Lucy finally had her kids! She was my last expected kidding, given we had a buck who impregnated through a fence, I'm checking daily for other unexpected events. Lucy is in her third year as a milking goat and I have never seen her kid, she is quiet and pops her kids out without any fanfare or troubles. This year was no different. She kidded during a thunderstorm while I was inside resting my injured leg. She is a dream goat, gets pregnant easy, kids easy, feeds and mothers easy. And she is also the most gentle of goats with everyone else's kids, which is super rare. I had her dehorned as a kid, something I haven't done with any others since. She knows she is special! Her previous kids have been twins (male and female)and twins (both male). We are super happy that this year she has again kidded twins, and they are both doelings. Although the buck was half Angora, half Anglo Nubian, these girls will be milking goats just like their mum.

When you only bred 4 does to the buck, and two have kidded, one is not pregnant and one is due in 2 weeks. Then you drive up the driveway past the goat paddock and discover a surprise waiting for you. None of our Angora have ever had twins but there is a first for everything. They are so tiny, a buckling and doeling by mum Maria-Antoinette, all doing well.

A problem that occurs with new milking does often is cracked teats! Any ladies who have breastfed will likely sympathise with this issue. It is painful, can turn into a infection and can make the doe not want to feed kids or be milked. I've been using White Ointment on Poppy teat (only one was effected) and we have finally healed the crack. Now we need to soften the skin again, as the kids don't want to feed on that teat! So we are going to use coconut oil tomorrow, several times a day. We'll up date how we go.

Wanted to introduce the newest members of the farm. Ash and Bruce! Poppy finally popped and we have a white doeling with a black stripe and smudges, and a buckling who is a replica of Poppy's dad Rocky. The Anglo Nubian breed is so strong in features, it's amazing. Ash will stay with us as a milking goat, Bruce has been spoken for already. He will be joining Sage's buckling and living life as a pet goat. The new owner has requested they be named Doogie and Bruce.

I'm thinking making an ebook specifically aimed at bottle reared goats. We recently lost a doe, Sage, just 2 days after she kidded. As a result her 2 babies are now being hand reared by the Handy Helper and myself. I've had a few questions from new homesteaders around bottle rearing and it can be tricky. The videos online show healthy babies running for bottles and drinking easily. It's a bit deceptive as a lot can go wrong. I would love it if you could post any questions you might have around bottle reared goats? Anything, there are no "dumb" questions. I want to cover as much as possible to give homesteaders all the info. Pictured is Cookie and Cream, who are now 3 weeks old. The second picture is just after I found them in the paddock. They were nearly a week premature and I really did not think Cookie would make it, but he is a fighter.