This made me realize, I don't think y'all even know how eventful this kidding season was 💀

Unlike last year, FORTUNATELY, the girls decided no vets were needed and they wouldn't cause a scene XD

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Bean had one beautiful baby, per usual with her line lol. He was doing just fine and crawling around looking for food, she was just very confused and didn't know how to take care of him. He was quite spirited, and had quite a set of lungs on him, very lucky, as otherwise I'd have slept through his whole coming into this world, which could've been bad, as Bean didn't know what was up with this new thing crawling around. I had to bottle feed him while Bean got her bearings about her (luckily he was a very strong baby and had no trouble eating quite his fill from the bottle, so that we didn't have to worry about him) and then I ended up having to hold Bean while my sister held the baby to her udder. About 2 days into having to force Bean to feed her child, she figured out what was up and was able to feed him without our help. We ended up naming him Nacho, and he looks just like a little Stella (his grandma) :3

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Iris, meanwhile, had three babies, and she was pretty tired after that, so she didn't have much interest in them for a hot minute. Luckily, we picked up on the fact she was tired, and took all three into the house to warm them up. We dried them off and put them on a heating pad, and then I shoved an ounce or two of milk down their throats, which they didn't quite enjoy. Unlike Nacho, they were kind of weak. After they had somewhat full bellies and warm bodies, we put them in little baby blankets and took them back out to their mother, who had chilled out a bit. Iris was immediately a doting mother and stood very well for the triplets to drink, but one of them didn't figure it out. I kept trying to help him out and came out to put him on the udder every hour or so, but he didn't drink voluntarily. Eventually, it reached the point that he was now 37 hours old and it was worrying he hadn't figured out how to eat. I had been forcing the bottle on him every couple hours, but he was still weak and hadn't pooped, so it was very concerning. Yet, I was tired of going out to check on him every two minutes (and keep in mind I was sleep deprived from surviving off of 30 minute naps throughout this ordeal), so I decided to bring him inside for the night so I could get a couple hours more sleep. I put him in a basket with a heating pad and some towels. I got up to feed him every two hours, though I still had to force him to eat, which was a pain, but I was getting something in him, so. When the morning came, I found a beautiful little first baby poop in the bottom of his basket. Mind you, this was super exciting, as he'd gone a few days without pooping at this point, and I was ready to lose a kid. I guess what he needed was a night on a heating pad and a bit more TLC, I'm glad it worked. After that first night, he got his strength and started taking the bottle voluntarily. (It was soooo good to have feeding last 2 minutes instead of 15, let me tell you ^^") And that is how we got our bottle baby, Harley :)

Iris' runt, the black and white baby (mini Iris!!) was named Penguin/Batman (we couldn't agree), the biggest baby was named Alfred (Batman's Butler), and then Harley comes from Harley Quinn to go with the Batman theme :)

PICTURESSS!!!!

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Key to who's who:

Harley= bottle baby, Iris' child

Alfred= Iris' largest child

Batman= Iris' black and white runt

Nacho= Bean's singleton

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Oh so the smelly rug method is actually used XD good to know that each season you bring your gals interesting news on local studs so they know all sexy prospects in the area (joking, I read it is only one buck, but it would be funny if you collected them mutliple choices thou it is for utility sake here and not a way in which you decide on a buck) Speaking of which how do you pick bucks for your girls? Is it similar to WP like there are some stats you aim for? Do you repeat studs or do you like to mix and match them?

Uh, story on getting new kids was wild indeed :'3 glad they all made it, Harley was uh yeah it had me worried for a bit. Also it is interesting to know how much you, as a human, can do for such young goats :o cause I am not sure, but I think horses are more sensitive to having that instant bond with another horse, while I think puppies and kittens do not really need it, but it is still yikes with kittens cause they are so so small and feeding them is a challenge (fun fact, when I on accident had some pretty young kittens not more than 20 days, rescues, ones who were pain to feed on bottle picked up on solid food so easily while those who were delight to feed on a bottle were bit confused with solids and sucked the meat at first rather than chewing on it XD ) When do kids stop with milk and is there some beginner food they go for or they instanly can eat everything other goats can? Also I heard goats will eat pretty much anything so is that true?

Sorry for this many queations, but my brain is just firing off, take your time with replies :3 it is not urgent

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Was this 1st season for Bean and Iris and if so how old were they (I see bean is smaller than Stella-is that just their regular size difference or will Bean grow some more)? And is it possible for does to be confused if they are mayhaps breed a year or two too early or is it just that for first time due to all different hormons going around for the first time that not everything is always ready on time like maternal instinct for example? Would cute little Nacho be doomed in a wild :'3 or would she remember him like after a few hours and help him?

