Drama at Gullringstorp

All the drama at Gullringstorp, revolve around the goats. Everyone else seems to settle issues without too much drama. But with my ladies in the stable, there can be some dram and I do mean drama!

Ok here we go: Iris has two tiny new babies that are growing like little weeds. Iris’ box is now separated by a fence to give her  the comfort and safety she seems to need with her new family. As her babies get bigger and stronger, it occurred to me that this box was a sub-herd within my larger herd. I remembered when I was in London and our little Ivy had a tiny baby girl. There was no fence put up during that period and there was no drama. So I thought that these two new little ones needed to become integrated into the sub-herd ASAP. First step, take down the fence.

All was fine for just about 5 minutes then the bully in iris came out after she cleaned up the grain bowls on the other side of the box. She became the bully that I though would have calmed down once she became a mother. No such luck.. She was a holy terror. She unleashed such anger and singled out one to attack; little Surprise. She had it in her mind that Surprise was going to hurt her babies.So untrue.

Little Surprise ran to mommy for protection. She was no real help

I hope Surprise felt some safety snuggled up behind mommy

 

All three girls cower in the corner

Well this wasn’t working and I seemed to have unleashed a real bully on my little girls. Iris decided to add barking to her bully repertoire . That was a new one. She actually threw her head back and growled like a dog, a big dog. So I needed a Plan B. Iris wasn’t being very nice even with the fence up. She would head butt it and scare all the girls on the other side.

I put the fences back up into place and took the evening to come up with a Plan B. Ok so Iris was not so happy behind her fence, because she was no longer in control of the entire box. then the idea hit me; Nanna has a box to herself and she likes the 3 little ladies in Iris’ box. So the next morning when all the other goats were out, I moved Iris and her two babies into Nanna’s box.

All seemed alright , but that was just because iris was enjoying the grain left in Nanna’s food tray. Once she finished her breakfast, the fun of the new home wore off. She yelled and yelled and yelled some more. She’s a yeller. Her babies Florian and Blossom were really having fun and enjoyed the ledge to hop of and on to. It didn’t take long and Florian was up on the ledge with Iris.

Florian and Blossom like the new apartment

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When it was time to bring in the goats, I skillfully ushered Nanna in with the other little girls in the first box. She seemed so happy. What made this little piggy happy was all the grain bowls in that box. She ran from one to the next. once that fun wore off and she realized the door was closed, she became a bully.

Oh no, not again! Look at my little ladies cowering in the corner , again!

I had unknowingly brought in another bully. Look at my sweet Nanna on the right in a very aggressive stance!

Well I had seen enough. My Plan B wasn’t working. You are supposed to give any changes some time to settle down, but it was me who could not take the few days needed to see “what would happen”. Iris was not happy in Nanna’s box, but what worried me most was that she seemed not to come down from her perch and her babies needed her down to nurse. I could have handled her yelling but I was worried about her babies’ meals.

Nana was just another bully who I had introduced into the box. My little ladies were once again being attacked. this was not working. I did the only thing I could think of: the fence went back up, Iris and her babies were back in their own home, the three girls were happy on the “other “side of the fence from Iris and Nanna was happily back in her home.

Bottom line, I just worried too much and realized that when the babies are big enough, they will be integrated into that little sub-herd and the balance would be just fine.

I hate to admit it , but my boys are really not as much trouble as my girls. I am not sure if it’s hormonal or what but my girls can really be a challenge and you need to stay alert to all the nuances and be prepared to act, if needed.

Drama over…

 

 

Babies, Babies, Babies !!!

Our new babies are growing and developing so quickly:

Iris and her babies Blossom and Florian. Today it feels like rain, cold and windy so those little ones needed coats:

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Florian makes a squeak when he is ready to run real fast. So cute!

