Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Babies



Everyone is still doing very well. I am relieved that Amelia is doing wonderfully even with that long labor. Her babies are VERY lively and want to be out in the pasture to play. Not yet little guys!



Ella is still plump as ever, so we are still waiting... Her last four kiddings she goes along just like normal and then about 12 hours before her labor her udder fills up. We are keeping a close watch!


I did manage to update all the goat and sheep pages on our website. I hope to get new posed shots of our 2008 does and ewes soon, but that will have to wait.

Ada Claire
Two days old

Caddy Turveydrop
Two days old

Brooke
Two days old

Dot
Two days old

Amelia
Relaxed with lambs

Dot
Two days old

Dot
Two days old

Brooke
Two days old

Parsley
Enjoying her lunch

Aravis with her 18 day old lambs
and
her two ewe lambs from 2008

Drowsy Waters Farm

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Amelia and Co.

Poor Amelia. We knew that after several hours and a concerning amount of blood that something had seriously gone wrong. Unfortunately #1 was lost. It looked like somehow his oxygen source had been cut off and he was MASSIVE which probably explains the long labor. About an hour later, with comparable ease, she delivered an adorable ewe and ram lamb.

All though all seem a bit tired, Dorothy and Brooke have full tummies and Mom is getting a well deserved rest!

Way to go Amelia! Triplets your first lambing and extremely good sized. I'm just sorry she lost her first lamb. Poor girl.

Brooke Burgess
Half hour after birth #3 of triplets
7 lbs

Dorothy (Dot) Stanbury
Half hour after birth #2 of triplets
8 1/2 lbs

Dot

Brooke

Drowsy Waters Farm

A Busy Day...Begun


At about 6 I hurried down to the barn to check on Amelia, who I'd penned up last night. She was having small, erratic contractions and pawing so I figured lambs should be coming soon!


At about 7 I went back down and started regular chores. Amelia seemed about the same. When I got to Penny's pen I got her up (she was still a little sleepy looking) and fed her. She'd obviously dropped her kids during the night. Within about five minutes of she'd broken her water and it didn't take long until she was in serious labor. By 8:30 I could see the first hoof and within minutes she'd delivered the first one, a spotty doe! Without getting up or turning around number two came out! A lovely brown doe that looks like mom. By 9 we were all cleaned up and the babies at the house!

Amelia continues to have erratic contractions, but I certainly hope she'll deliver before the afternoon. Poor girl!
Penny's Twins
1 hour old after first feeding!

Ada Clare - 6 lbs
Caddy Turveydrop - 7 lbs

Caddy, the spotty gal

And Caddy and Ada again.

Drowsy Waters Farm

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Growing...

Everything is still peaceful here with no new babies. I'm thinking Amelia will lamb tomorrow (I have been wrong before:). Everyone is growing- lambs, kids and pregnant mommies!




I was all set to get lovely pictures of Aravis' twins in the sunshine yesterday, but I ran out of time...little did I know that it today it would be snowing!
I thought I'd post anyways with their 14 day weights and some snowy pictures. I've been pleased at how well they have been growing. I'll get pictures of them frisking in the sunshine another day.


"Looks might cold out there brother!"
"Maybe we should play inside today."

Aravis Twins at two weeks old
Mr. Noddy Boffin 18lbs
Mr. Venus 20lbs

Sophie
Enjoying Breakfast

Gwen, Sophie, Virginia, and Sally
All growing as well....taller (most of the time:)

Penny
A ticking time bomb!

Penny
Look at that sweet look!

Mr. Noddy Boffin

Mr. Noddy Boffin
and
Auntie Amelia (also a ticking time bomb!)

Joash
Five weeks old

Joash
No longer content with just 4 lbs of milk a day!


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

No More Babies Yet

Penny on her due date, still acting very peaceful.Joash hits one month old at 20 lbs Amelia, very large with lambs!
Rue grazing peacefully Aravis and lambs enjoy play time
Mr. Venus
Mr. Noddy Boffin
Mr. Noddy Boffin
"This straw is good stuff!"
And Mr. Noddy Boffin again.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Lambs! Mr. Venus and Mr. Noddy Boffin Are Born


One day before schedule, just like last year, Aravis lambed with very handsome twin rams. They are extremely playful and energetic so it was a little hard to get good pictures of them.



They were born early morning January 12th and Aravis is already convinced that it is time to be back out in pasture. For now she’ll have to be content with playtime in front of the barn.

These are lambs from the same breeding we did last year which produced Parsley, Harry, and Rue.

Lambing and kidding season has officially begun!
Bethany

Drowsy Waters Farm



Hungry babies!

Mr. Venus, still floppy eared

Raising Bottle Babies ~ Thoughts and Ramblings

There is a lot of debate in the goat world. One of the hot topics when you get breeders talking is bottle babies vs. doe raised kids. There a lot of good points on both sides. I think there is a place for both with dairy does and meat does.

I certainly see a place for having does raise their kids. I’ve done it myself! However, I do not think better health or faster growth is necessarily a good argument in it’s favor.
Of course deciding to raise kids on the bottle does require commitment and research. Several factors can effect health and growth.

Although I’m going into my 10th kidding season, I’m still learning along the way. J Please, if you have your own ideas or advice for bottle raising or mom raising kids, comment!

~Birth~

To reduce stress on mom and baby make sure that they are separated as soon as possible. Be sure to get colostrom in your kid within hours. This can make a huge difference in his vigor later on and can be the difference between life and death if your kid is cold.

