little softer in the hind end when I checked at lunch time so who knows, I might have more before too long.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Congrats he sure is cute


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## nublynn (Dec 11, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

What a cutie! Congrats on the little fella!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Aww....so adorable..... what a beautiful surprise... congrats.... :hug: :thumb:


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Congratulations!! He's so big and gorgeous


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## jduwall (Aug 7, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

wow what a great surprise...maybe even better than good coffee 

He is beautiful :kidblue: :birthday:


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## kannm (Mar 18, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

Did you hand-knit his sweater? Do you have a pattern for it? It is very cute.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

well, after getting up every 2 hours all night to hold her so he could nurse she seems to have finally figured out that she is not supposed to run away from him.

Kannm, yes i did hand knit the sweater, I'm working on writing down the pattern to post on my blog. I'll post a link once I have it written down.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

links to my goat sweater patterns are at the end of this blog post:

http://phoenixdownfarm.blogspot.com/201 ... t-one.html


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*

What a cutie pie!! Love that last photo! Congrats!!!


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

OK, normally I go out around 9pm to check on the goats. Since the first kid was born I've been checking to see if he needed a sweater. Then unless something seems off at 9pm I don't check until 5am. Well tonight I checked them around 6 then fell asleep on the couch watching Dexter, lol. I woke up at around midnight and realized I hadn't checked the goats. I rolled over and told myself he'd been fine all day and not to worry about it. But I just felt guilty and like I neeeeded to go check on him to make sure he wasn't shivering. I get bundled up, open the front door and hear a goat crying.

So, I run to the barn, open the stall door and Thyme is down pushing with a bubble present with a foot and a nose visible. Just one foot. I gave her some time to work on it and it was obvious she was making no progress so I popped the bubble, let her try again, and nothing moved from where it was. So i stripped off my coat and took off my rubber "prevent teen suicide" and "Just Ten" bracelets and went in. This baby was HUGE and only had the one leg and his head forward. I spent a good 10 minutes up to my elbow fishing around for the other leg between contractions and getting doused in amniotic fluid (I reek. I will be going in to take a shower asap). I was finally able to get Hulk Baby back in and turned enough to get both feet and nose where they needed to be. I let her push but this kid's massive head was still wedged in her pelvis so I grabbed a towel to give myself some grip and when she pushed i pulled and she screamed and I pulled and PLOP! Soaking wet massive baby with huge huge ears in my lap! He got daddy's colour but not daddy's ears, that is for sure, haha!!

So once I toweled him off and discovered he was a he I set him in front of her and she was all about the mommy business. Unlike Rosemary there was not a seconds hesitation, this was her baby and she knew what she needed to do. She was already pushing him toward her udder while she was still laying down. He nursed the first time while she was still laying on her side catching her breath. he was on his feet within 10 minutes. I tried to take Rosemary and Sage out but Thyme started to holler and scream and it was clearly freaking out baby so I decided to go ahead and leave them together since she didn't seem to be having any trouble bonding with her kid.

Once I got all the important stuff done (baby dry, umbilical treated, mom given a drench and a lot of warm water, etc) I ran to get the camera and got out and after one picture my batteries died so I came in to recharge them, get myself some coffee, warm up, and spread the news. She had not passed the placenta yet, though, so I was kinda getting nervous. But of course as soon as i got out there with charged batteries to get pictures of baby she started to pass it. So I had to crop that out of a bunch of the pictures, ewww. So here he is, massive gigantorkid.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

I wrote the above right after it happened, and copy/pasted it. I have now showered, lol. Thyme is alternating between being super mom and being crabby but baby is still getting enough to eat with only occasional effort on my part to hold her still. her poor poochie is swollen and sore looking but no tears that I can see.I think she gets crabby with him when she is sore. She had a hearty breakfast and both mom and baby seem alert, relatively comfortable and are resting nicely.


