Finito!

Hooray! 2013 kidding season is over! All in all, it was a good year, no hellish all nighters, a few late nights here and there but I think there was only one night I did not see my bed at all. A far cry from years past. Induction drugs are my friend. . .

As I said in my earlier post, 29 kids born, only one loss, a stillborn kid. The milkers are milking, eating and hormonal, as is expected. We are now working on establishing a milking order and teaching it to the stubborn hollering mommas. There is very much a 'me first' attitude going on in our barn right now.

The barn cam is a lifesaver. Our existing camera fizzled out this year and we had a flipping, static filled signal that was not very soothing at 3am. After trying two new cameras, we settled on a wired version that eliminated interference from our metal pole barn and transmitted clearly in all and any weather conditions. It did snow in my living room for a bit due to the not-so-sealed window, but beggars can't be choosers.

Goat TV- the next new reality show. Watching this from the warmth of my living room makes me so thankful! In years past, especially when we were newbies and weren't certain which labor signs meant immediate babies, we used to sit shivering for hours on end in the barn with foot warmers, gloves, ski masks, whatever it took. We would stack hay bales to nestle between them knowing they provided warmth. 

Mona Lisa provided my main 'worry' for the year. Several days shy of her due date she started lying around way too much and was walking extremely gingerly and stiffly, getting up only when necessary but her appetite was good. She wasn't too 'baby-big' so I wasn't quite sure what was going on. This was unusual behavior for any of our goats. Within the day she started swelling in one foreleg and one rear leg and they were obviously tender to the touch. Swollen feet in goats is never normal, even in pregnancy and can suggest ketosis. Lack of activity combined with swelling and visible discomfort made me induce her early and load her up with vitamins and supplements, as well as a steroid shot to help not only her swelling, but the lung development of her babies. She delivered two giant buck kids, around 11 lbs each, which is big, especially for a first timer. They are really wide and girthy and took me a bit by surprise when I tried to pick them up! Here they are on day two. She immediately bounced back after some pain medicine, her swelling has completely resolved and she is back to being one of the sweetest goats we have. She is dam-raising her buck kids this year. 

This picture made its way in again, it's just so darn cute...

This is the 'last' batch of colostrum we are heat-treating for the year. It takes about an hour of holding a constant temp and is a general pain in the ass. The excitement of being done with colostrum is rivaled only by completing the disbudding (de-horning of the babies) and the tattooing. 

Rosie grew a massive leg! Kaelyn is beat from helping care for 29 babies, licking their chins and  catching any milk dribbles. She finally gave up, crawled under a blanket and passed out on the couch and Rosie, the opportunist, climbed on her living heating pad to relax. Which is what I want to do now, right after I feed dozens of hungry kids. 

Good night!