Pics Of The Goat Kids

We are still waiting for Trixie to have her kids - she has all the signs (swollen vulva, bagged up, being unusually affectionate, stomping, etc.) but she's not going into labor.  So I'll probably miss choir because I have to stay around and watch. Tilly and Dottie's babies are SO cute I just had to put these pics on here - even though you already know what they look like :)

Caleb and the goats

Dottie and her buck

Tilly and the twins

We were bothering poor Trixie with the cat :)

Bowling Night

Friday night we went bowling in Misuli for Nick DeMyer's birthday!  I had never gone before and I was sure I'd embarrass myself and mess up terribly!  But it was actually SO fun!  I was pretty near the bottom but I got a strike once.  It wasn't till near the end that I realized Hallie was taking pics of me - so I made her send them to me :) She sent mostly pics of me but you get the point :) lol

Happy birthday Nick!

Hallie, Sabrina and me

Dottie's Baby!

Dottie had her little baby a while ago.  It is a really big buck :) He has him sold already as a breeding buck.  We had been checking up on her every hour or so because we figured she was going to have her kid today.  Caleb went out there and she was fine - then the next time we went there was a little kid standing on the ice, very cold and trembling (it has been about 15 to 20 degrees all day).  He was SO chilled, mom brought him in and gave him a hot water bath, and blew him off with the hair drier next to the fireplace - after awhile he warmed back up and we put him back out with Dottie.  Oh and he has cute little waddles under his chin like his mamma! :)  He is standing now and looking for the milk - he hasn't found it yet - looking on the wrong end...lol

Ya like Caleb's minion shirt? :)

 Here's Tilly and her babies - Dottie's buck is already bigger by a lot! :)

Apache Is Back Home!

Yishai brought Apache home sooner than planned because the Strains are getting in a bunch of horses in for training.  He came up the road and slid to a stop, dirt flying :).  I was so amazed at how far he got with that filly in that short amount of time!  I asked him if she had been ridden bareback and he said "no, but let's find out", and he swung up.  After he left I saddled her up and rode her around in the pasture then down the road - and especially her stop and backing are great!  Mom also took her new mare out for the first time with me.  Then I rode her bareback right after that and later that day - just shows how much I like her to ride several times a day! :)

Backing

Thank you to all the Strain family - y'all are so good to us!

First Goat Kids Of The Year!

Yesterday Tilly had her kids!!!  Mom was in Misuli (Missoula) and Caleb was working at the grandparents so I was by myself watching for her to go into labor.  She was really swollen around her vulva area and bagged up so we knew she was close.  In the afternoon she started to get restless and affectionate (which are also signs of imminent birth), she'd get up and down repeatedly, turn around, etc.  She started to have intermittent contractions by the time Mom and Caleb got back so we moved her to the birthing stall.

We found out that if you move a goat that has gone into labor she'll forget what she was doing and want to eat something - it may take a few minutes or a few hours before they start having contractions again.  With Tilly it was about 30 minutes.  Then she started having 3 to 4 really good contractions every 5 minutes or so.  And then started the screaming - goats are very vocal during birthing - and within 10 minutes the first kid slid out and Mom cleaned it up with a towel and made sure she was able to breath.  Tilly stood up and started cleaning her off herself when the second baby came.  They're both girls!  They both got clean and stood up.  Then we left to give her some alone time.  By the time we came back they were both able to latch on and nurse!

It is such a blessing to be able to watch a new life come into the world!  God is so good to us!
Here are some photos: