I've Got Spots!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

WooHoo!! I am doing the happy dance early this morning on the farm!! Our first ever spotted baby goat was born!! And a little doe besides!! How much better could it be?? It's only something I have been hoping and dreaming and praying about since we started in goats and I have been playing around with different spotted bucks and spotted does. WooHoo!! And perfect timing again from God as I was in some desperate need of farm encouragement. "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good! He's so good to me!" Meet Susan, the proud new momma. She has purebred Nubians in her lineage along with a nice mix of Sanaan with a good milking line to boot. This was her first kidding. We have been eyeing her up suspiciously the last couple of months as she hadn't had her baby with the round of other goats in January and February. I knew she had come into a late heat, but was not sure just when she was due. Sound familiar?? It has been such of an off year for me to not have my dates down to the exact moment of conception, and I am more bound and determined now to have a high buck pen built this year. So..... we have been watching her for signs of impending birth and noticed this past week that she was bagging up a bit more. She started out with just barely any difference in her udder that we have been going back and forth if she was actually pregnant or not. She had a thickening in her belly, but not fat or round. She started getting very friendly and wanting out of the big goat pen so we put her in a stall by herself a couple of nights ago, still not really expecting her to deliver for a couple more weeks at least.Last night I noticed some young person left all the lights on in the barn so Trent and I went down to shut the lights off and shut the doors. I checked in on Susan and it appeared that she had hollowed out in the back and appeared to have lost her ligaments. She was still eating and not doing anything else suspicious tho so we decided to head to bed versus bringing our sleeping bags down to the barn. Now everybody heard me say for a month that Lucille had lost her ligaments and was going to have those babies any day now, so they all laughed at me last night when I again made my prediction for Susan. Trent and I headed back down late last night for one more check, and again not seeing anything too suspicious, we just gave her some more hay and went to bed. Well I was the one laughing this morning when I went down for an early morning check and found this sweet little baby! Just look at all those spots! Be still my heart! After checking everything out and seeing both momma and baby were fine I scooped her up into my arms and ran up to the house, me yelling for joy and the little baby screaming for her momma! Everybody was happy to wake up early and cuddle this new sweet little girl with spots.
Susan looks like she has taken this new mothering role very seriously and is taking good care of her baby. And just look at all those spots!! Have I mentioned how happy I am about all those spots?? I have decided to name her Asha. It is Hindi for Hope. I think it is very fitting and gives honor to God for restoring hope to me in the sad spring we had of losing 2 baby does, it is His hope for this farm to continue to glorify Him, and it honors the hope he has given us in our kiddos from India. Excuse me, I think I have to run down to the barn and just look at her again:)) Oh Happy Day!!