Is it a problem for a goat to be a runt or does it just mean that that kid will need a bit more time and effort to catch up in size and strength to its siblings?

P.S. I am really glad you are all doing alright <3 the photos are great, really showcases all their best angles-Harley's coat is so pretty, makes me wanna pet him though mama goat would probably bite my ass if I got too close (or no..?)

P.P.S.Surprise, another question! XD ehe

So how do you determine sex of offspring? I know whole idea of check the area with naked eye for anything that could become this or that, but kittens are actually hard to tell sometimes even up to a month so I am just curious how it is with goats (also I assume Penguin is a girl and Alfred is a boy, based on names XD though Batman is a male name so I guess you might have scored 4 baby boys this time :D )

XD I think if I gave them different rugs to sniff, they'd actually choose one they prefer because even domesticated animals will choose which mate they prefer when given options, which is cool!

Breeding actually is very similar to WP because different breeders want different things, and we each choose bucks based off what we want for our herd. Some prefer to improve their does in one specific area, like stellar udders or a beautiful general appearance. I like having all around good does, so I try to pick bucks that will make up for what they are lacking. Like, this year I'm thinking about breeding Bean to a Blissberry Farms buck because their bloodlines are known for good udders, and Bean has a really small li'l udder :')

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Yeah, Harley had me biting my nails for a little bit, but fortunately he just needed a little extra help ^^"

Oof, bottle feeding a kitten sounds like it would be hard, such tiny little mouths lol. That's interesting to hear about their first solid food! It's funny to hear they attempted the same method that gets them milk even though it was a very different food XD It's cool to see that one kitten got it right away, though, that's unexpected.

Goats are very strange in the fact that they will start "mouthing" solid foods at around 3 days old, so basically as soon as they're strong enough to not focus 100% on survival ^^"

They go around the pen and nibble at grass, leaves, hay, and even dirt and rocks. They keep nibbling at things until they figure out how to chew and swallow, which has been around 2 weeks old for mine. However, they need milk until they are around 8-12 weeks old, depending on the individual. Stronger ones can be cut off at 8 weeks old, but I've never felt comfortable enough to wean mine that young lol, I typically wean at about 3 months old.

Goats are actually very picky eaters when well fed! I was surprised. They avoid things they're unsure of, usually, in case said thing is poisonous. They also have preferred foods. Like, all my goats like bread, while some of the adore banana peels and others hate banana peels lol. I think the story that they'll eat anything comes from the fact that they like to nibble at everything, especially hard things. For example, my goats like to nibble at my shoes and any zippers on my clothing. The kids will even nibble at me, but, by the time they're adults, they've learned that it's not okay to bite people (if I'm good about training, that is ^^").

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It was Bean and Iris' first year, as I bred them at 1.5 years old, but some people breed them at 7-8 months old, so I could've chosen to do that. However, I've seen that many goats age faster when they're bred younger, so I wanted to give my ladies another year to mature before breeding them, especially because Bean is a slowly maturing little lady, and I don't want to put too much strain on a little body.

Bean is a bit smaller than Stella, but Bean has about another year to grow, even though I don't think she'll be as big as Stella, because Stella is a very large lady lol. As for Bean not being very maternal, she comes from a non-maternal bloodline. Stella's rejected babies in the past, I think that, for some reason, Stella bonded so tightly to Bean because she doesn't have her mom around anymore. Stella and her mom were very closely bonded, but Bean was Stella's first kid without her mom being around. Bean and Stella are also, as much as I love them, not very intelligent girls ^^" I think this might have played a part in the fact that Bean didn't really know what to do, but I could be wrong on that one. I don't think Nacho would've made it in the wild, so it's a good thing that he was born a domesticated creature. Then again, I don't think the line would've made it as far as Nacho because non maternal bloodlines typically don't make it very far in the wild :')

A goat being born a runt just means they need to fight a little bit harder to compete with their siblings, but Penguin was both first born and one of his brothers (Harley) was a bottle baby, so I think both of these facts helped him out a bit in the competition. Plus, he got a good, maternal dam to take good care of him.

Since our goats have been handled consistently since birth, I think it's quite possible they think people are just weird hairless goats, and they are always glad to let the hairless goats share their babies XD This means the mothers don't care if we handle their babies <3.

Plus, there's the fact that Harley specifically was a bottle baby, so he thinks I'm his mom, and Iris thinks she only had two babies, so everybody is in agreement that he's not Iris' son XD

If sexing was as hard as it was with kittens, I think I'd die :')

Fortunately, goats are super easy to tell. For one, the girls have two openings (for their respective purposes), and the boys only have one. Then, the boys' are born with a visible scrotum. Unlike many creatures, the testicles are clearly visible on the boys from birth, like in cows ^^ (and probably other creatures that I don't know cos I don't handle them lol).