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Pumpkin and her daughters, Violet and Willow

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Poppy and Pansy With Lilly and Huckleberry; since they share a box separated by a fence, it’s best they can come out and socialize together. they are sisters and love each other. Now they need to learn to love each other’s baby:

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Djursdagen StallMagasinet

I was invited to introduce and sell my Li’l Sis Goat Milk Soap at Animals Day at our local freed and grain farm. This was our first time to display our soaps in this kind of venue. There were all kinds of preparations to be made. I needed a folding table, and some kind of trim, containers to hold the different soaps, put together my information sheets in both Swedish and English and several other need-to-have goods. It was a day of triumphs and lessons and future opportunities. I met wonderful new customers who were not only brave enough to show their curiosity about my new product, but to embrace it. Goat Milk Soap is very new in Sweden so I am not only selling soap but an entirely new concept. A lot has to do with my persona and my husband’s. It is appreciated when I attempt to hold our conversation in my broken Swedish and my husband’s help was priceless today. Most everyone who learned that not only was this new product goat Milk Soap , but that we actually had a herd of GOATS! Everyone wanted directions to our farm to be able to come and visit the goats.We have recently had new roads built-in our area, so I am as lost as a baby when it comes to directing people to our farm. We did our very best at an event that was not a craft fair nor was it a goods fair, it was an animal day for families to enjoy animal events:

• Mini pig races
• Bunny races
• Donkey rides
• Dog agility events
• Horse drawn wagon rides
• Pony rides
• Viewing the farm’s many sheep in the barn
• The highlight of the day was the annual Spring release of sheep into the pasture

It was a wonderful and fun day for everyone:

Li’l Sis Goat Milk Soap stand

This was how I had intended to display my soaps, but in the end , I was unable to use the wooden blocks due to space issues. We will need a larger table for future events

A curious guest

On a visit to the bunnies, I met this cutie on a leash!

Meet Mini!

What a sweet little bunny

Bunny display

Tiny bunnies

Mini piggies

Too cute…

These sheep were in a petting pen for small children to pat

The sheep in the pen got lots of visitors

 

There were dogs everywhere of all sizes

Our breeder Waffotis Kennels where we bought our dear Max was there and was so happy to see Max again

Max and his daddy at the event

Doggie agility events

Beautiful horse in the adjacent field

Look at this beauty

That beauty had a job at the event…to pull a wagon full of people

Ponies for the pony rides

The pony is all ready for little riders

 

The kids enjoyed donkey rides also

I heard sounds from the barn and just had to take a peek… Sheep. lots of sheep

OMG what cute faces !!!

No countryside event would be complete without a big red tractor

Then the big event of the day, the Spring Release of the sheep :

This is Helena the owner at StällMagasinet in the black work pants preparing the fencing for the sheep

The crowd line the fencing in anticipation of the release

And here they come !

They may not look it but i am sure they are so happy to be released into the semi-sunshine and grass

They must be smiling, inside…

This face stands out in a crowd……

Sheep in the Spring green grass

It was a lovely day full of new acquaintances, lessons learned and such cute animals. And we had NO rain! Thank you Helene and Stallmagasinet from Li’l Sis Goat Milk Soap,  for such a wonderful day!

Another Sunny Spring Day at Gullringstorp!

It’s so nice to finally have sunny Spring days here at  Gullringstorp.

We had such as nice day recently that Tasha went out  for a quick trip on the deck and grass. She was so happy!

Tasha and her pal Max. As you can see, we might have some sunshine but it’s not that warm yet, here at Gullringstorp

One of our neighbor cats was enjoying the Springtime sun in our back yard

We have 2 Black & White cats, so when I see this little fella , I think one of ours has gotten out. Our cats are all house cats

This little fella loves to play in our stable.

With our Winter officially over, it was time to change our Winter tires to our Summer tires. By law we have to use snow tires during the Winter but after a certain date, they must come off and be replaced with Summer tires. Regular passenger cars do not use chains so we must take off the Winter tires. I was happy when Leif  changed my Li’l Sis Goat Milk Soap car tires to Summer tires. Li’l Sis Goat Milk Soap car is ready for the Summertime roads:

We are finally getting some Spring blooms coming up:

Tulips are finally coming up

HAPPY SPRING !!

