Counting Down...

Thought it was time for an update as our kiddings get closer and closer. We are counting down the days as we reach our last week before the big events unfold. A lot has been going on preparing for moment when our first doe goes into labor. After the first one it usually starts off a chain reaction. So it has been a busy week here at Laurel Haven as we get prepared. So here is an update on each doe due for the month of December as she gets ready to deliver those sweet babies of hers.

I’ll start with Hopi first, as by calendar she is first to kid on Dec. 1st. I have noticed Hopi has really dropped as her babies are getting in place for the birthing. Her udder has also grown tremendously over the past few days. Another true sign of things to come. But the biggest tell tale sign is her becoming more and more affectionate. Out of every doe here Hopi is by far the most affectionate of them all during birthing. Last time she kidded she had my face chafed from all her licking. She proceeded to lick my face the whole way through labor. I mean to say, you can’t even begin to imagine what it was like. I have had lots of does get licky, licky during the kidding process, but I never experienced anything like what Hopi did with me that evening. She forcefully insisted upon licking me up on side and down the other on the face, hands, anywhere she could. If I pushed her away she came right back and continued. When contractions started hitting her stronger she would lay down during the contraction but immediately get back up to lick me some more. I honestly was beginning to feel violated do to her forcefulness. So I am prepared for another encounter of the same this time around. I do think I will put a coating of Vaseline on my face to prevent the chafing this time. As the next morning my face was very red and sore. Like when your face gets wind burned on a very cold winters day. It was hard to explain what really happened to my face to outsiders. How do you tell someone that your face looks that way because your goat kissed it raw? I love Hopi but I could do with less affection this season. Anyway I am prepared for it, and so be it if it makes her happy and keeps her mind off of all the pain she is going through. I would sacrifice the skin on my face for her… but really I don’t think I will have much choice anyway. I already see her changing into the prekidding affectionate doe she is.

Strawberry is also showing some “I am getting ready” changes. Babies have dropped. I am going to say babies but I am thinking we may only get a single from Strawberry. I don’t know why I just keep thinking a single doe. I hope she has at least twins, I love when they have a sibling to bond with and snuggle up to on those cold nights. But something just tells me a single doe. Her udder say different, as it is large enough for multiples. Yes, she has enough milk in there to feed several to their fill. I guess we will just have to wait another week and see. This is my first kidding with Strawberry so everything will be new to me as far as her prekidding personality. I don’t think we will have another Hopi on our hands from this girl. I feel honored when I do get her permission to share a moment of affection with her. It is always on her terms, never mine. I am very excited about this kidding as it should produce some fabulous offspring sired to our buck Sharpie. Two Caesar’s Villa goats producing has to be good you would think. I mean it worked for Sharon Boger all those years. Look at the quality that came out of her herd. So I am holding my breath that I can get something just as nice from this breeding. Yep, I am very excited about this one.

After Strawberry should be Warpaint. I haven’t seen much drop in her yet. But I don’t see how her udder could get any bigger without exploding. It is already large and tight. I realize it will get fuller but it’s hard to imagine how it could. I just felt her babies moving around this morning. She loves for me to scratch her big pregger belly of hers. My those kids were kicking up a storm in there today. I could feel one little foot very distinctively as it moved back and forth. I like to push my face up to their bellies and talk to the babies. I say stuff like “hi baby I will get to meet you very soon” and “as soon as you come out I am going to kiss that sweet face of yours” just stuff like that . Sometimes I get the oddest looks from the dam when she peers back at me but that doesn’t stop me. I figure by the time they are born they will recognize my voice and already be adapted to us humans. Plus I just enjoy it. As every time I start talking it gets them kicking even more. And I love to feel those babies moving around. It just gives me comfort knowing they are doing okay in there. Warpaint is a fantastic mother and one that shares her babies with me too. Some does can get stingy and upset with me about wanting to handle the kids so much… but not my Warpaint, she doesn’t mind at all when I babysit. I just bet these babies are going to be some of the flashiest kids born this season. With her moonspots and then the sire being Rocky who is our biggest moonspot producer of all the bucks they should just be fabulous looking both color and conformation. Rocky puts some beautiful kids on the ground in the past. And then matched up with Warpaint… can you say moonspots!

