Udder Update

I am pretty please with all three does' udders and milk production, and yesterday I took some pictures.  We milk twice a day and weigh each doe's milk individually, so we know what they are producing.  Once our machine milker gets here (I have really bad hands/wrists, and with soon to be 4 in milk, my hands are dying milking them all), I may pour off each doe separately to be weighed, or may do it all together, by my husband will continue hand milking at least a couple times a week, so we know who is doing what still.

Amber freshened first, and was doing at least 2lbs per day (there are about 8 lbs in a gallon, so about a quart/day) from the start.  Yesterday, she did 3lbs in a 24hr period (2 milkings)!

Here is her udder at 14 hours in milk, 2 weeks fresh yesterday morning:

And yesterday evening, about 10hours milk, 2 weeks fresh (so the next milking):

Peekaboo kidded two days after Amber, and her production this year is surpassing what she did last year (this is her 4th freshening).  She started out at just under 2lbs/day, and by 3 days fresh was over 2lbs/day.  Now she is at about 2.75lbs/day.  Her teats are good sized, have nice open orifices, and great udder texture making her quite nice to milk.

Here she is yesterday morning, 13 days fresh, 14hours milk:

Peekaboo last night (the next milking), 13 days fresh, 10 hours milk:

Lindy freshened on 3/10, with a single buckling for her first freshening.  I am very, very impressed with FF udder!  I had read/heard so much about tiny udders and very little milk from first fresheners, that I wasn't expecting much.  She sure has surprised me!  By 2 days fresh, she was giving over 2lbs/day, and is now giving about 2.5lbs/day.  She is by far my most easily milked doe, with great teat placement, large teats, wide open orifices and great texture!  I am so excited to see how the rest of her lactation goes, and to see what she does next year in her second freshening!

Lindy however, does not like to pose nicely for pictures, but this should give a good idea at least. Here she is at 11 days fresh, 14 hours milk (please ignore the bad trim job):

This is the next milking, 11 days fresh, 10 hours in milk.  The pictures are a bit blurry, but show the overall shape of her udder.

Alibi is not due until 4/8/2012, so we are expecting babies sometime after 4/4 (all the other delivered 3-4 days before their due date).  Her udder is coming along as well.

Available Bucklings

We have two buckling available. They have been disbudded and will be tattoo'd and get their CDT sometime this week.  They should be ready to go to their new homes after the weekend.

Amber's boy is cream and white with blue eyes.

Peekaboo's boy is also cream and white (he also has some black on his legs), with a moonspot under his eye and brown eyes.

I wish baby goats were easier to stage for good pictures!  If you are interested in one or both of our boys, you are welcome to come visit them.

Peekaboo's Twins-3/9/2012

Peekaboo kidded twins at 3am March 9th.  It was a long night waiting her out, but we did it and the birth went well.  The buckling was first, at 5lbs 3oz; he was a big guy!  Doeling followed a few minutes later at 4lbs 2oz.  Both are doing very well, and are hanging out with the other kids in the kid pen.  Everyone is getting the hang of the bottle and moms are recovering well.

Here is the buckling (Brown eyes) (1st picture is last night, and hour after birth; the rest are from today):

And doeling (blue eyes) (again, 1st picture from one hour after birth, the rest are from today)

The doeling will probably be retained, the buckling is available.

Triplets from Amber!

Amber's triplets were born last night between 6:30 and 7pm.  The births all went very smoothly, Amber is doing great and the babies are healthy and adorable!  She had 2 doelings and 1 buckling.  One doeling will be retained, and one will available for purchase (we will decide which we are retaining in the next few days), and the buckling will be available as well. See pictures and weights below.

Amber, 30 minutes prior to kidding:

1st born: DOELING 2lbs 9oz (Brown eyes)

 2nd born: DOELING, 3lbs 3oz (Blue Eyes)

3rd born: BUCKLING, 3lbs 9oz (Blue eyes)(available)

Group shots (the buckling is the lightest one; it's iodine from their navel dipping that you can see on the towels)

Girls Photo Update

I went out and took some pictures of the girls today, to show their progress.  They are doing well and getting big!

First up, Lindy!  Lindy is due either 2/29, or 3/4-3/16.  At this point...your guess is as good as mine.  Her udder is coming along nicely for a first freshener, but her ligaments are still really firm, so she may have a while yet.  i think she will have one, but could surprise us with two (she just isn't very wide).

Next up is Amber, who is due 3/4-3/16.  She is getting quite big; I am starting to wonder if she will give us triplets?  Her ligaments are softening and her udder is coming along really nicely.  It would not surprise me if she goes in the next couple days (a few days early is common with Nigerian Dwarfs).