Iodine your kid’s cord and make sure he is dry.

We give a sub-q shot of Bova Sera (5 cc) or Goat Serum (12 cc) as soon as possible after birth along with A&D and Bo-Se.

Feed your kid in frequent, regular feedings. Be sure that they are warm and dry. Mama would know when to nudge them if they sit to long to eat and to warm up.

~Environment~

A huge factor for good growth and health is the control of parasites. Babies have sensitive stomachs and wormers can actually weaken them making it considerable easier for parasites to set up a new home.

Parasites, besides waste of food and slow growth, will compromise your kids and make them susceptible for sickness and disease.

The best way to conquer this dilemma is to have a clean, dry pen and be very careful to keep crunchables off the floor.

Another reason in favor of kidding in the winter is those cold days will kill off or at least keep those parasites in hiding. If you live in a damp area be very careful in during late spring or summer kiddings. Parasites and bugs will be rampant.

~Feeding~

Some of knowing when and what to feed comes with experience. I do not like to set a exact amount because some kids will need more then others.
Because of the dangers of Enterotoxaemia I try to feed just until they are half hearted about eating, but will still eat more.

By 1 month of age my babies are normally drinking 3-5 cups twice a day. Because of schedule by two weeks I change to twice a day feedings. The more little feedings you can do, the better. By two months my babies are drinking 9 cups a day in two separate feedings.

I firmly believe that grain is a huge part of the problems with Enterotoxaemia and other related issues in kids. I do not feed grain to my babies. They normally do not learn about grain until they get close to breeding age, unless it is used as a little, occasional treat.

By babies get milk, free choice 2nd or 3rd (sometimes 4th…but that’s a little spendy!) cutting alfalfa, and water at all times. This has worked wonderfully for our kids.

I think the milk feeding stage of babies is very important. I feed my wethers 2-4 months on the bottle, bucks 4-6, and does 4-8. I normally taper off very gradually and add water to the milk so it ends up being the kid deciding he’s done instead of me. I find this much less stressful on them. I do not add any water to milk for the first two months and then do so gradually. Watered milk can have very bad effects on kids digestive tracks. Do not try to stretch that milk!

I do not really recommend milk replacer. Use real raw CAE free goat milk when ever you can. (If you have a heavy milking season, freeze some milk. Frozen milk is better then pasteurized or powdered.)

If you do have to use milk replacer try to find a brand that is really dried GOATS milk. Never use cow or all-purpose milk replacer.
Hoegger does have an excellent milk replacer, but the original cost is high and with shipping added can be fare beyond budget. Of the several milk replacers we’ve used, this has been the best. In a pinch I even was able to switch twin two month old does on it quickly with no digestive upset. I’ve kept some on hand the last several years just in case, since there are, of course those times when you find yourself with no milk!

We have used a sheep/goat milk replacer once, and although the babies didn’t get huge, they were healthy. Remember when feeding this type of replacer to have copper available to the kids. Because of a lambs intolerance of it, they won’t get it in the milk replacer and it can effect a kids growth considerably.

As fare as feeding cold milk to slow down consumption…I do not believe this is a good method at all. If your kid is eating to fast, put smaller holes in your nipples, do not feed cold milk. This can cause scours which can lead to dehydration which is one of the number one threats to kids. I just stay away from this practice, but I have seen perfectly healthy, happy kids who are on cold milk.
Keep in mind that this is one of the most important times for your babies. These kids want regain ground they lose during bottle feeding very well and will rarely get a second growth spurt!

~Other Notes~

We disbud with an iron between 7-14 days. Be sure you give your CD&T before! We spray Blue Coat after burning to keep out infection.

After first injection of CD&T we repeat every two weeks until two months of age. Then every month.

Four weeks before weaning, instead of CD&T we give Convexen 8 and repeat after weaning.
We repeat Bo-Se and A&D injections at two weeks and four months.

Be careful to keep Cossidioses at bay with bottle kids. There are several methods of doing this but is best to talk to a breeder in your area to get advice. I use a kid version of Di Mithox and sometimes Corid both of which have been highly effective. A preventative measure in kids will help fortify them for life and once Cossidioses is a real problem it is very hard to treat.

Happy Kid Raising!

Feeding and playing with your babies is rewarding and fun! Enjoy it!

~A Note on Lamb Raising~

I have successfully raised a wonderful ewe on goat milk. We did not feed extra copper (we only gave Mulmeg block) to the goat we used the milk off of. This ewe was are most successful bottle raised lamb. This seemed to work better then the milk replacers we’ve tried, but I have not researched sheep replacers very well. I’d welcome suggestions.



Thank you for reading! I hope this was helpful!
Bethany

Drowsy Waters Farm

Friday, January 9, 2009

Aravis and her Triplets

Today, Aravis' triplets turn one year old! Aravis herself will be three in a few weeks. Parsley and Rue are one month pregnant and Harry will go in the freezer soon.

Pictured to the above, Aravis with her "babies" in July 2008.


Aravis at three weeks

Aravis at 2 years

Aravis at 2 years

Louis at 5 years
These lambs are double Louis and show his excellent genetics.
Our line breeding has produced some excellent young ewes.

Louis 4 years

Parsley and Harry
3 weeks

Harry at 3 weeks


Parsley at 3 weeks

Harry at 5 months

Rue at 5 months

Parsley at 6 months

Parsley at 7 months

Rue as a yearling