The buckling's death yesterday stung a bit. Even though he was just a buckling who was going to end up in the freezer this Fall, I still felt crappy about it all day. And not just because we missed out on some great BBQ and ribs and roasts. Not sure why it made me feel so crappy; maybe because he was cute, maybe because he was so tiny, maybe because I wasn't ready for it. And now I'm just holding on to the hope that we can get Dilly's remaining buckling up on his feet and healthy and bouncing around like crazy goat kids are supposed to.
OK, enough of that.
Clover's doeling IS hopping around like a normal, healthy goat kid. I've already let them out of the maternity confinement since the weather was so warm and beautiful and darnit, if she isn't stinking adorable.
It's 2:30 in the morning as I type this. I'm up, not because of those old women issues, but because I was sure that Lily was going to pop. Since I totally missed the other two Boer gals labor signs, I've been extra vigilant on checking on Lily and she had a tiny bit of goo on her behind Sunday afternoon. She doesn't like being locked up in the kidding pen (she hollers the entire time) so I figured I'd just leave her outside since the temps weren't getting that cold tonight and just check on her every few hours. Hence my late night / insane early morning blog post.
Of course this means that she will not kid until I finally collapse from lack of sleep, or, just to remind me that I have absolutely no control over, Mother Nature will help Lily kid in the middle of the day, meaning that I didn't have to stay awake all night. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get some quality napping time in later on. Ha. That's funny. Maybe if I stick The Muppet Show in the DVD player for Rhiannon I can sneak in some Z's.
Another non-death news tidbit; Twinkle Toes, the almost-pecked-to-death rooster is up and around and pretty much back to normal. He was crowing and wanting out of the then-unoccupied kidding pen turned recovery pen after only two days so I let him out. Although the offending rooster is long gone, I still need to put a few more of them in the soup pot. Those deaths, however, I won't be getting all teary eyed about. Rooster soup is good. Especially with homemade noodles.
Soup and Noodles makes everyone happy.
I'm sorry about your little bucklings. Glad the rooster is dong better. We found that when we had 2 or even 3 roosters, one would get picked on but now that we have 5, there are too many of them for only one to be the picked on, They all do very well together as long as they keep to "their" territory.
ReplyDeleteBirthing time on the ol' homestead/farm/ranch can cause about as much sleep loss as human births! Hang in there. I know you want to be a good goat mid-wife but don't let yourself get run down in the process.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about losing the little buck. They're so darn cute (and sometimes helpless) at that very young age that we can't help but get attached to them in a very short time. Can drive you nuts, though, trying to figure out how to prevent certain problems.
Rooster soup, just like geriatric hen soup, is very good. And as a carbo lover, I'll eat noodles with anything. Have a good week, friend!
Ya it's that time of year when life shows up just how fragile it can be. Looks like my Ram is taking a turn for the worse this morning too.
ReplyDeleteDay one of lambing season for us and so far no one popped.
Never a dull moment, even if you really, really want one (or five). Hope everyone else thrives!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your little guy. It's not easy to lose one. I'll hold out hope for the other one!
ReplyDeleteOut of all the goats that I had, I only saw a few births. It's still amazing to watch though. Or should I say nail biting to watch. I was always nervous watching them give birth. lol
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