Spring Weekend at Gullringstorp May 4 & 5

This is a typical Spring  weekend here at Gullringstorp. We have the goats and chickens to care for and  the property. There are the usual chores on a farm property. Things need mending, fixing and just plain tending to.

The cats and fish that are in the house get fed first thing. Then off to the stable with my bucket of chopped veggies and fruit and molasses water for the mothers. Max always joins me and Leif follows later. I make a quick check on the new mothers and their new babies and when all is fine, I say hello to all the others on the other side of the stable. Max and I fill a wheelbarrow full with hay to take out to prepare the enclosure for everyone who goes out. The boys were so happy to go out as were the other ladies and girls.

We have with the help of Leif and my daughter, finally got names for all the new babies, even the little boy who will be sold.

Iris’ daughter is Blossom and her son who will be sold to a good home is Florian

Pansy’s daughter is Lilly

Poppy’s son is Huckleberry

Pumpkin’s daughters are, Willow and Violet

Peanut is still a mystery, no babies and no heats for the past 5 months! Hummmmmm

Once everyone is out and happy, I returned to the stable to tend to the new mommies and babies.

Iris and her babies :

A fun place to snuggle

Blossom and Florian rest with mommy not too far away

Pansy and Lilly:

Pansy never lets Lilly out of her sight

Pansy’s food station: grain, treats and molasses water

Pumpkin and her daughters, Willow and Violet :

Pumpkin is our wild child goat, but oh what a mommy she is !

Time for a snack

What a cute little bottom !

Willow, with the white front paw like mommy is the little baby that required a splint on her leg. she is fine and her foot is as it should be

Willow and Violet are so cute

Pumpkin is always talking to her daughters

Even when she is eating

This baby wants to try mommy’s food

Willow wants to see what’s in the container also

Mommy gets a kiss from Willow

After I take care of Iris and her children, I work on the other 3 families, starting with Pansy.  Then I took care of the box of Poppy and her baby boy. I took all that was needed into Poppy’s box to be able to take care of both boxes. It’s just easier for me.

Poppy wants to see what I’m doing in Pumpkin’s box

Poppy’s son Huckleberry decides to see what’s in all those baskets

What a cutie!

Huckleberry tries to get into the grain bucket

Poppy checks on me in Pumpkin’s box

Huckleberry is determined to jump in t he grain bucket

Mother and son

After the mothers and babies have been taken care of, I went to check on the other goats in the enclosure. They had run themselves out and all resting:

My bucks Toby, Baby Boy(Bear), Little Man in the back and Pip relax in the Springtime sun

Little Surprise and Nanna found a nice place to rest

Petunia found a nice place in the sun

I was a bit worried about some of the ladies out in the enclosure:

Petunia, Surprise and Ivy have never been separated from Iris. They are doing fine as long as they can hold conversations with her from the stable.

Rose is such a mamma’s baby that she never likes to be without Pumpkin. She is doing better than I though, finding a little group to attach herself to in the enclosure. She will stand and eat hay with Peanut and her mother Hilda.

Leif has been busy with our firewood supply. this weekend he has been cleaving the logs he cut earlier. I think I posted earlier that he was cleaving the wood, mistake, he was chopping.This weekend he cleaved the logs with his new machine:

He has a neat old tool that helps lift the heavy logs

Once the log was cleaved in half it was cleaved again  into smaller logs to fit into our burner in the basement

Leif was smart and set up the cleaving machine right in front of the outdoor wood storage. After the log has been cleaved, he can just toss it in the storage

Looking at all those beautiful logs, I got an idea; why not bring ion some logs for the babies to play on. Poor Leif, I never run out of ideas and ways for him to help. But he was kind and asked me to pick out the logs I wanted from the big pile. When I found the 3 perfect ones he brought them into the stable and placed them where they belonged. He thought he should cleave them in half so they would have a flat bottom to sit stable in the boxes. When I said no , they are fine as they are he was not so sure. I was.

Here are my 3 beautiful logs

Here is the log for little Lilly

Pansy was so nice, she thanked us for her log which she nibbled the bark off

Poppy and her son huckleberry check out their new log

Look at that baby!! I could just eat him up!!

