Hidden Haven Farm is is full Spring mode - with new babies arriving weekly. This is Sugar, she is a Nubian goat and very pregnant, she is due any day now, and this week we moved her into the barn - Laura likes the birthing moms to have their babies in the barn and not out in the field, as the nights are still cold up at the farm and she worries about the babies dying from exposure to the cold.
Sugar is a very loving girl, and this will be her third pregnancy, Laura said she is a wonderful mom and usually does well birthing and looking after her babies. She wasn't all too happy about moving indoors because it was a wonderfully sunny day out and she was enjoying basking in the sunshine.
However, she is very large, Laura said she usually looks really big, but has healthy babies. Once she has birthed and the babies are big enough, Laura is going to move away from Nubians - she has 3 currently, two females and a male, and she will be selling them all as group, including the babies.
So these were Vannas two beautiful babies born last Tuesday, the brown is a male (and much larger) and the black is a female with some wonderful colorings. She was very cold when she was born and Laura had to intervene some, and get her warmed up and then feeding on mom well, but she is super sweet and seems to be adjusting to the outside world very well.
This is Vanna's first time having babies and she is proving to be a very good mom, and her babies are nursing well.
All the baby goats I have seen up at the farm, all seem to like this cozy corner in their pen, these two seem to love snuggling and it is so sweet to see, especially as the male is a lot larger, but they are obviously very bonded and like being together.
This is the baby that was born a few weeks ago - the one whose sibling died. He is doing really well and you can already see the size of him next to his mom. He is an extremely sociable goat, and loves attention and especially when you get in the pen, he just wants to snuggle and jump around on you. I have never really favored goats as an animal to raise, but my last couple months here on the farm I have really warmed up to the idea, as they really all have very unique and individual personalties and I can see why so many people raise them for pets.
The next two pictures are of Patti and Ayrshire who are both due in April and May respectively. Laura tries to keep two cows in milk at all times, so she is not having to milk more than two a day, when these two girls have their babies, she will have some crossover time, while she dries the other two up. When she calls them in all four come up to the barn and the two non-milkers get some feed and hang out till the other girls are done being milked. Cows are such beautiful animals and I love taking pictures of their faces.
Nala's puppies are doing beautifully and she is such a good and happy mom, taking wonderful care of them. We tagged and measured them all this week and most had put on at least a pound, some as much as 1.5 pounds. They now weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds each.
Laura colored coded them all with little tags and is weighing them each week, as they are going to be sold.
The barn they are in, has a concrete floor, so tends be a little cooler when there is no hay, so she has puppy heating pads under the welping box, and here you can see they are fat and happy, after eating and now taking puppy naps, till mom gets back from outside. Nala is only 15months old, so still has a little puppy in her, and she was very restless today between feedings, as she heard other dogs on the farm barking and all the noise that goes on around feeding time, she was really anxious to be out in the field, but it is not time for her to be away from her puppies for long periods just yet.
So, when I arrived today, there were 3 new additions to the farm - Laura has a small pond she has built up by the house, and ordered 3 goslings - two females and a male, that she is hoping to keep up there and breed. I have never held a baby gosling before and they are so sweet and snuggly and super super soft. Its been interesting to see the different temperaments between the different birds we have been raising. The ducklings and ducks in general are very skittish and pack oriented, they stay together at all costs and always resits being picked up or separated from the rest of their flock. The chickens kind of come and go and are a lot more curious as they get older, yet will still flee when you try to catch them, unless they are very socialized, like Laura neighbors chickens, who will come and sit on your lap and let you pet them. The goslings where not skittish at all like the ducks and were really sweet and seemed to be alright with being held. I know they can be more aggressive when they are older, so it was nice to get to hold them now while you are still able.
The baby lamb is doing really well and looking little chubby this week, she is still super shy - unlike the baby goats, and stays very close to mom at all time when you are near.
The three baby cows, who are not such babies any longer, as they are very large, but still love their milk bottles in the morning, are very playful. I was filling all the water troughs and these three thought it was play time and kept taking turn trying to play in the water and drink it from the hose. I think with the sun being out and the temperatures warmer and much drier the last few days, everyone is in a much more playful mode.
