Aranel had triplets yesterday evening, just in time for Mother’s Day! Two boys and a girl. Aranel is a Lamancha/Alpine cross, with Lamancha ears. She’d been bred to an Alpine. The little girl came out with Alpine ears and the two little boys have the Lamancha ears. The girl’s name is Juniper and the boys are Hickory and Chicory. They spent the night honeymooning with their mama then we took them away this morning to bottle feed. They took to the bottle right away. I started milking Aranel this morning, and bottled her milk straight away for the babies so they are getting their colostrum milk from her. The reason I took them away, of course, is to milk Aranel, and also to tame the babies, to people and to the bottle. Bottle goat babies are a lot easier to deal with than mama-raised. Mama and triplets are all doing well!
More cow babies to come–still waiting on Dumplin and Blossom!
Happy Mother’s Day from all the mamas and mamas-to-be at Sassafras Farm!
Joell says:
:happyflower:
What a wonderful day to bring new lives into the world, thank you for sharing with us, and Suzanne, Happy Mother’s Day to you.
On May 8, 2016 at 1:24 pm
DeniseS says:
Wow – triplets! Happy Mother’s Day, Suzanne.
On May 8, 2016 at 2:33 pm
connilu says:
Sweet new babies…..and congrats to all. Also Happy Mother’s Day to you, Suzanne. Hope your day is peaceful and satisfying.
On May 8, 2016 at 4:25 pm
Glenda says:
A great Mother’s Day! Bet you never forget their birthdays.
On May 10, 2016 at 5:53 pm
Dana says:
How wondetful but sad. My goats would go insane with losing their babies. Will she be able to spend time with them? Bottle babies are no tamer than babies from moms that are happy to let you play with their kids. Im just a bit surprised I guess. I feel sorry for her 🙁
On May 11, 2016 at 12:50 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
Dana, well, everyone’s experiences are different. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with mama-raised babies. I’ve had mothers squash and kill their babies on more than one occasion (in various environments and spaces–goats are clumpers no matter how large the stall). I’ve also had a lot of experience with mama-raised babies being more difficult to handle. Aranel also has over-sized teats (seriously, they’re like bananas) and the babies were having a hard time trying to suckle. I love keeping mamas and babies together as much as possible, but with goats, I’ve learned the hard way over time that what works best for me is to separate them.
On May 11, 2016 at 11:00 am
yvonnem says:
Suzanne, I can’t get to today’s post….it takes me to the previous one!
On May 11, 2016 at 4:53 pm