New kid!

Maggie had a little doeling born yesterday. She was due on Thursday, but I wasn't even exactly sure she was pregnant.
Maggie was doing lots of talking and hanging out in the barn when I was doing chores yesterday morning, so I figured she was in early stages of labor. I spent the morning working in the barn so I could check on her frequently. By 1:30 she was getting very insistant that I stay in the barn with her, so I decided to hang out there as she was beginning to have a discharge.
Arlo and Rosie thought it was great that I was sitting in the barn petting them. Arlo is Maggie's first son so he was slightly concerned about her as well.
Around 2:30 Maggie finally starting having laying-down contractions. Usually once this happens there are babies born within an hour. By 3:30 still nothing. I'm starting to get slightly concerned although she hasn't been working too hard at it. I call Claire, as she is the closest most available person, just in case I should need some help.
In the next 1/2 hour Maggie has 6 hard contractions, still not any feet or nose visible. I call Claire and she heads over.
By 5:00 I decide I better check what's going on inside. I reach in to find a couple little hooves and a nose - WHEW - the baby's in the correct position! But it is very tight inside so the kid is stuck. I grab the feet and start pulling as Maggie pushes. The feet and legs appear and then the nose, but it is so tight! I have to really work and pull - Poor Maggie - it hurts so much. But Claire is holding her head to help with calming and give resistance. I keep praying to get the kid out alive. There is a nose and a little moving tongue - finally the head pops out and there she is a LIVE kid!!! She is a cute little brown thing that is hungry immediately.

This is the second time Maggie has had a difficult birth (the first was Arlo and two siblings). She is hard to get bred - she was 4 years old when Arlo was born, but she is an excellent milker. She milked for three years. Therefore I've decided to milk her as long as possible this time and then retire her from breeding. At that point she will be 10 years old, will have given me Arlo and a nice daughter - that is enough. Maggie by the way was also a bottle baby. Isabelle, her mother, decided she could only handle one and gave Maggie to me.

I'll get pictures today.

Baby chicks

The third batch of baby chicks arrived on Monday morning. Now that Denver is allowing people to own some backyard chicks, I've been selling month old pullets like crazy. Could probably sell all I have except then that would defeat my purpose of keeping more laying hens for more eggs to sell.
However, I'm considering ordering one more batch of chicks for August. So if you live in the area and have been considering backyard chickens and would be interested in 4 or 5 let me know ASAP so I can order them. This late in the season the variety of breeds is not as large, however I should be able to get 2 or 3 different heavy heritage breed, brown egg layers.

Solar and Lunar eclipses

In ancient times solar or lunar eclipses and full moons were thought to be times of great power. Now days most of us don't even think twice about them except emergency rooms often prepare for extra people and veternarians prepare for more animal emergencies.
We've been hit with a triple dose this month. If you weren't keeping track there was a partial solar eclipse on June 1, a full lunar eclipse AND full moon on June 15 and this week another solar eclipse on July 1st. Have things been a bit off for you lately? It's been bazaar around here particularly with the goats.

Kid goats, green pastures....ahhhhh

Kids and kittens

Their names are Sapphire, Galena, Topaz and Ruby. They were born on April 24 and the mom, Midnight, brought them out from their nest under the tool box on Memorial Day weekend. There are two gray ones and two black ones, and I think a maleand a female of each color.

Kittens!

More baby pictures

It's fun to eat hay of the sheep.

Flower in a bucket

Rosie in a bucket - can you tell the kids like buckets :)

Baby Belle with the newborn Flower. She's a wonderful mother.