Next is Peekaboo, also due between 3/4-3/16.  Her udder is looking good, ligs are a bit soft.  She looks about like she did last year with twins, so we are guessing two from her this time too. (Sorry for the one pooping pictures, however it shows her udder better than the others I took).

Finally, Ali.  Ali is due either 3-4-3/16, or 4/8.  We have felt kicking baby(ies) and she is getting a nice little udder.  She does still have a ways to go yet, so I am thinking either the end of the March window, or her April date.  No guess yet on how many.

And that's the RainySunday Ranch photo update for today!  Maybe babies soon!

2012 Babies

We have all four does kidding this year between 2/29-4/8 (could a bit early, or a bit late of that range, or course).  All kids will be registered/registerable with AGS and ADGA.  All bucklings will be sold (we have our bucks for now), and depending on how many doelings are born, there may be doelings available as well.  We retain the right to retain any kids from any/all breedings.  All kids will be pulled at birth and bottle-raised, so we have bottle babies available for purchase.

We are taking free reservations before kids are born.  You can put your name down for a specific breeding and gender, or ask to be on the general list.  Once kids are born, the first name on the list for each breeding will be notified and we will continue on down the list until all available kids are spoken for.  After the kids are born, there is a non-refundable deposit ($50 for bucklings, $75 for doelings) due within one week of the agreement (ie, we tell you there is a buckling available, show pictures, you say you want him, you have one week to get us the deposit and contract before he will be offered to someone else).

Bucklings will be $150, if you want them registered, they will be $175.
Doelings will be $250 and will all be registered.

As we are raising them as bottle babies this year, kids will be ready for their new homes once they are well-started on the bottle at 1-2 weeks old.  All kids will be tattooed, and boys can be brought back at 8-12 weeks old to be wethered if you do not want an intact male.  All kids go home with an information packet and  my email and phone if you have any questions.

See each doe's "Meet..." for pictures and more info on the doe, as well as "Meet Sunday" for more info on our buck.

Email me at rainysundayranch (at) gmail (dot) com for questions, or to be put on a reservation list.

Meet Sunday

Sunday is the buck we purchased last year as a buckling from a nearby farm (Rockstar Ranch).  He is an awesome buck!  Great personality, good dairy character, and amazing genetics!  The picture is from last summer, so he is considerably bigger, more manly and much smellier now (which is part of why there aren't any more current pictures.  The other reason is it is wet and gross here in the PNW this time of year.), but it still gives a good of idea of his overall structure, my bad picture taking aside.

Sunday is the sire of all our babies due this spring.  Next year, he will have to share the breeding honors with our other young buck, Hopscotch.  Sunday's registration paperwork is currently sitting in the inbox over at AGS, so hopefully he will be truly official soon.  His registered name will be: Rockstar Ranch Sunday Stroll. EDIT:  Sunday's registration is now in hand and he is officially registered with AGS.

Here is his pedigree (links are to pictures on other websites, I did not take the pictures, that is why I have directed you off-site to view them):

Sire: Old Mountain Farm Frankincense
       Sire's Sire: Old Mountain Farm Mithra
       Sire's Dam: 2M* AR Old Mountain Farm Nilam Bukit 7*D AR 2374
Dam: Prairie Wood Chantilly
       Dams's Sire: MCH/CH Flying Goat Jazzy Blues *S E (third picture down on this page)
       Dam's Dam: MK Abiah OB (the dam photo on this page)


Like I said, amazing udders and awesome genetics!  Super excited for these babies!

Peekaboo 2012

Peekaboo (Northern Fork Bog Peekaboo) was introduced last year when we brought her home.  She was purchased bred and kidded twin bucklings for us on Memorial Day 2011.  This year, she is bred to our buck, Sunday, and is due between March 4-16, 2012, but if she goes less than 150 days, we could be looking at 2/29.  Last year she had great udder texture, but didn't stay in milk as long as I would like, so I am excited to see if she improves this year.  She looks/feels about like she did last year, so I am hoping for at least twins again from her.  Here is her pedigree again (she is ADGA registered):


Sire: AGS MBF Kimbers Buck O Gunner
       Sire's Sire: AGS Woodhaven Farms Buck Owens
       Sire's Dam: AGS MBF Kimber
Dam: Frasers Eclipse
       Dam's Sire: AGS Tupence Matrix
       Dam's Dam: AGS Foxmeadows Luna


Last Year's Udder:

Funny Face:

*I have no idea why this is formating weird, but I can't fix it, so, at least you can read it.  Ugh, technology.