Kid Names

I will admit that I love thinking about and selecting the names for my animals.

We adopted our dog Willow partly because my son and I were discussing earlier in the day how we thought "Willow" would be a great dog name. That evening I was cruising the Petfinder site and there was this little crooked eared terrier mix that looked like a white version of our Bumble, and her name was "Willow". It seemed like a sign. And our adopted dog Bumble came with his name, too, which suits him so well there was no way we were going to change it.

But when you have baby animals you get to make up your own names for them, and that is part of the fun of baby animals, especially while you are waiting. Thinking of and collecting potential kid names has been one of the activities that have helped me pass the time while waiting for the kidding date to arrive. I actually have a spreadsheet for doeling and buckling names to which I add names as I think of them. Yes, that is fairly insane, I admit, but when I have bouncing goat babies I will want to select a cool name that suits them perfectly.

Themes are fun. For instance, my first four goats were named with a nod to my art background: Vincent, Salvador, Pablo and Jasper. When we adopted two adult goats we stuck with their original names - 'not sure if goats would be confused by a sudden name change but somehow it still seemed wrong to change their identities at this point in their life. Artist names are at the top of my potential kidding names list, but for doelings that will be more challenging. Frida? Georgia? Dorothea? 'Unless I go with female contemporary artists, but then the average non-art person will not get the reference. For the boys my favorite potential names include Hopper, Diego, Maxfield, Claude, Modigliani, Banksy and Ansel.

Plant and flower names have great potential, as well, especially for Lilly's kids. Sweet Pea, Jasmine, Violet, Daisy, Poppy, Holly, Hazel, Flora, Iris, Clover, Rose? But then what about the boys?

Authors, musicians, Greek gods, and biblical characters also have potential, and those names comprise a large portion of my list.

Names should suit the little critters and their personalities, so we will definitely not decide on names and what direction those names will take until the kids are hopping around and we get to know them a bit.  'A little more than a month from now!!

Little Mammas & Receiving Goat Worship

I am happy to say that I believe both Lilly and Annabelle are pregnant as neither have appeared to come into heat since their dates with Lux. I am considering either ultrasound or blood tests to be certain, and so I will be calling the vet this week to inquire about that and see what they think.

I am nuts with excitement! I have been reading as many articles as I can find about caring for pregnant goats, the actual kidding, and then the first several weeks of kid care. I have been watching kidding video after graphic kidding video to try and desensitize myself to the process - and I think it has been working because now I feel less terrified. I have drawn out kidding pen plans, and gone over the plans with my husband (the saint). I have updated the website but I wish I had better photos of my little mammas - that was something I neglected to get last summer. I am hopeful to find homes for the kids, although if each doe only has one kid I may not need any homes other than my own ;)

Behaviorally I think the mammas are more affectionate toward me. I have always said my boys worship me but my girls only appreciate me. Well, I have been feeling worshiped by the girls lately, too. With goats, appreciation looks like this: you sit down on a bench and they come over, curious to see why you are there. You scratch them, they like it, but then they wander back to whatever it was they were doing before you got there (eating, most likely). With goats, worship looks like this: you sit down on a bench and they come up and snuggle, looking for scratches. They nibble gently on your sleeve, and maybe even paw you if you stop scratching. They will hang out with you as long as you sit there. Receiving Goat Worship is better than any drug.

So this leaves me wondering: has the breeding made this change in the does' behavior? Or is it just their age? When they were little kids they loved to hang out with me, but then became more distant - maybe they went through a "teenage" stage where they were too busy to really snuggle, and now they have settled into their mature personalities? They will be two years old in May. I really don't have the answer but I do know I LOVE having my snuggly girls back!

We are (hopefully) expecting!

So this is a pretty big deal to us as newbies: both Annabelle and Lilly were bred to a buck, and we will hopefully have kids June 23rd/24th-ish! We are super excited and nervous, but this has been in the works for a couple of years so I feel as ready as I'll ever be.

I will mostly use the pronoun "I" as my husband is not nearly as into this as I am -- but he is a willing assistant. Twice he drove a goat an hour and a half in the back seat of his brand new truck to meet a smelly buck. Twice he hoisted in and out of his truck a now-smelly doe. Twice he missed out on things he really wanted to do (football party, quiet night at home) just because I came into the house saying "we have to go now!". Twice he listened to me ramble on in the truck for three hours about plans and what we have to do to prepare. He will also "willingly" build my kidding pens, he will also most certainly be present to assist me when the does actually go into labor, he puts up with the vast amounts of money I spend on my goat obsession, he listens to me go on and on about my dreams and goals ... he supports me, and I could not be more grateful because I know this goat thing isn't his choice. He clearly loves our animals but mostly he loves me. How lucky am I. Seriously. To have a supportive spouse is one of the best things one could ever wish for.

So KIDS - we are going to have babies! Some concerns and thoughts that are racing through my mind include:

-- I have a lot more reading to do so that I feel at least somewhat knowledgeable about the birthing process. I have never assisted in the birth of anything, not even a guinea pig.

-- I have to purchase all the supplies I'll need, but I did make two purchases already: a surveillance camera and a baby monitor.

-- I have already planned the barn layout with the kidding pens, and also the layout outside so all goats can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine safely. Now we just need to construct it (Jim, the saint, is needed here).

-- I think I am going to have "Open Barn" a few times a week after the babies are born so that everyone who wants to visit can, and so that the kids are well socialized with people. I'm thinking evening hours with cocktails and Saturday morning with the orange squeezer set up :)

-- How the heck will I feel confident in giving up my babies to people I don't know?? Applications? References? Gut feelings?

-- How many kids do I keep this year - one doe and one wether? I really don't want a larger herd but how can I NOT keep at least one??

-- Wait - what if neither doe is even pregnant at all, and my hopes will be dashed and I slide into a deep depression?

-- I am not experienced - what the heck am I thinking, that I can successfully handle kidding??

-- I am filled with a roller coaster of feelings including courage, excitement, doubt, fear, joy, panic .... it kind of reminds me of the time I was expecting a baby myself.

Lilly on her way to meet Lux, Sunday, January 31st

Annabelle on her way to meet Lux, February 1st