Baby goats and baby animals

When I need a break from reality and want to feel warm and fuzzy, I think about the coming bounty of baby goats (due Feb/March 2013).

              Brand new baby animals are generally extremely cute – big eyes, big ears and clumsy big feet and legs. They are so cuddly as well. Baby goats are amazing. A baby will be trying to stand within 10 minutes of being born, usually quicker. They are born hungry and try to nurse immediately – hence the standing attempts. They will find the dam’s udder by smell and will bunt/bump anything that they think might be an udder. Dairy does are generally good mothers, cleaning and talking to the babies as they are born.

              There are a couple of routes to take when you have goats and milk them. Some people leave the babies with the mothers and milk off any extra that is left over from the kids. This leads to a strong bond between the kids and dam and is hard on both of them when the kids are removed from the mum at weaning time. I have also found that the does can be reluctant to share the extra milk and have a great deal of control over who gets the milk. A doe goat must “let down” her milk when we milk her or she feeds her kids. You cannot force her to give you milk, even with a milking machine – she has to cooperate.

              Another route to raise the babies is to snatch them up as they are born, and raise them by hand (on bottles). This is what we do at our dairy. The doe does get upset and will look for the babies but as soon as she is milked, she adopts her milker as her baby. The does will clean our hair, talk to us, and fuss over us, and we become a substitute baby for her. The babies bond with people as well. They learn to trust & love people and it makes them much easier to handle their entire lives. It also makes for a goat that has more resilient to change and a goat that is easier to comfort during stressful or painful times. Remember that I raise dairy goats that will be handled and milked twice a day for their entire lives. In addition, goats have been domesticated for about 10,000 years – what is “natural” in the wilds is not what is “natural” for our goats.

              So my baby goats get lots of love and cuddles and attention. I also like naming them. I write down names all year and will have a long list to choose from when the kids are born. We do have some themes. Sapphire and her daughters and granddaughters are named after gems, jewels, and gemstones. I had been naming the bucks (boys) after breakfast cereals, just for fun. I like fun names but not too cute. Some I have been considering are candy names; Smartie, Chiclet, Lolllipop, Popcorn, Cookie, Muffin, that sort of thing. It’s lots of fun.

              From my warm fuzzy place, I now leave to head out into the dark, stormy weather to take care of my gravid girls. Ciao.

This is Archie in April 2012