RainySunday Ranch Kidding Watch 2011: New baby pics and weight update!

[RainySunday]

Yay! It's my turn to have a kidding watch thread! Peekaboo is due in June (she was with the buck the first couple weeks of January). I am very excited!

Here is Peekaboo:

and her udder so far (taken yesterday; please ignore the piece of hay hanging from her tail!):

 

[elevan]

 

[oakmarsh nigerians]

Chelsea:

Isn't she beautiful?! She looks very satisfied. I love your pasture, too. One of the 3 states I've not been to, I always heard how pretty Washington is. Now, I know...we're waiting for the kid games to begin!!

 

[RainySunday]

Chelsea:

Isn't she beautiful?! She looks very satisfied. I love your pasture, too. One of the 3 states I've not been to, I always heard how pretty Washington is. Now, I know...we're waiting for the kid games to begin!!

She is a very pretty goat! I know color is not what's really important, but I do love the tri-color nigis. You should definitely come to WA sometime, it is so pretty here! Kid games indeed!

No new news really, she still has at least a couple weeks to go. I am hoping her udder gets significantly bigger, especially since my two in milk seem to be dwindling their supply.

They were all stuck in their smaller pen yesterday and today, since it was/is raining. Which means Peek is in the kidding stall and she is none to happy about it! She butted the side of it so much this morning that she scraped her head bloody. I got to use the multi-purpose wound ointment I made on it though. I really don't feel comfortable letting her out with the other 3 though (in the pasture is fine, she can get away if she needs to), because our herd queen chases her, tries to head butt her in the side (and likes to do so against fences), and also likes to bite her in the rear! I assume it is because Peek is the new one and they are trying to establish herd placement, but with Peek so close to kidding, I really don't want her taking hits in the side right now, so they'll just have to work it out after she kids. Luckily, it is supposed to dry up tomorrow am early and be sunny the rest of the week, so they can spend the daytime out in the pasture.

 

[RainySunday]

Putting together the kidding kit, yay! She will probably get her kidding trim this weekend as well, then in a week-10 days, if she hasn't kidded, we'll do it again.

 

[warthog]

Good luck, she is a lovely looking goat, look forward to cutie pie pictures.

 

[RainySunday]

Thanks! I hope they are cute!

 

[RainySunday]

Update today: Peek has a bit of discharge, but ligs are still super solid. Udder is a bit bigger, but not way full yet. Really the earliest she should go is May 27th. Assuming the breeders dates were right, haha. I check her everyday before I let her out to the pasture, and again when I bring them in at night. And keep an eye on her from the window in between, lol. We've decided we want to bottle feed this first group (hopefully more than one!) of babies, since it is summer, and we are home anyhow, and it will be easier than weaning later, especially since we really need the milk and I want to know how much she produces.

 

[RainySunday]

Update: Peekaboo got her kidding trim yesterday. She was actually really good about it! I have added her in to the milk stand lineup, so she gets practice getting up there now and being brushed, touched, udder messed with etc. The first day she needed some convincing to get up there, the 2nd day on, no problem! The girl loves her food, and that's where the food is now!

Today, her ligaments feel a bit softer, maybe...Like there is a bit more play in them, if that makes sense. Could just be wishful thinking I guess. Her udder is fuller, but not huge yet. She has some discharge off and on, but nothing amber colored yet. The baby monitor is up in the barn, and she is staying in the pen now, not going out to the bigger pasture with the others (I can't watch her as well from the pasture) until she kids. Instead, we are taking her on "snack walks" a few times a day (in addition to her hay/minerlas/water and grain). She sure likes those!

Last night (we go out and check ligs/udder/babies/etc right before bed) she was looking way way huge/wide. Today, she looks more like she did a few days ago, still wide, but not "Oh wow, you're huge!"

 

[RainySunday]

UPDATE: Her udder is definitely much bigger this afternoon! Yay! We are making some progress!