3/29/10

Baby Update

Having almost shut down the day after they were born
Dodger's babies are doing much better.
They're nursing on their own now
so Barb doesn't have to tube-feed them
and they're both gaining weight.
Loki and Dancer (as we're calling them now, though their prospective new owner might rename them) enjoy their romps outside the kidding pen
exploring
and venturing outside of the barn for the first time -- in their handsome new collars.
Loki and Alba check each other out.
Loki is the stronger and more active of the two.
Dancer is less steady on her feet and tends to tire quickly, perhaps still recovering from her breech birth.
We're keeping a close eye on her and hoping for normal development.
Across the barn, the popcorns (as we call Luna, Crema and Rosa for reasons clear to anyone who has watched kernals jumping all over the place) are sticking very close to Mom.
They have the climbing instincts of true Alpines, and Mom is the highest peak available.
If one claims to be Queen of the Mountain
the others have to pile on, too.
Alba exhibits enormous patience
and dreams of the day when they'll all go off to college.
After a hard day's climbing
it's time for a nap.
March 28 was hard on everyone except Dancer -- it was "disbudding" day.
To keep the goats from hurting each other and themselves, Barb applied a red-hot iron to their emerging horns.
The babies objected strenuously during the process, but recovered quickly and now compare foreheads to see who looks the silliest (at least until their hair grows back).
Outside the barn, the last vestiges of winter are vanishing.
Seasonal streams that drain into the back pond are flowing again.
There are still pockets of snow in the woods
but dogwood is turning red
and the new moss growth provides some initial green.
There's still a bit of ice on nearby Spring Lake
but the front pond is completely open.  We're hoping for a family of geese this year.
With the early disappearance of the snow pack, the dry recent weather, and the spring winds, it's the season for grass fires.  We've taken away Niblet's Marlboros and Bic lighter.
The gentlemen are delighted to get outside of their pen again.
Mr. T shows off his gorgeous physique
and loves to rub his head against anything that stands still.
Niblet threatens to ascend Mount Compost
and has renewed his love/hate relationship with Dream.
They chase each other along the perimeter of the does' pen and butt heads through the fencing.
They're all looking forward to a greatly expanded enclosure in the meadow this summer where they can browse and caper about with abandon.