Common Ground Country Fair

      I had to make a decision:  go to the Farmington goat show and compete, a one day commitment, or go to the Common Ground Country Fair and be there for three days.  I opted for the Common Ground Fair.  On Thursday September 24th, I loaded 2 adults and 2 kids, all Sables, into the back of the Toyota Camry Wagon and off we went.  I had been there on Wednesday, preparing the pen, bringing hay, grain, chair so I could sit down occasionally during the weekend, and feeders. They settled in well, and I left, confident that the volunteers would watch over them.

       The next morning I arrived at 7:30, unloaded a few things I'd forgotten, and then found a spot in the parking lot.  I was amazed!  The fair didn't open until 9:00, but the parking lot was already filling up.  It felt good to show my exhibitor's pass and walk past the long lines. When I got to my goats, I felt even better; they were calm and settled in, interested in everything that was going on, and getting along with each other (happily for Fedra, the newest addition to the herd).  I gave them grain and Chaffhaye, changed their water, filled their hay bags, and waited for the rush.

     We were next to Tramps-Rest goats.  Charlie Hopkins has three breeds of goats, all the Swiss breeds: Toggenburgs, Saanens, and Oberhasli.  My Sables completed the lineup of Swiss breeds, though technically they are colored Saanens, not a separate breed at all.

I love Charlie's sense of humor.  His sign says "Furtha, Maine" and when someone asks where that is, he replies "Oh, it's just a little furtha down the road."

Oberhasli and polled Saanen does

Saanen does

Toggenberg does

     And rush it was!  Busloads of students from schools in the area, all wanting to pet all the goats.  Of course, the CGCF staff had put up signs that said "Fingers look like carrots!  Do not touch the animals.)  Well...that may be true for some animals (I certainly wouldn't stick my hand near a pig), but goats don't have upper teeth, and though they nibble on clothes, papers, and anything else that's close by, they're not generally biting animals, so I allowed the children to stroke and pet them.

     Fedra was the poster girl for Sables, schmoozing at the gate from the beginning, though occasionally the crowds would thin and she'd head for the back to rest.  Being the center of attention is exhausting work!

Time for a rest

Dolly stood in the center of the stall, interested in everything, but still not wanting to venture forth. Occasionally she'd stretch forth her neck, just barely touching someone's outstretched hand, but she just couldn't quite bring herself to do more.

Hannah stayed at the back of the stall relaxing for a while, gradually coming closer and closer, nibbling on hay near the gate, or lying just out of reach, until noonish, when she just couldn't ignore the attention Fedra was getting.  She butted Fedra out of the way so she could get her share.  Fascination?  Well, she was fascinated by everything that was happening, but couldn't bring herself to do more than watch.

Day 2 saw Fedra and Hannah competing for attention, but by the afternoon, Dolly had gotten braver.  I fed them all some apple pieces and that was the cue for Dolly to abandon her fear and (cautiously) take pieces from others' hands.  Fascination occasionally came to the gate, but always looking to her dam (Dolly) for reassurance.  Olivia, my helper, ran interference for Fedra.  When Dolly and Hannah ran her off, Olivia would just take her out and let her get personal attention.  So there!  Fedra really was the hit of the Sables.  The biggest problem was that she was ready to wander around and say hello to everyone.

Fedra on the outside

 Charlie gave milking demonstrations during the fair, and I gave some hoof trimming demonstrations.  I'm sure the milking demos were much more fun, since they were hands-on.  The children loved them! And Charlie's goats are old pros at the fair, having been there before and knowing the routine.

Day 3 was slower and quieter, still lots of people, but not nearly as hectic as the previous two days.  I do believe my goats had a good time!  They were engaged, friendly, and got into the whole fair atmosphere, loving the attention, ooh's and ah's, and even looking for people during the lulls, just like Charlie's old pros.

Hannah

Dolly

Charlie's old pros

After trekking in from the public parking lots for 2 days, I discovered that there was a parking area just for livestock exhibitors close by, an easy walk.  Ha!  I should have asked sooner.  At least I was able to park there the last day, making it a lot easier to pack up my goats and go home.  They had a lot to tell the others when we got back to the barn.  I can just imaging the conversations:  "And then this little girl came over...  And you should have seen..."

