Saturday, April 13, 2013

Spring has finally arrived...

and with it, come the babies!


The sounds of cheep-cheep fill the air! Another batch of freshly hatched baby chicks now reside on Happiness Hill. They don't know it yet, but they will have such a happy and good life here. The animals of our farm are dearly loved, petted and doted on daily. They get good pasture for grazing and plenty of room to run around. There are ten fluffy balls of cuteness in all, five of which are Buff Orpingtons and five of which are White Leghorns. These are my favorite breeds of hen.


...and there are goats! Four baby goats!

In the afternoon hours one cold day, Nellie gave birth to twin boys. Since it was her very first time as a mom, her sweet sister, Bonnie, was there to lend a helping hoof. She took care of everything....from cleaning up after the mess, to helping lick the babies clean. Me and my son rushed down the hill and sat and watched for the longest time. We finally decided it was too cold and we put a small heater in the goat house. We grabbed towels and ruffled the babies fur, to finish drying them off completely. Then we left them alone, to do whatever it is that goats do. Within hours, both babies were warm and standing and nursing well.

 one of the sweet baby boys (we castrated both males)

 Cinnamon (the boy), being licked by Bonnie and 
Blue Beauty (the girl)

After several days of anxious expectation (when *is* she going to have those babies!?), Bonnie gave birth to a boy and a girl. It happened in the wee hours of the morning, long before we were awake. She had accidentally knocked over the heater and it had turned off. She didn't have any help from Nellie and she had obviously had a hard time giving birth to the HUGE, long-legged boy. He was a little bigger than Nellie's 3 day old boys! 

I had rushed down to the goat house that morning, after dreaming that she had had her babies and they were dead, having frozen to death. The ground was covered in frost and I had to be careful not to slip. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and off to one side, all alone, was a baby, curled up in a ball. And off to the other side, huddled alone, was another baby; eyes wide open, head hanging to one side, looking decidedly dead also!

I saw blood all over Bonnie's backside and two placentas laying on the ground. 

I picked each baby up and they were ice cold. I began rubbing them and motioning frantically out the door for someone to come and help. Finally, I saw my son walking down the hill and I yelled to him that the heater wouldn't come on and he needed to grab some towels.

To make a long story short......they finally came around, though it took much coaxing and rubbing. We weren't sure if sweet baby Cinnamon was going to make it. It took him over a day to find his feet. Meaning, each time he stood, he sprawled out on the ground like some cartoon goat, a foot going in each direction of the compass. We plan to sell Cinnamon in a few months, when he is weaned.

  
All of the baby goats have blue eyes.We named the sweet, tiny baby girl Blue Beauty....after her mother, Bonnie Blue. We are keeping her.  She is half Saanen, one quarter Nubian and one quarter Boer.


We also got a batch of fourteen baby buns a few days after the goats were born. It was Queenie's third litter of babies. Unfortunately, five have died. This is the way it goes with rabbits.  Despite losing a few, life goes on for the rest. The cycle continues and a new year begins on the farm. New grass, new growth, new babies and new adventures are waiting to be had on Happiness Hill.


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~Blessings from Happiness Hill