Milking the goats in the summer months sucks. There’s no way around taking a shower twice a day to combat the sweat. The girls are irritable and I’m not thrilled with the heat either.
This year I decided to expose them to a new buck in June and hope that would kick them into heat earlier than usual. I wanted fall babies and that’s exactly what Maybelle and Gemma Jane gave me one day apart. Two adorable fluffy bucklings arrived mid November:
I missed both births by a few hours but fortunately this wasn’t the girls first time delivering kids so they seemed to handle it without issues. Both babies nursed and Maybelle’s boy had a major milk mustache when I picked him up to cuddle and inspect him.
In the past couple weeks since their births they’ve had a lot of visitors. I try to give the herd privacy the first several days and then I allow them to have guests. I love seeing little kids with kids.
Other than the extreme cuteness and cuddle-fests I plan on having over the winter months with baby boys I’m looking forward to milking through the winter and spring. Milking each day is a great bonding experience for me and the does. My “mommy/Maybelle” time is precious to me. Hearing the does quietly eating their food and the smell of fresh milk is heavenly. Once milking is done I give the girls a brush down which they seem to enjoy.
As to what happens with these babies, I’ll have Maybelle’s blue eyed boy for sale and am still up in the air as to Gemma’s baby. I would keep them all if I could but I already have Valentino and he’s a great buck.
I let the little monkeys out to play with the herd last week on a sunny day. When I let them out there were flowers still on my mum, when I returned I discovered the flowers were missing….hmm wonder how that happened…??