The fair was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.  I may just do it again next year.

Homecoming

     Yesterday I brought Fedra, Violet's doeling, home.  She's been with Violet at Shivering Stars Farm in Plymouth.  Violet changed owners in June, but Heather graciously agreed to keep Fedra until weaning time.

     She's a little lonely, but you can sure tell her mother is the herd queen.  She doesn't back down at all.  She's been sniffing noses with everyone through the stall gate, and last night she shared a stall with Dolly and Fascination.  Today the three and Hannah were together in the paddock area until about 4:00, then I let the whole herd into the orchard, where they raced to the downed apples.  Yum!

     Normally, I wouldn't introduce anyone new this quickly, but Common Ground Fair is coming up and the four will be penned together for the weekend, as they demonstrate for everyone what Sables look like.  And of course, I know the herd she came from and the care she got, so no unwelcome surprises in the offing.

Bringing it all up to date

     Wow!  I can't believe it's been so long since I posted.  Since then, we have three new kids, all purebred Saanens.

Neptune's Fantasy

     Beatrice kidded with one doeling on May 8th, which I promptly named Neptune's Fantasy.  She's very correct, and will probably be on her way to Pennsylvania by early August.

Fantasy Greenears after tattooing.

     Leah had two kids, a doe and a buck, on May 23rd.  I was undecided about going to the HOMDGA Spring Show in Windsor, but Leah made the decision for me.  She was in full labor early morning, and quickly gave birth.

Franz, aka "Frankie".  Dandelion is in the background.

Fleur de Lys, eating from her perch.

Frankie, Fantasy, and Fleur.

All three kids were immediately separated from their CAE+ dams and are bottle fed on a combination of raw goat milk from negative does and raw cow milk.  Leah's doeling, Fleur de Lys, will stay, and the buckling, Franz, is for sale--but will not be wethered if he doesn't sell quickly.  He's too nice to be a pet or meat, and his bloodlines are valuable.





 The two wethers, Euan and Dewey, have been sold, since I don't need to keep them as company for Mime.  In the meantime, I have three Sable bucklings sharing his space.  And what a space it now is!  A neighbor took down some fencing and asked if I could use it.  Could I!  With the help of the Mormon missionaries, the buck pasture has now been doubled, and includes a lot of browse.  They're in goat heaven.   As soon as I open the gate in the morning, they come running out and head for the trees and undergrowth.   It's amazing how quickly goats can clear the understory.  Where before it was hard to see beyond the closest trees, now I can see where they are during the day. 

Fabian under the trees

French Mime (Frenchie) clearing the undergrowth

In the afternoon, they usually move out to the more open area, but there's still browse on the edges.

Fabian still likes the browse, even if everyone else is eating grass.

And Finn McCool is so tired that he lies down to eat.

Finn McCool, Frenchie, and dear old dad on the right.

Grit-N-Moxie (Mime) and Fabian

Farewell to Cassie

It's been an interesting spring, watching the kids nursing on any doe in range, and the does!  My goodness!  They hardly notice what kids are latched on.  This may be all to the good, eventually, since yesterday I sold Cassie, and she'll be leaving soon.  I have mixed feelings, of course.  She was the first Sable born to Crooked Shade Farm, the proof that Leah carries color.  But I have too many goats, way too many, and it's time to cut back.  Cassie's a beautiful doe, but I'm slowly working my way toward an all purebred herd.  Whether that will include Sables remains to be seen, but eventually I want to get down to four does.

Her bucklings will be bottle babies now, and I was concerned that with Cassie gone, I might not have enough milk, but I think there'll be plenty.  Dandy is producing more than enough for her kids, and she nurses half the others anyway, as does Dolly.  The only one that seems to walk off is D'Arcy, and it shows in her production.

I'll miss Cassie, and I do wish I'd had a doe from her, but she produced a stunning buckling this year.  She's going to a wonderful home out on Islesboro--she'll be an Island Goat! How romantic!  And, she'll be hand milked, which I think is better for her. 

Farewell, my sweet Cassiopiea!  May your star always rise.

