April Fools Day, Charlotte?

Charlotte is getting even closer! Her udder has filled up, her stomach has dropped, her vulva is becoming swollen, and she's getting much softer and loose back there...all the signs seem to be showing. Wouldn't it be hilarious if she kidded on April Fools Day? To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised! :)

Charlotte Showing Signs

Charlotte's udder is finally forming! Looks like we'll probably have an April baby(s) from her...I hope this one lives. I just try not to think about how many babies we've lost...it's just too heartbreaking. I'm praying that we will have NO more deaths, and that all the other babies we have this year of 2010 will be healthy and strong.

Annaliese Showing Signs

 Annaliese's stomach looks like it has dropped significantly since yesterday...we could have a baby from her any day now. Praying that this one will be healthy and strong. 

Udderly Fantastic :)

Great news! We have another line-up of mothers who are going to kid within the next month or so! Annaliese, Katrina, Essie, and possibly Gennavieve are all starting to show their udders, which means they could have a baby(s) within 30 days. Annaliese and Gennavieve however will be first-timers, of which normally start showing their udders sometimes 1-2 months before the actual day of birth. But Essie FOR SURE will be having babies in March. And I'm saying babies because this is her second kidding and also because she's just plain huge...there's probably twins in there! I'm so excited right now! The possible amount of babies we could have from all of them together is around 8 babies (that's if Essie has four...which is highly unlikely, and if Katty has two...which is not unlikely). The lowest amount of babies would be four. And that is perfectly fine with me as having four babies at a time is already a handful! But it's worth it. :)

I'm still very unsure about Charlotte and Gracie. They are not showing udders. However I still think they have to be pregnant, because we've had them both for about a year now...they're bound to have a baby(s) in there somewhere. If not that's fine too. But I'm not going to fully discard them as not being eligible to kid in March. They could just be really slow on showing us their udders! :)

Things Are Clearing Up...

I think I've figured her out. So I guess I could say, Eureka! Anyway, since this morning I was beginning to think that Cassidy might be having some complications. A couple nights ago, as you know, it looked like she was pushing and there was some "sack-like" thing visible. Of course, our first response is..."Go get the birthing kit! They're coming tonight!". But, surprise, she didn't have them (and she still hasn't by the way, I guess that string we saw last night was just more regulare discharge). As you also know, Cassidy is just plain strange when it comes to kidding...she does nothing like our other does do. So, I decided that that sack-like thing we're seeing, is probably the placenta - also known as water bag. That's all it can be, otherwise...she would be having them right now! I've also noticed that when she rears up on the fence with her two front legs, I feel for her ligaments, but I can't. The reason is there is some body there that's just waiting to come out. It feels like the head of one of them to me. So that just means that she will probably have them before the weekend comes and Lord willing it will be a safe birth with healthy little ones born. :) :) :)...

CAN NOT FIGURE HER OUT

I can't figure that goat out...after 2-3 weeks she still has not had any babies! It's beginning to get a little frustrating. All the signs I've seen in her I've seen in our other does that are just about to kid...only she's sooo much slower. Last night it looked as if she was pushing. There was something there that looked like it was trying to come out. Her ligaments felt completely gone, her udder was huge, her stomach looked low...what more is there? But still, as Cassidy would have it...no babies. I didn't think she would have them last night, I figured she would wait until morning. So when I went down to take care of the goats this morning I thought for sure (although there was some doubt after so many false alarms) I'd see the mucous string along with her having contractions...but no. She was fine. I still left her in the birthing pen and am hoping AND PRAYING that she'll kid today...I'm getting very impatient. :) Please Cassidy...have them. :)

Later on:  Great news! Cassidy looked like she had the mucous string tonight....now I say "looked like" because I'm not %100 possitive after all of these false alarms we've had. But hopefully it was and we'll have some babies tonight or early tomorrow morning. :)

Still No Babies - BUT HOPE

Well, as I'm sure you already know, Cassidy still has not had any babies. I think the strings of goo were just regular discharge that comes when a doe is close to kidding. It does happen a few days before the mothers actually kid sometimes...I guess that explains her. Still, I'm not giving up hope...after seeing her tonight I truly think she might kid tomorrow or Christmas day...wouldn't that be awesome? Here are my reasons...tonight she was lying down on the hay with just such a desperate expression on her face (goats do make expressions by the way!). I could see in her eyes that she was pleading for me to pet her or just to be with her. She did not look like she felt good, her ligaments got even softer and she stretched her belly once again. She also licked me a little on the hand...that's a sign (I think they do that to get their tongue ready to clean the babies when the come). I'm really hoping she'll have them soon, what a great Christmas present that would be!

HAVE YOUR BABIES CASSIDY...PLEASE :)

I can't believe that I'm saying this once again....STILL NO BABIES. Cassidy is one of the hardest does to predict her kidding. However, she's still showing signs. This morning she had a another string of goo - this time it was more yellowish...and yellow goo is a big sign. I think it will happen today, even though I've said that a lot this week. She just didn't look like she felt too good. Please Cassidy...HAVE YOUR BABIES! :)

Getting Really Close :)

Cassidy had a long string of whitish goop this morning...at first I thought it was the mucous plug, but she hasn't kidded yet so I think it was just goo...but that's a HUGE sign. Her udder looks more firm and filled and her bottom is very squishy and long. I put her in the birthing pen and gave her some grain with hay. I really think she's going to kid today - probably tonight. What's also neat is that it snowed about an inch today, so if she has it or them, they'll be born in snow. Can't wait!