Pansy says thank you also

Leif had concerns about these logs, he didn’t think they would be appreciated. Well,  just look at Huckleberry:

Huckleberry not only appreciated his log but he loved it!

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I hope you had sunshine for this this Spring weekend and you were able to be out enjoying it!

More Updates From the Nursery Ward at Gullringstorp May 2

How are our   new babies and new mommies? Everyone is happy and healthy:

Pumpkin’s daughter born with an under-turned little foot has had a splint on for a few days. i took it off today and she seems to be fine.

We have a removable opening between boxes so I can enter Pumpkin’s box from Poppy and Pansy’s box

The boards between boxes can be removed, set aside and I can climb into Pumpkin’s box from Poppy’s

 

Poppy and her son:

I apologize for the lighting in these videos, not very much natural light available in this box.

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Pansy is a very fine mother and her little baby girl Lilly is doing wonderful! :

Iris and her new daughter and son

While her roommates, Petunia, ivy and Surprise are out in the enclosure, I have opened the barrier so they can play in the entire box:

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As you can see, all our new babies are doing so well. So far, only one baby has been named; that baby is Pansy’s little girl. For some reason, she looked like a Lilly from the very first day. Names will come for the others.

We are still waiting for Peanut to deliver. She was bred once but went into heat again so she was bred a second time. We have hot seen another heat but she has not delivered.

Was she successfully bred or not? that is the question. Hummmmm

Welcome back for updates from our Maternity Ward with only one doe left, Peanut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updates From the Maternity and Nursery Wards at Gullringstorp May 1

Oh my, what can I say? Our stable here at Gullringstorp is alive with the sounds tiny hooves and sweet sounds from our new babies.

I had a shock last evening on my evening rounds to feed and get everyone ready for bed. When I entered the stable, the very first box holds our first mother to deliver, Iris with her little girl and boy. One peak in said it all; the babies were happy, running and hopping all over the box. Next box, Peanut was relaxing with her mommy Hilda. No baby has come yet, still waiting. All the while I was hearing a sound that I was not so sure was Poppy chatting with her baby boy. I knew it wasn’t Pumpkin, I recognize all their voices. As I peaked in to say hej to Pansy and look through the fence to check on Poppy and her son, I noticed a different look on Pansy’s face as she looked up at me. She looked like, “well…?”I looked down and saw a baby snuggled up against her box door. First thought, Oh no Poppy’s boy got through the barrier ! Then I was afraid that Pansy might injure this little baby. Oh my heart was beating so fast , I can’t tell you. then all of a sudden, Poppy’s baby boy hopped out into view just where he was supposed to be, on his side of the barrier with his mommy, safe and sound.

After the shock wore off and Leif had arrived and we enjoyed the new baby, I continued my trip down the stable and Pumpkin and her daughters were doing very well. Rose was getting more and more used to the barrier. the second half of our stable is now known as the low maintenance wing. Nanna was in heat , but no problem with that, just loud, the boys were out of hay, not at all unusual, Alika, Keriana and her daughter Fiona were just waiting for their dinner. I asked Leif to stay and keep a close eye on baby Lilly and mommy while I took care of the rest.

Pansy had a baby approximately 6:30 pm April 30, 2013 !

Pansy showed absolutely no signs she was going into labor so in between our checks on the goats throughout the day, she decided to have a baby. Her baby was still wet and she was busy cleaning up the after birth. Of course I went to the stable without my camera. Once I caught my breath, I ran back to the house to grab my camera. When I returned, I panicked. The baby was laying flat as a pancake while Pansy was frantically licking the baby. I was so afraid that the baby hadn’t made it. I was alone so I called my husband in the house. In the meanwhile, I couldn’t wait for him so I went in and lifted up that tiny head and up the baby got. Oh be still my heart. this baby was up on those tiny legs and began talking to mommy. By t he time Leif made it down to the stable the baby was actually walking around and exploring . When I aroused the baby, I picked the baby up and did a quick inspection. A GIRL !!!!! Oh happy day! I named her right away.