More kids

          Violet kidded Saturday, twins (of course), a doe and a buck.  That makes 5 and 5 so far.  The doeling is a black sundgau with the same wry tail as her sire.  Hopefully that will disappear, as did the other kid's wry tail.  The other is--no surprise--a caped Sable, just like his sire.  Mime certainly does stamp his offspring. 

          Since Violet is leased out, I didn't get to see them until the next day, and after Stake Conference, off I went, camera in hand.  They were outside, learning how to jump and run--and not always succeeding. I love watching new kids, they're so full of themselves, so full of life, so curious and fun to watch.

Kids, kids, kids

D’Arcy

D’Arcy kidded on Sunday the 22nd.  I thought Cassie would be the one to kid, since she had her front legs elevated and was yawning and stretching.  Her ligaments had been soft earlier, but were firm when I checked them late afternoon and evening.  I had given them both Pulsatilla that morning and put hay down in the stall to kid on.

About 2:00 in the afternoon, my computer alarm reminded me to clip their tails for kidding.  I ignored it for 15-20 minutes, and when I finally went out, D’Arcy had a kid on the hay, licking it clean, just born, still covered with mucous.  I ran into the house, grabbed some towels, phoned Olivia to tell her there was a kid born and to come over, and by the time I got back to the barn, the second kid had dropped onto the hay.  The first one, a doe, is marked just like Mime; the second looked to be all white, another doe.  Later we could see that she has a small black spot on her left side, but hard to see unless you ruffle her fur.  Two doelings, both lovely, the Sable born about 2:36 and the Saanen born 5-10 minutes later.

 Olivia and Lynne showed up shortly afterward and we all went out to tend to them.  The Sable kid found the teat and latched on; the second didn’t do as well.  Suddenly Lynne or Olivia said, “their ears are hard, is that normal?”  I didn’t think too much of it at first, but when I touched the ears, the moisture of birth was freezing on the ears.  Oh, crap! All I could think of was frostbite if we didn’t act quickly.  Lynne was ahead of me.  She was already packing up the white doeling and sheltering her under her coat. They were both half way to the house when I came along with the Sable doeling. 

After the two kids were warmed, fed, and completely dry, I took first one, then the other, back to the barn.  It had been a couple of hours, and D’Arcy was munching on hay.  She hardly noticed until the Saanen kid started to bleat.  She replied and came over to start nuzzling and licking her.  A while later when she woke up, I brought out the Sable. D’Arcy kept sniffing her and checking her out, as if something weren’t quite right.  She let her nurse when I held her, but wanted to move away.  As time wore on, whenever the Sable kid nursed, D’Arcy would bite her tail or her butt.  I finally took her back to the house.  An hour later, I came for the second.  It’s bitter cold out there, and I wanted them together. I found my Sepia and gave it to D’Arcy, hoping it would change her attitude.  It was too cold for them out there, with a low of around 8° F.  I don’t really mind bottle feeding them, since D’Arcy will be on milk test and they’ll need to be bottle fed on test day. 

The next morning I repeated the Sepia once.  By afternoon she was letting the Sable doeling nurse and by evening she was actively taking care of her..  These are the only kids that have names so far:  Crooked Shade Fanciful, or Fancy Free (haven't quite decided yet) and Crooked Shade Fiona (or Feona).  who is now wearing a turquoise collar to tell her apart from the other white kids.

Dandelion

I spent most of the wee hours of the night of the 24th getting up every hour to check Dandelion, who thankfully did not kid in the middle of the frigid night. A small show of blood to let me know things were starting to happen had me worried that she was going to kid right away, but—sweet girl!—she held of until late morning.

I was quite exhausted, but didn't dare take a nap. Every time I went out there, Dandy looked at me quizzically, as it to say, "What are you doing here again? Do you think I can't do this without you?"  Ah!  but when they finally came, she was glad to have me there, looking at me pleadingly.  A first time mom who didn’t know what it was all about.

A buckling was born at 11:10, a doeling at 11:22, both completely white.  This is the doe that looked so skinny a couple of weeks ago, but she plumped out the last week or so. She had twins hiding in there, but I don't know how. 