Holly Bell And Mr. Hogi Bun

Cassidy is still the same. No babies and really no new signs. I keep thinking that she's going to probably have them next week - maybe even the day of Christmas...wouldn 't that be neat? Then we can name her girl (if she has one) Holly Bell. We picked that name out quite a while back if any of our does ever had a  baby girl around Christmas time. :)

We have a new nick-name for our Hosea now. MR. HOGI BUN. Isn't that cute? Okay, let me explain first. His nick-name I've always called him was Hosi, so Hogi seemed to fit really well. And he's also pretty fat and likes to hog all the grain in the morning, hence Mr. Hogi Bun...because he likes food. Me and my sister love it! He's a cutie and we will all surely miss him when he leaves us in the spring. :(
I love this picture of our summer babies. The way Hosea - excuse me...Mr. Hogi Bun...looks in this photo is almost picture perfect. :)

Hurry Up Cassidy :)

Still watching Cassidy. No babies have come yet...but soon. Within today and the next couple days I think we will have a new addition(s) to our herd of sixteen goats. Her udder is still full - maybe fuller, and her body still looks like it dropped. Last night and this morning I saw her stretching her stomach (that's supposed to get the babies into the right position). I'm getting really tired of waiting, and am VERY eager for this birth to take place...soon!! :) Hurry up Cassidy! :)

Babies Coming Soon ....Today or Tomorrow :)

I just got back from taking care of the goats and I have some news about Cassidy. Her udder I believe is completely full, her stomach has dropped a whole lot, her ligaments are even more noticeably soft, and her whole bottom back there has sunk quite a bit. She had a tiny bit of discharge, not the mucous plug, but I really think that will be coming later on today or tomorrow. What I think is so funny, is that I made a prediction to my sister and said that she would kid on December 15th...wa-lah! I am very close right now as it IS December 15th, and who knows I could be right! :)

I don't think she was feeling all that well either...she's going to kid really soon. I gave our others goats orders to watch out for her, especially her son. Ha, ha, ha. :) I'll post when she kids...yey! :)

More Signs And First Snowfall

It snowed! A day or two ago it finally snowed.  So almost all of our 2009 babies experienced their first snow. Actually really it was a lot of our goats' first snow - it barely snowed last year. The first morning after the snow I went down there, they just looked so confused. Even when I left, they didn't seem to know what to do. "What's this white stuff? It's cold. What are we supposed to eat now?" it was almost as if they were asking. But apparently they figured it out as the snow is still there, and they haven't starved to death - thankfully! :) Cassidy has been showing even more signs lately. A few nights ago I noticed that while she was laying down, her tail would rise, her ears would go up, and it was almost as if she was pushing - like she was having contractions or something. But no babies. And that was a few days ago, and still no babies. She still seems to do it each night, and I'm not sure what it means. Hopefully there's nothing wrong. But you can tell that her body's getting ready for it, because she has been pooping and peeing a lot more as her system is trying to get rid of it all beforehand. Her udder also seems to be more full. I'm hoping that she'll have them really soon, but at the same time I don't know if it would be very safe since it's been FRIGID outside these past couple days. Last nigth it was 7 degrees with a wind-chill of 10 below...no more to be said. But the Lord will allow her to kid in His own time. All we have to do is watch and wait for the big day. :)  Here are some winter pics of our goats in the first snow of the year. :)

~Kidding Close At Hand~

These past couple days I have been closely watching Essie for any signs, and finally! Last night she had a string of discharge that prompted us to put her in our Birthing pen. This morning we woke up, I went down to check on her...no babies...but she still had a string. This string I think was a little different. I'm almost possitive that it's the mucus string, because her ligaments feel like they're either already gone or they're almost gone. Her stomach has dropped and her body looks ready for the big moment! I'm thinking that in just a few hours we might have some new additions to our goat herd!!!!!

~A Glimmer Of Hope~

Essie is getting really close! This morning her udder looked like it had grown more and ever since yesterday morning her body has begun to drop QUITE a bit! That's great news for us! Come on Essie!!!!!!!

Still Waiting

We are still waiting for Essie to show more signs. She has started to act like she's about to have babies in a couple days. It's just so hard to tell...we don't know how she's going to act. I keep waiting to see new babies down there each morning. I'm beginning to become a little impatient...I'm ready for all of our kiddings to be over so we can really start to enjoy all our new babies. :)

Waiting On Essie

Still no babies yet. It could be any day now. This is her first kidding so we really have no idea when it's going to happen or how she's going to act. With Cassidy it almost seemed like a wild goose chase. We thought for sure she'd kid before Valorie...but low and behold...just the opposite. She had her baby 11 days after Val had her's (Val kidded Feb. 10 and Cass kidded Feb 21). We also thought that Cassidy might have her babies even before Velvet had Annaliese and Genevieve (Jan. 3rd)! But boy! We were more than a month ahead of her!!! So Essie could be just the same...we might be waiting for a while! :) :) :)...

~More signs~

Essie is still showing more signs. Her back end keeps getting softer and softer. And I'm not sure, but I thought I could see a little discharge on her earlier today. I'm actually thinking that she could kid any time now. This is the perfect week for it too...there is going to be really nice weather for the beginning of this week. I really hope she has those babies born soon (or baby...we don't know yet). :)

Showing Signs

Essie is showing more signs as the time is nearing. Her bottom is getting much, much more softer and looser. I'm thinking that here in a week or so we will have some new 2009 babies! Hurry up Essie!!! :) :) :)...