Meet Lilly and happy proud mother Pansy:

Pansy is as wonderful mother as was her own, Frida. She and Poppy had the best teacher there could possibly be.

You can see Poppy loving her little boy in the other half of the box as Pansy tends to her new daughter

Looking so cute Lilly!

Baby knew there was milk somewhere, but couldn’t find it or just hadn’t yet

Pansy’s mouth was constantly going, either chatting or cleaning her baby

Happy Birthday Lilly !

Lilly waits while mommy continues to clean up all evidence of a birth. She even cleaned the blood of the boards on the side of the box

Constant licking dries the baby quite quickly. Good thing because even though it’s Spring, we have winter temperatures during the evenings and nights

Lilly decides to take a walk as mommy calls to her

An exhausted Pansy gets the Gullringstorp birthing molasses and warm water with chopped veggies and fruit. Baby takes a well deserved rest

After some time, Lilly found the milk store had a drink or two and was looking stronger.

Lilly is so beautiful with coloring from her father Balder and she’s a large baby that she got from her mommy.

I went to bed last night with joy and trepidation in my heart. I hoped that what I saw in Lilly and her mother was just temporary. I was so afraid that we had a weak baby and a mother who may not have survived her delivery. I woke up this morning and sat on the edge of my bed a bit terrified to dress and make my way top the stable. For the first time, I was actually afraid of what I might find.

We are still blessed…. Lilly was fine and happy this morning as was her beautiful loving mother Pansy.

Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart…

Updates from the Nursery at Gullringstorp and a bit More

I am so very happy to report that all the babies and new mommies are doing well here at Gullringstorp!

Iris’ little ones are so cute and bouncy and so curious. They eat well, plenty of mommy’s milk and starting to nibble on the hay. They watch mommy and try to do as she does. Iris is a surprise to us both; this wild child has become a wonderful first time mother . I am so proud of her.

Iris and her babies

Poppy is a wonderful mother as was her own mother, Frida. She is all about her little son and always keeps him under her chin as she rests and he naps. She is constantly chatting to him and licking him all over, even while he sleeps. I am so pleased to see her as great a first time mother as Frida. She had an excellent teacher. Both Poppy and her sister Pansy miss their mother so much, it is evident in their eyes since they lost her. I am so glad they will have their new babies to keep them occupied and happier than I could ever have made them. We are still waiting for Pansy to deliver. Soon we hope.

A rare photo of Poppy’s son . He is usually tucked up nice and cozy under mommy’s chin

Pumpkin is doing as well as always with her two daughters. She is a joy to watch as she tends to each little girl with lots of love and conversation.  The girls are flourishing in her loving care. Even our little one with the foot issue. She is bouncing around her space and jumping everywhere. We appear to have two healthy little babies and we are just keeping our fingers crossed that the little foot will be the only issue we and Pumpkin have to face.

Pumpkin has a very lovely udder and her teats are just the right size for her tiny babies

This is our little one with a splint on her leg. She is getting around just fine.

As with all the new mothers, we have had to place up fences or barriers to keep the other goats away while they bond with their new babies. Pumpkin was no different. As much as Pumpkin loves her adult daughter Rose, she is a new mother and as such is very protective. There was need to take risks that Rose might hurt the babies or Pumpkin become angry with her daughter Rose. I hated to ask Leif after many hours spent cleaning out the boy’s box and stable of old straw, to help and put up a barrier in Pumpkin’s box before we brought the goats in for the evening. He wasn’t happy, I know because he was tired, but we had no choice. It would make Pumpkin feel safe with her babies but it would not be fun for Rose and it wasn’t when she was brought in. She will get used to it. She has already broken down the door area so she can see her mommy. I just think that she gets instructions from Pumpkin to stay put on her side of the fence. So far, so good. She will soon become used to it and won’t be so upset as long as she can see Pumpkin and talk with her.

