# Matadequin's Alpine Kids



## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

So, I think kidding season here is just about wrapped up. I have one doe that is not confirmed bred and she might kid in April, but everyone else has kidded.

My Iron-Rod doe "Hermione" is a third freshener but just gave us a single kid. Thankfully, it's a doe! Here's Saoirse on her first day and then a few days later with my son casting the "goat stretch" spell on her.


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## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

Our next doe was my daughter's doe, Hedwig. She surprised us with twin chamoisee doelings! One is so light she almost looks white.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

They're beautiful - and your son is hilarious! Congratulations!


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## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

On Monday of this week, Hedwig's sister Kili kidded. Both are first fresheners and Hermione's kids from 2016. I came home and thought I saw two dead kids in the straw. Apparently Kili started cleaning off the first but the second one came so quickly she didn't finish. The second was still partway in the sac when I walked in. It was a doe. :| The first kid was still breathing so we dried him off, but he was too weak to stand. I milked out some colostrum, brought him in the house, and managed to keep him alive overnight. Around 4 o'clock in the morning, he tried to stand so I took him back out to Kili on the off-chance she'd take him back even though it had been well over 6 hours that they were separated. She immediately started talking to him, licking his face, and trying to nudge him up underneath of her so I was overjoyed! They're doing well now.


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## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

Our biggest surprise was when Trixie, our dry yearling from last year, kidded Wednesday evening. Hers was the only delivery I witnessed, and even then I nearly missed it! We had the vet out because Kili still hadn't passed the placenta and my mom watched my human kids at her house so I could focus on what the vet needed me to do. Trixie was milling around in the barn the whole time looking all moony-eyed, so I figured she was just waiting for some privacy to get going. Sure enough, when I got back from picking up my munchkins, she'd given birth to a chamoise buckling! While I was milking Hermione in the milk stall, Trixie worked out a huge broken sundgau buckling. I took the milk back in the house to strain and bottle it and by the time I got back to the barn, there was the kicker: a broken cou blanc doeling. Yay! Trixie is a big girl, but she never looked as wide as the does that had twins. I guess her depth concealed them well. I am so proud of her. We'll be keeping her doeling because Trixie is my favorite doe in our herd. I weighed the kids last night. Buck 1 was about 7 1/4#, the doeling just over 7#, but Buck two was well over 10#!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

All are very cute! I just love chamoisee kids  Maybe I'll get a few this year


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## Matadequin (Mar 23, 2015)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> All are very cute! I just love chamoisee kids  Maybe I'll get a few this year


 Thank you! I'm surprised at how many chamoisees we got this year and that each was a little different from the others. The last doe to kid (if she's not open) is a chamoisee and was bred to a two-tone chamoise buck, so there's a pretty good likelihood of more chammys. Her sire was solid black, though, so maybe there's a chance of something different.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

What you want is a nice variety of colors!
All chammies for several years in a row can make you pretty tired of that color, but a ton of cou blancs will do the same! I hated chamoisee for a while because I had sooo many, but I kind of like it again since I only get a few here and there.
One of my new herdsires is a chamoisee, so I'm sure I'll get plenty in the next few years.

Adorable kids, congrats!!


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