And one of the most surprising kiddings about to take place this season is Sisters. Finally at the age of 4 she is going to be a mother. I can’t even believe it finally happened after all those attempts that failed in the past. I am her third owner and everyone gave up on her because they could not get her bred. And here she is just a few short weeks from kidding. And I just know she will be the Mother of the Year! We call her Aunt Sister ( I know sounds odd put together doesn’t it) because she loves to play with the kids. And she always allows them to snuggle safely in with her at nap time. She will lay in a corner and behind her will be a pile of babies taking their afternoon nap. It is a beautiful site to see, but also one that was a bit sad because we never thought she would get a chance to be a mother with her own child to care for. When the babies would wake up hungry they always ran back to the comforts of mom leaving her all alone. She often would just stare at the mothers feeding their babies and look so longingly like oh if only I could have a child one day to need me like that. Well her day has come. The babies seem very healthy and active and she has a quite a bit of milk in her udder for them. It seems odd seeing our Sister sporting an udder after all these years. But she has one and a nice one at that. We often cracked jokes from her name “Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” because we never had, we won’t be able to do that no more. I am so happy for her, and when I see her bite at her sides when the babies move it just gives me a sense of pride for her. Cause she looks up at me like did you see that? I have a life growing inside of me. And she just seems to glow. Yep our Sister is going to be a mother very soon and on that day it will be a very happy moment here at Laurel Haven. I really need to come up with some fitting names for these kids as they will be quite special… miracles almost. As many have told me that there is no way Sister would ever produce seeing she never has and will be 5 soon. Well she is! If anyone has any name suggestions I would love to here them!

And lastly for our December due does is Morning Glory. Haven’t seen a whole lot of changes in her over the past week or so other than she is eating up everything she can. Her appetite increases more than the others when she is close to kidding. This girl can do some eating let me tell you. She never seems satisfied ever. It’s funny because if we give them snacks and one of the goats turns their nose up to it, we say give it to Glory she’ll eat it… and she does. I am hoping those babies have her blue-eyes. And they should as every kid she produced has had them. So to date she is 100% with throwing blue-eyes. I am not into the blue-eyes big time like some are, I can take them either way blue or brown. But it’s nice to see them once in a while. And I have several people wanting a blue-eyed kid this season so I do hope for their sake she throws them again this season. He daughter last year is just lovely and was born one of the largest kids I have ever seen. Especially for a doe kid. I did have to assist a bit with delivering Mystique due to her size, so I am hoping this time she has twins as the chances they will be a bit smaller is greater. Oh well if not I will be there to help once again. I am getting pretty good at going in an repositioning kids if I have to say so myself. I just close my eyes and envision what I am feeling and work from there. There is no greater feeling in the world than bringing in a life that wouldn’t have survived without your assistance. It just warms the soul!

It’s hard to believe it is that time of the year again… Within the next week I will be spending countless hours in the kidding barn with my pregger doe as she reaches each stage of labor. I have all the supplies ready now, and the kidding barn is set up and ready to go. Just waiting now for that first doe to call for me. Won’t be long now… and I will be sure to keep you all updated as the big events happen. So stay tuned…

Baby Bellies

I recently took some belly photos of our does that are soon to be kidding. Always an exciting time around here... In just two short weeks it will be the beginning of an onset of kiddings as we have 5 does all due within a weeks time. My are we going to have our hands full. But we are prepared and ready for the big events to unfold. So stay tuned for all our birthing announcements to be posted here as they happen. Meanwhile, check out some of these baby bellies!!!

Welcome...

Welcome everyone!!! I used to have a "What's New" page on our Laurel Haven Farm website at http://www.laurelhaven.net/ , but when the site was updated it was removed. I realized I missed putting weekly updates and exciting happenings around the farm on this page, so I decided to start it back up. But then I considered using a blog, afterall it is the "in" thing at the moment. And to keep up with the times I thought, why not a blog for our website it would be a great way to keep everyone up to date on events, kiddings, and other news. So here it is, we hope you enjoy checking in from time to time to see "What's New" here at Laurel Haven Farm! And to see all of our animals feel free to visit our website at www.laurelhaven.net .