We had run out of see through metal fencing that would fit in the boxes so we used the sunscreen board from the front baby play yard. No one is out there yet and there is no sun. I don’t really like it but it’s temporary

Leif has been busy with other things as well here at Gullringstorp. We are always fixing and repairing after the winter and oddly enough we are preparing now for the next winter. We have a furnace in the basement where a lot of firewood is brought in from the outdoor storage and burned to heat the entire house including the water:

We usually  purchased wood that has already been chopped for our home the past winters, but this winter my husband decided to buy logs and cleave them himself; more cost efficient and I think fun for him

These logs will remain in our outdoor storage area to dry out before being brought inside to the basement storage and held there for future use..

I hope you have enjoyed some of the updates from Gullringstorp.

 

 

 

Updates From the Nursery Ward at Gullringstorp Part 5

Last evening on night rounds, I had a feeling that one or both of my does would deliver, soon.  Pumpkin and Peanut are my two does who are due to deliver next. Pumpkin lays down a lot just before she goes into labor. Peanut is a first time fresher so I have no history yet on how she will labor and deliver. Pansy will be the last doe to deliver near toward the first of May.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and we planned for the goats to go out and for Leif to not only clean out a box but take away all the straw that has been accumulating in the corridors on both wings of the stable. The winter has prevented us removing the straw that was pulled out of each box to be able to close the doors. Once the snow melted , we have had either rain or wind that made the removal not possible. Leif went out to let our bucks out first and start on their box when lo and behold there were two new residents in our stable!

Pumpkin had given birth within the hour before we were there in the stable. Sneaky little lady, second time she delivered on her own , in privacy. She looked well and her two babies look nothing like her. They are identical clones to their father Little Man. This is Pumpkin’s second pregnancy and delivery here at Gullringstorp. Her first pregnancy went well with the delivery of a boy and a girl. We unfortunately lost her little boy within a month due to a heart defect. That changed Pumpkin and she became very protective of her remaining baby, Rose.

This morning around 0730 April 28, 2013 our Pumpkin gave birth to 2 baby girls!

I had enjoyed the babies for a bit and made sure that Pumpkin had hay and grain where she was comfortable, then I placed fresh straw in for her and the babies. Leif was putting hay out for the boys so it was time to take them out. I hated to leave the babies but the boys were waiting:

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Once the boys were settled in their enclosure, we prepared to take out the girls. I was a bit worried about some of our girls today. Pansy would be out without her sister Poppy for the first time. Petunia, Ivy and Surprise would be out without Iris for the first time. Rose would be out for the very first time without her mother Pumpkin. Each of these young ladies is very close to their box partner. Petunia, Ivy and Surprise make up a sub-herd within our herd because of the number of goats that share the same box.

We were so happy to see them all outside and enjoying themselves in the sunshine!

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While the boys and girls enjoyed themselves in the enclosure, Leif began his job of removing straw and cleaning out the boy’s box. All the straw went out to the fields:

I finally had the time to go in and really check on our new babies. They looked so beautiful and so very much like their father Little Man:

Little Man

On closer inspection of our new baby girls, I noticed that one little one had a turned under foot. I manipulated her foot to make sure it was pliable and it was. It may have been the way she was delivered or she might just need help in straightening that little foot out. My Internet was down , temporarily but I just instinctively knew that if I could straighten the foot, then she just might need a splint. Now to find tiny wood or something else sturdy to use. I found cute tiny emery boards and grabbed the electrical tape.  It went very smoothly when I placed the splint on that tiny leg. She was not upset at all. Pumpkin was curious but she trusts me so she was not really worried or concerned.

This little girl was relaxing as I fixed her sister’s little leg

Pumpkin did come over just to make sure all was well with her little baby

Pumpkin returned to check on her other little baby

Once I saw that the little baby could get around with the splint on, I was back to the house to make Pumpkin her birth morning breakfast. I arrived back to the stable with warm water and molasses and a nice bowl of chopped fruit and veggies  actually all three new mothers got the same thing):

I went back into the house started this post and had a call from my daughter . She wanted to Skype but I had a strange feeling and had to run back to the stable. I hadn’t remembered seeing both babies nursing. I was worried about the little girl with the splint.

I needn’t have worried:

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So there it is, Updates from the Nursery Ward at Gullringstorp and a bit more.