Dandy’s a wonderful mother, right from the start. She licked and cleaned them, took care of them, pushed them toward her udder, fussed over them.  No rejection on her part!  When I took them in for the night, because it was much too cold still to leave them out, she was upset, and both relieved and ecstatic when I returned them the next morning—after 10:00, when the temperature had risen above 20°.

Dolly

Dolly’s experience as a first freshener was traumatic, to say the least.  After watching her pass a lot of fluid and goo, watching for over an hour, and seeing that she was not progressing at all, I called the vet—who confirmed that yes, I had to go in and see what the obstacle was.  After feeling with just my fingers, all I could find was a nose. Normal birthing position is feet first, nose afterward.  I had to reposition the kid, whose head was presenting without legs.  It took a while, but finally got one front leg pulled forward.  I just couldn’t find the second, I wasn’t sure whether Ii was feeling his leg or the second kid’s, but by now poor Dolly was screaming so loud and pushing so hard, that I gently pulled that one leg to tilt the shoulders and she finally got him pushed out.  Less than 3 minutes later she stood, and the doeling followed, sliding easily onto the thick hay..  minutes after the first. I gave her 1M Arnica for the birth trauma. About 30 min later I followed that with  1M Aconite.  She was in shock, staring straight ahead, and didn’t want anything to do with her kids. She refused to   clean them off, or even sniff them, turning her back when I moved them in front of her.

After an hour of her rejection, I milked her out to feed the colostrum. The  kids’ suck reflexes weren’t well developed, perhaps from being in the birth canal so long--2 hours or more.  I took them inside to feed them.  My friend Kim came over to help me tube them, but thankfully, that wasn’t necessary; instead, she showed me another technique that went a lot more quickly than what I’d been doing.  After 6 hours they had suck reflexes (thank goodness) and with the last bottle they each took about 3-1/2 oz.

When I returned to the barn, she had passed one placenta.  Hours later I was sure the other was retained.  Strain as she would, membranes dragging on the ground, nothing happened.  Membranes were hanging out  She wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink, didn’t want to be touched or handled in any way.

After giving 2 or 3 homeopathic remedies, I repertorized and Cantharis and Bellis were confirmed. I'd already given her Bellis with little result.  I gave her a handful of white willow bark for pain, about a cup of Raspberry leaf/Nettle/Squawvine tea (syringed it down her) to tone her uterus, and finally gave her a dose of homeopathic Cantharis to expel the placenta. Within 10 minutes of the Cantharis, she started to eat, walked over to her water, but only looked at it. Still, it was promising, the first time she’d shown any interest in water at all.  The next morning, her water bucket was down 3 inches, both kids were nursing and the placenta was passed and nowhere to be found, apparently eaten. Dolly was looking perky, swelling had gone down, she was making mil --which was pretty hard for her to do before since she wasn't drinking anything.  I’m sure the herbals helped, but the dramatic change after the Cantharis is what makes me love homeopathy.  When it’s the right remedy, there’s no doubt.

Cassie

          Cassie was the easiest of all. She had shown a little goo, but was not in any discomfort that I could see. Still, Shawn and I both kept an eye on her.  Not closely enough, though, as when we went out to treat Dolly, she had two bucks in the hay, one a sundgau, one black caped.  They weighed 7 lbs and 6 lbs respectively a few hours after birth. 

She had them so quickly that it came as a complete surprise.  We arrived seconds after the second had been delivered, his foot still inside her.  Shawn had checked on her only an hour before, and I an hour before that, she didn’t show any signs of impending labor, but goats just live for the pleasure of doing their own thing.

I stopped only long enough to towel the second kid and then let her take over again. Once she had completed that, she turned and started eating the placenta.  I let her.  In the wild, or with no one around, she’d do it anyway, and I thought, “Maybe she needs it.  Maybe it contains nutrients her body craves after kidding.”  Cassie’s a second time freshener, so I didn’t feel that I had to hold her hand, as it were, and she didn’t disappoint me.  I milked about 6 cups of colostrum after her kids nursed.  That went into the freezer for times of need.  Her kids got short shrift, though.  They had to wait for pictures.

So now kidding season is done for a while.   Beatrice and Leah aren’t due until May, so I have plenty of time to regroup and just enjoy these babies.