R.I.P. Princess

We lost our beloved Nubian doe Princess this past Sunday night. After laboring too long with no progress, her babies were pulled (both dead), and she later died that night.

It was such a horrible experience that she went through, and I have decided that we will no longer be breeding the goats. There is nothing in the world cuter than a newborn kid, but the trauma they go through at times like this is not worth it.

My handy husband did a wonderful job assisting our neighbor, Farmer James, in pulling the babies. We knew they'd be dead on arrival, and our main concern was saving Princess. Our efforts were fruitless. I believe it was all just too much for her. She died during the night, surrounded by her herd that she watched over and protected all these years.

Belated Baby Face/Critter of the Week

I am running behind this week so I'm combining Baby Face Tuesday with Critter of the Week and posting them both a day late.

This week we're honoring Lucky, our purebred Nubian doe, born February 8th, 2009. Lucky was the only surviving kid out of triplets. Her mother, Princess, had difficulty birthing due to the first kid being mal-presented. All three kids were pulled, but only the tiniest one of the three, Lucky, was alive. She weighed a mere 4 1/2 pounds.

Due to the traumatic birth, Princess rejected Lucky, and raising her became our responsibility.

She was such a joy to care for!

With it being early February, and having no mother to snuggle with in the cold, Lucky spent the first weeks of her life living in the house with us. We would take her outside on nice days as often as we could so she could socialize with the other goats.

Having a goat in the house sure was a fun experience and she gave us SO many photo ops!

Here's a video of one of Lucky's romps with her half-brother Willy:

But as the weather became milder and she grew more self-sufficient, her time spent outdoors with the herd became more frequent and for longer lengths of time, until she was no longer coming inside at all.

Here she is, above, at four months old, and below, here she is now (sorry about the bad picture quality- my camera thought I was taking pictures of the thorny twig, instead of the goats!).

Critter of the Week: Princess

This week we honor Princess, our purebred spotted Nubian doe born in 2006. We acquired Princess and her half-sister, Dolly, as kids still on the bottle. They were our very first venture into the world of goats. Having Princess and Dolly was such a wonderful experience! We could spend HOURS just watching them run, jump and play. Even watching them sleep brought a smile to my face:

They soon grew into sleek and dainty little ladies:

Princess turned out to be a superb mother and milker. After having a difficult first birth, in which only one of her triplets survived, her second birth went quick and smooth, producing very colorful twins:

We look forward to this coming spring, when Princess is due to kid once again. She is also going to become a grandma this year!