Updates From the Nursery Ward at Gullringstorp Part 4

I arrived home from London quite late last night and was just too beat to make it out to the stable. I went to bad feeling like a real bad “goat mamma”. I knew I would see Iris and her babies first thing in the morning. We had no sooner entered the stable when I was able to only get a glimpse of Iris and her two new babies, when things were not quite right in Poppy and Pansy’s box. Well, it was right , actually.

Poppy is a brand new mommy for the very first time!

She had been in labor for the early morning hours and by the time we entered the stable, she was in the last moments of her labor and delivery was just a few moments away. I looked and she was laying down and I knew immediately that our little girl, now an adult doe was about to have a baby. I was in her box in a flash and down on the straw and talking to her to sooth her and massaging her tummy and hips. She was glad to see me and oh was I so glad not to have missed her delivery. As I watched and listened, I saw her mother Frida. I saw her tilt of her head, and listened to her stoic soft moans. She is her mother when she delivers.

I had my iPhone in my pocket and tried to take some photos before the baby was born. Unfortunately, it was not so well , lit due to our overcast day. Leif was kind to run back to the house and get my camera. First photos are a bit dark:

Poppy’s last moments of labor

Poppy is pushing and there are tiny hooves out already

At this point, Poppy got up and labored to a new location and by the time Leif came back, we had a baby!

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Brand new baby

What a great mommy. Poppy is busy cleaning her new baby

Poppy’s sister Pansy is a bit unsure with this new little noisy creature arrived

We will have a clean dry baby, real soon

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Baby is stil in a part of the sac as the search for milk begins

New baby stands on those tiny legs within 5 minutes of birth

We had a scary moment when Pansy head butted the new baby. Well that was all we needed to see to realize we needed a fence. Luckily we have lots of items in our workshop and on the property. I decided the box should be split in half and Leif found just the right size piece.

After Pansy had her time on the milk stand, the new fence was placed in the box. I feel quite comfortable with it.

New baby stands quite firmly on those tiny legs

Look at our new cute baby !

Poppy got her warm molasses water, grain and she cleaned up her after birth as every mother does

Baby rests after a busy morning getting born

Everyone in the surrounding boxes were really affected by the new baby sounds. Hilda and Peanut were listening as well as Pumpkin. We had a curious doe who was also in heat :

Rose in heat but still curious about the happenings in the next box. She is looking more and more like her mother Pumpkin

As things were settled in Pansy and Poppy’s box, I turned my attentions on Iris, her babies and her box.

We had placed a temporary fence up for Iris to feel safe and secure, but it was now time for a better fence and one that gave her and her twins a larger area to move around in. So back to the drawing board… what did we have available that would work to keep Iris in and the others from getting to her new babies. We needed length as well as height to make my vision work. We ended up with two fences pieces that work together, quite well. The babies are so happy to have the space to run, jump and spring as they need to.

There we have two fences pieces that work well together. The one on the far right acts as our door

Iris’ new enclosure

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Iris and her babies

A little doeling on the left and a little buckling on the left

What cuties we have!

Our new little buckling

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He looks like Iris!

Iris’ roommates, Petunia, Ivy and Surprise were away, on the other side of the stable having fun with Nanna while we fenced off the box. We also made some adjustments to their hay supply

It was a busy morning here in the Nursery at Gullringstorp. It was not a day for the goats to be out so everyone was made happy and comfy, inside.

Rain was certainly on its way

 

We have learned that Poppy’s new baby is a boy. I can not say how disappointed I am. He is beautiful and I will give all the love he needs , but he will not stay at Gullringstorp. We have 7 buck now and that is way over the normal limit in any goat farm. I just couldn’t part with them. Phillip and Winston are my last baby boys I was allowed to keep. My promise to my husband and myself was that I would bite the bullet and sell any bucklings that come. So now, so far, we have 2 bucklings to 1 doeling. Of course I was hoping for more doelings but I can not control nature. We have 3 more does to deliver , please keep your fingers crossed for ALL doelings!

In spite of the bucklings being born, both mothers and all 3 babies are doing beautifully.