Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats Blog - Triplets born - New baby pics

[ruth]

Quote:
Thanks - yes, that's what I was thinking. I'd end up having them inside in bed with me. It got so cold here this past winter, our first one here, that I wasn't used to it and I couldn't get warm to save my life. We are now looking to add pellet stoves and fireplace inserts in our 100 yearl old home before winter hits again - and that's just with temps in mid 20s at lowest. I'm a Southern girl and just don't do cold.

Just came in from outside. Decided the tack room would make a great night shelter for them. The goat run is built onto back of stables with the last run-in shelter included in the goat run. The tack room is fully enclosed in wood with electicity, outlets, concrete floor so I'm thinking I'll put them in there each night. Already turning into Nervous Nelly of a mama and don't want them sleeping in fenced in run with open shelter even though that's where the previous goats and horses apparently stayed. We haven't gotten horses yet though that's next on The List so the stables will make great goat and/or chicken pens. I'm having an issue with suddenly too many young roos and need a place to put them also - so maybe in stables next to goats?

 

[dixygirl]

I am so jealous of your goats and can't wait to see them.

 

[Solsken Farm]

Ruth. I read your posts all the time and LOVE you. Your philosophy and thoughts are beautiful.

How exciting you got these sweet angels. We have 3 dwarf nigis and love them to pieces. They are little dickens though. I wanted them in our yard right with us, but the little things would jump on our porch furniture and poo everywhere. I eventually cut the cord and keep them out of our dooryard except when we are playing with them and superivising them. They were eating our rose bushes and pines too!

You asked about the concern people have about them eating chicken feed. Goats, horses, sheep will all overeat grains, and it can be fatal because they overeat and causes bloat. Their tummies consume the dry feed and then it expands with the gastric juices. This is the biggest concern.

Also, they will cause havoc with your feeders, as they like to play and butt things. You will go through alot of chicken feed, and truly for health reasons, you want to keep the goats away from excessive feed.

Waiting for pics.....

 

[mamaboyd]

Congrats!! Can't wait to see pics!! Now I really want some goats but not sure if hubby will let me

I could have brought one home with me today I think when I picked up some duck eggs, but I have nowhere to keep them yet that they wouldn't escape. I think goats are next on my list if I can convince DH!!

 

[ruth]

The stork delivered my newest babies at 11:30 a.m. today. By 11:40 Rex was on guard and had laid claim to them.

These two are twin sisters and are four months old:

They were all a little shy at first:

The smallest one kept getting called "The baby" by all who came to see the new arrivals today. But she is actually 5 months old and older than the twins. She does seem to have a cough though and I've already called the breeder about it and will have to watch her.

There's also Bella who is 18 months old and has had one kid. Bella seemed to adopt The Baby and it stayed near or under her all day and she would chase off the twins if they got too close and would head butt them.

Rex took his job very seriously and wouldn't come out of the shed or run all day. We finally had to leash him and drag him out. At one point they were all sleeping together. For some reason they seemed to take to him right away. Only problem was he wouldn't let them leave the shed. Everytime one tried to wander off and out into run area he would go and chase it back into shed, into herd, and then lay back down. Guess that's why he's a Shepherd.

I think he's just so glad to have gotten promoted to herding and guarding goats (from chicken duty) that he can now hold his head up high at the next Shepherd convention. He didn't even put in a workmans comp claim when Bella took a bite out of his hide. Yep, he had a bloody raw area where the fur had just been ripped out. I know she did it. Maybe she wasn't too keen on him being so close. He didn't complain and he didn't kill her so I guess our first day was a success. Tonight he's out by their gate on guard.

 

[Solsken Farm]

Oh! How sweet! Rex is an amazing dog!!!!!!!!!

You are going to have so much fun with these babies. I say it over and over again, they are one of my favorite animals. Have fun!

 

[MissPrissy]

You are going to love having the goats.

I will tell you this - they will surprise the same way chicks and chickens do.

They have their own way about them. In the dead of winter on the coldest of nights they are going to play in the feilds oblivious to the world around them. In the heat summer you may find them laid out in the barn like they are motel 6 waiting for someone to invent room service. In my experience they thrive better in cooler temps of late fall and early winter. Easier to put weight on them and keep it on.

Have fun with them!

 

[helmstead]

Beautiful girls you have there! I especially like your buckskins

Miss Prissy - I've found the same to be true about the cooler weather. My goats hold weight very well over winter...I can even decrease their grain a bit. I have a few that just don't enjoy hot weather and I have to really increase the feed this time of year.

 

[ruth]

Well it was a restless night leaving them in their run and shed area even though we re-fenced the whole area replacing rotted boards, adding new ones, and adding an inside wall of welded wire fence 6' high. I was nervous about leaving them all night even with Rex outside the pen. I wanted to leave him in pen and he wanted to stay but DH said he wouldn't be able to guard everything else on farm or house or get out if need be and better if he was outside pen cause then he could run around it and duck house and hen house if necessary. Made sense but hard to sleep.

Our plans are to lock them in the tack room each night. It is fully walled and has ceiling and concrete floor. I was planning on adding pine shavings and hay to make a soft floor and maybe even build a little bunk area since they like to climb.

The breeder said it would be best to leave them in the pen area for a few days and nights so they felt safe there and knew it was their new home. She was worried they would take off running if I opened the only gate which is really long and I wouldn't be able to catch them. She kept calling and checking on them. DH laughed and said she was as bad as I was and was having separation anxiety. She also took a look around at our set up when she was here and said it would be better to turn the tack room in my kidding room and milking room and use the four adjoining stables for the goats at night. I showed her where we could put a door going from stables directly into pen area so we wouldn't ever have to take them outside of gate if we didn't want to. So looks like now I have some more building to do.

Got lots to learn and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks Ms. Prissy for the winter info cause I would have them locked in tack room with the heater on. I even told the breeder this and she just laughed and said "They'll be fine".

By the way I did buy the other female. She's two years old and has never been breed. The breeder is going to keep her and breed her to one of her bucks and bring her to me in a month or so. This doe is the daughter of a national grand champion and the buck she is breeding her to is the brother of a national champion so the breeder said it was a good choice and I should get great babies and should keep them - buck or doe. They would not be related to any of the others I have and I could breed them and get my own herd started. She said having the baby in winter wouldn't be an issue because we are deep South and don't really have winter and she has them kidding in winter all the time without a problem plus with a heated enclosed room I wouldn't even be cold when out milking her - so that's the plan - more goats and our own babies coming soon.

 

[Chirpy]

Ruth - I'm so excited that they are finally home (well, almost all of them

- one to go).

My hubby wasn't against my getting our goats but he wouldn't have done it if he didn't love me so much. Now, he likes them better than any animal (except our dog) that we have. They have such personality, get into everything and "demand" attention and he loves that. I find him out playing/petting them every day!

Congrats!