The Barnyard Bunch

The kids (goat kids) have grown a lot. Today is a rainy day, so the kids stayed in-doors (or rather, in-stall). I got some pictures of them anyway, and they were just as playful as ever!

Buckwheat, Ellie and Spring, all posing in a line (one of the triplets got out of the line, I guess!)

Daisy and Ruger, with Daisy showing some sisterly affection

Ellie, as independent as ever

Ellie and Spring

Buckwheat, climbing on the stall door (his eyes aren’t really that blue!)

Daisy, Remington, Ruger and Ellie

Clockwise, from left: Remington, Ruger, Daisy and Ellie (this photo was taken at a very strange angle, so tilting your head may not help!)

Spring (isn’t she cute!)

Buckwheat (doesn't he look chubby?)

Smile, Buckwheat!

Ruger and Ellie (probably lamenting the fact that there is no hay left in the hay feeder since they ate it all!)

Buckwheat, Remington (laying down), Daisy, Spring and Ellie. Buckwheat, Daisy and Ellie seem to be wondering “Where’d all the hay go?”

“Could you give us more hay please?”

Since there wasn’t any more hay, Buckwheat and Spring decided to plunder the grain feeder while Ellie stood on guard.

When the grain feeder was sufficiently empty, Ruger, Remington and Buckwheat curled up for a nap.

See you at feeding time, kids! And that’s it for now with the small goats…

The big goats are all doing well. Showgirl and Wales are doing well…

Touché is, too.

While Tatty, on the other hand, has a very different personality. She is a very friendly goat (most of the time). She also likes posing for pictures!

Smile!

She likes being close to people…

She also is very spunky and sometimes stubborn…

But she is very remorseful!

But only when she is caught, because she always gets put back inside the fence!

Meggy is a very good goat.

Tatty is too!

Then there’s Poquito, always willing to pose for a photo.

Well, that's all from Green Gambrels for now. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Spring is here!

And so is Buckwheat, Ruger, Remington, Daisy and Lady Eleanor (Ellie for short). In case you're wondering who these names belong to, they belong to a batch of kids! Goat kids, of course.

We stayed up in Maine in April from the 3rd to the 13th. Three out of Arielle's five goats were pregnant. Two of them were due on Thursday the 9th, and one of them was due on Saturday the 11th.

Touche was due on Thursday, and she was very much on schedule! Arielle and Mrs. H assisted her, and she had a varied audience; from grandparents to a 3-month old!
Touche had Buckwheat and Spring, a buck and a due. Both of them are very fluffy! Buckwheat is more of a cuddler, while Spring certainly lives up to her name. She is one of the most energetic and adventurous kids.

Buckwheat soon after his arrival:

He has such a pink nose!
Spring just after her arrival:
Touche was a very good mamma goat, and licked off both her kids until they were both fluffed up.
Wales and Showgirl both had their kids on Saturday. The H's were using three stalls in the barn for the goats; Touche and her kids were in one stall, Tatty and Meggy (the two goats that weren't pregnant) were in another stall, and Wales and Showgirl were in the same stall.

Wales had her babies first. She had triplets!

Ruger was the first one. He was about the funniest looking kid that we or the H's had ever seen! He was weighed in at about 13 pounds, setting the record for the largest kid in their herd.

Daisy came next, and she was, in contrast, the smallest kid in this year's batch!

And then came Remington, who was a medium size kid.

And little while after the triplets were born, Ellie arrived! She is a really pretty little goat. She has a very independent personality, so we call her 'Independent Ellie' .

Arielle uses the goat milk for her soap (and the H's use it for drinking, cooking etc.) so the kids didn't nurse from their mothers for very long. The kids were separated from their mothers a day or two after birth. They still drank the milk from their mothers via bottle feeding. Bottle feeding gets the kids used to being around people, making them friendly, and they also follow people, so we can take them on walks!
For the first few days the kids got fed every 4 hours, with the amount of milk slowly being increased. Now the kids get fed 4 times a day, but soon it'll be shortened to 3 times.

Buckwheat and Spring:
The kids snuggling and sleeping...
Ruger and Daisy...

Up and about!
More playing, with Spring about to make a leap!
There will probably be more photos of the baby goats in the future, so keep checking back! :o)