Spring surprise!

We've been out of goat minerals for a week because the feed mill somehow received medicated minerals, which I do not use. So, they had to be sent back and re-ordered. Jonathan picked them up today, and during evening chores, I decided to refill the mineral feeders. I walked into the dairy stall and nearly kicked a little kid as it scampered in front of me. What? A kid? Whose kid is that?

This is why I don't like pen breeding! I like to have a due date, so I know that somewhere within a one-week window, a goat will give birth. Athena had been with Draco last fall for a month, and was due anytime after April 16. Apparently she came into heat within a day or two of being put into the stall with Draco, because this would have been 146 days after her month-long romance started.

But anyway, back to the kid -- it's another doe! And she is really flashy. My camera is dieing a slow, painful death. Most of the pictures are blurry, and although these pictures look like she is black and white, some of those spots are dark brown. She was fluffy and had a full tummy when I found her. Athena has taken to mothering like a pro, which should not surprise me, because she is the granddaughter of the first goat I ever bought. Star could have easily won mother of the year, and is now enjoying a well-earned retirement at the age of 11. The only problem is that the little doe is missing a piece of skin on the top of her head. It's about the size of a dime and looks like the skin just peeled off this one spot. I can't figure out how it could have happened, and I hope it doesn't get infected. I'm glad everything else worked out fine though. It was in the 80s today, so there was no danger of hypothermia, which is unusual. We almost lost a kid to hypothermia in early May one year.

I am never happy about how many bucks we have, but now that we're in the midst of our second doe year in eight years, I am starting to think that too many does is not a good thing either, especially when they are all so cute! I need to practice . . . I will not keep any more does, I will not keep any more does, I will not . . .