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We have had an exciting couple of days. Two of our goats had babies! You might remember that at the end of June we added seven Dwarf Nigerian goats to our little place. We didn’t realize that any of the goats were pregnant. About a month ago we noticed that a few of them were getting fat. Being new to goats, we didn’t know if they were pregnant or truly just fat. The person we got the goats from did indicate there was a chance they were pregnant (the bucks had got out one day). So we decided just to wait and see. Saturday morning, Joe went out to do the chores. He came rushing back in and let me know Cocoa had babies. We were happy she had them Friday overnight instead of Thursday overnight since we had our first snow on Thursday night and into Friday. Good timing, Cocoa!
Cocoa had two little boys. The picture above is when they are about a day and a half old. So cute! Cocoa is a happy mama. Sunday morning, it was obvious that our little Caliente was also preparing to have babies. Around 10AM I went out and checked on her. At that point she was still walking around and eating but would stop every once in a while to curl up her lip and moan. Shortly after noon she’d had three little babes. Other than wiping the nose of number three shortly after she came out, we were not involved in this birth either. Caliente did great.
We’ve separated the mama’s from the rest of the herd. Usually all of the girls live together in one pen (the boys have their own pen on the other side of the chicken yard). Right now, we have goats everywhere! Cocoa and her boys are in the garage. We moved the Goat Tractor in there and put down an old piece of carpet since the garage floor is dirt. Caliente and her three are in a small shed that we brood chicks in. It is not very big (4 x 8) but they seem to be comfortable in there. We’ll move Cocoa and the boys back to the girl pen in a day or two. Then we’ll put Caliente and her babes in the garage for a day or two days until we put them back in with the girls.
It was an exciting weekend! Also on Sunday, Joe’s parents came to stay for a few days. Joe’s dad came for an antelope hunt here. It was also his birthday on Sunday so we are able to celebrate with him. I believe they’ll be staying until Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how the hunting goes. We’re expecting snow again late in the week. We’ll be eating beets this week that we pulled from the garden. We planted two types and one doesn’t seem like it will store as well as the other. Note to self: Plant the round beets for storage not the cylindrical ones.
Menu Plan
Sunday- Out for birthday dinner
Monday- Fried elk heart, potatoes (from our garden), sauteed Swiss chard (from our garden), broccoli and sourdough bread
Tuesday- Lentil Soup and Beef Stew (both leftover), sourdough bread
Wednesday- Antelope steaks, beet patties (beets from the garden), sauteed Swiss chard (from our garden)
Thursday- Salmon patties, mashed turnip and beets
Friday- Meatball soup, cornbread
Saturday- Cholent (crock-pot)
What’s on your menu this week?