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## SandStoneStable Farm (Dec 8, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

WOW! Congrats!! and good job!
"finally able to get Hulk Baby back in and turned " made me giggle 
They are super cute!!!!
Caryn


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## The1moe (Oct 26, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

Wow... What a cutey.. congrats on the new addition...


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

Congrats! He is a beauty! Solid black, wow!


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

He is big, are you going to weigh him? Good job! It's probably good you fell asleep early, if you had checked at 9 and gone to bed you might not have been there when she needed you. Sometimes it works out. Hooray for this time!

Jan


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

what handsome fellow -- good work on the assisting and so glad you did go out and check!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

Awwww he's ADORABLE! And wow he looks big! I loved reading your post, hulk baby hehe!!! CONGRATS!!!! and way to go on helping get him in the right position!


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

How cute!!! Congrats!! I love solid black colored goats!


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise! *new baby added 1-13-11**

So cute! Congrats!!!!


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Well, she had this one at around 9:15am. She just passed the placenta about 20 minutes ago. No more signs of labor so i guess this is it. I didn't get my girl. :-( But I did get three healthy boys and everyone made it through labor and delivery ok, which is the important thing.

I think I may keep Parsley a buck for another year and use him on Sage because I really really do want a doe from Parsley and Sage to keep. I guess we will see.

Sage did this 90% on her own, I just gave one little tug when she seemed to be having trouble getting his head past her pelvis. She took right to motherhood, and aside from me needing to clear her teats before the baby could get some milk she bonded and got to nursing him without any trouble.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Congrats on another healthy kidding, sorry they were all boys but you have some great monthers so that's another thing to be grateful for


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Pretty baby! He looks big too. Good for your girl!

Jan


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Yup, all three babies were huge. All three moms are good moms, even if it did take Rosemary a good 36 hours to catch on the other two were great from the start. We had a crisis and I handled it, which was a big fear for me. Our kidding is done for the year and I have to say that so far my goat experiment has been one of the top ten experiences of my whole life.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

they look huge! great job, Congrats!


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Wow, you are just covered in babies right now! Lol. I LOVE that last buckling.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

awwwwww.... all three boys enjoying their heat lamp:










My big plan for this year was to find a nice meat type myotonic buck. But last week my husband lost his job do to "down sizing". So I can't see myself having the money to get my buck until we see where the future takes us. I also want to leave parsley a buck for another year and try one more time to get a doeling from him and Sage. The original plan was for Parsley to be wethered and kept as a companion for my new buck. Chances are there will not be a new buck (I can borrow a Boer next year for Rosemary and Thyme if I have to) so now Parsley will be alone.

SO... after discussing it with the family we have decided to keep one of these boys as a wether to train to pull/pack and to be a companion to Parsley. We are keeping the first little guy, the black white and brown one. His name is Chickory.


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## kannm (Mar 18, 2009)

*Re: Morning Surprise!*



WarPony said:


> links to my goat sweater patterns are at the end of this blog post:
> 
> http://phoenixdownfarm.blogspot.com/201 ... t-one.html


Thank you! 

Those babies are super cute!!!!


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## jduwall (Aug 7, 2009)

Congrats...Beautiful babies...love the black and white....my fav.....


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## Bellafire Farm (Jan 5, 2010)

Oh, I LOVE the black boy with those big black floppy ears! And WOW :shocked: .... he looks like a 3 month old kid! He's huge! And SO adorable!


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## mommaB (Oct 1, 2009)

OH MY GOODNESSSSS!!!!!!!!! the cuteness is unbearable!!!!  Congrats!!! They are beautiful!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*CONGRATULATIONS!!* On a good kidding year! Even if you didn't get that doeling, you have some beautiful boys!! I really like the solid black "Hulk" he did get something from his daddy...definately not the ears though :wink:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Aww...adorable congrats...... :thumb: :greengrin:


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## creekbottomgoats (Dec 3, 2009)

He is precious!! Congrats!! :clap:


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