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That reminds me I didn't even do a gender announcement!! :0

We got four little boys! :') They're adorable, but we won't be keeping any. Penguin and Harley already went together to a fun little pet home that has a mini herd of goats, like us (Penguin was wanted because he has fun colors and a cute little runt body lol, while Harley was a bottle baby, so he was very wanted because pet homes love extra friendly goats).

So... I do have a bit of good news and bad news. Today we sold not only both the remaining kids, but we also sold Iris and our lovely senior doe, Destiny. That's the bad news, I will miss my babies very much 😢

The good news is: They got to all four go TOGETHER!! :D I'm super psyched about this, because all four are bonded and it will make the change so much better for them <3

They also went to some well known local breeders, who happen to own Iris' dad, so I know they will be well taken care of :)

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Bean and Stella are and always will be with me, as they're my goat soul mates. Stella was the one I chose to be "mine" for showing when first buying our little herd of three, and Bean was her single, very spoiled, baby. I will be continuing to breed Bean and plan to keep a girl out of her sometime in the future. ^^

Hopefully, I can extend on and improve the Stella line. Unfortunately, the difficult transition into adulthood has made it so that I can't afford to keep too many goats around, but I'm such an adict I won't be able to part with all of them. It's an unfortunate change, but it will make life a million times easier for me, and I know the four I sold will be well off.

When it comes to taking care of anyone (be it human or animal or a plant to an extent, depends on type of plant, some are very sensitive) the bud of doubt and worry about wheter you are providing them with everything they need and want is aways there and sometimes it unfortunately is objective reality ;-; though that thought is coming from someone who never had to take care of anything, long-term, more alive than a succulent so my wisdom looks meek and might be wrong honestly, but I wanted to share my theory, feel free to correct me though I feel like you got more experience ^^

Note: Kittens I mentioned were accidentally with me and I had a vet to guide me through as well as local cat community people (dunno the correct name, but uh they help cats) who usually take care of cats in my town though not officially, but my town does not have a shelter at all and the nearest thing puts time-limit on each animals stay after which they are killed(injection) unless someone takes them, so not to go too deep into that, but yeah those unofficial people who usually help cats here were there for me and kittens with their advices and some money coverage ready if I needed.

What I am trying to say is that even if it is hard that sometimes, if objectively situation is what it is, letting that someone go somewhere where they get better living conditions sans your love (though I hope they will be loved by people who bought them) is a right decision. Also taking care of yourself is very important too <3 and sacrificing yourself(in whatever context) for others all the time is unfeasible.

From what I understood this was sort of spur of a moment decision or just something you did not mention in your posts? So you saw an opportunity to give good homes to Iris and Destiny and needed break to yourself or you simply changed your mind about goat herd size which is also totally valid, you had these for waht now-2-3 years, woah, much of happy times together ^^ and also learning experience plus any other factors that are going on in your life. Just to note that giving yourself a break is not a bad thing, I know some people might say it is giving yourself an easy way out thou who the duck decided things need to be hard or made harder, life gives no bonus points for living life in hard mode so to say, and effect of being under stress, strained or not getting enough time for yourself is more serious than most people realize I'd say. Though putting it all out on the internet is a bad idea so I know why you cannot share too much, keep it that way :) this forum is about goats and their stories, not how your private life is going though goats are intertwined with your life so line blurs sometimes.

Keep taking care of yourself and your animals :D <3 thank you for all goat information and pictures

Your words mean a lot to me <3

I'm glad you had guides to aid you in properly caring for the kittens, and I'm happy the kittens got the care-taker they deserved, it sounds like everything turned out well for everyone involved.

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I had been planning on reducing herd size for a while, as my sister showed a lot of disinterest after about a year of owning them, and then she didn't help me at all this previous year. So, basically, I was paying for and taking care of her animals without a steady income (as I'm in school and unable to take on too much work) or any help, so it was all quite draining on me. Then my sister wasn't at all understanding, as she seemed to think my services to her were a given, which made everything much more difficult. In the end, downsizing and focusing on my own animals was an amazing choice and a huge weight off my shoulders :)

(I'd just like to put in a little ranty bit, just so I can put it somewhere, no pressure to read it: My sister grew upset at my decision to sell "her animals," which I'd paid and cared for for over a year, and then she demanded she get all profits, which made zero sense, as I wouldn't even come a fraction of the way to breaking even for everything I'd spent on "her animals." She's still in high school and has always been an entitled individual, as she's the baby and wasn't raised as me and my siblings were. My mom took it upon herself to get involved since she saw Iris and Destiny as "my sister's goats," even though I WAS PAYING for everything and DOING everything for the goats. It was just a huge emotional mess for me, which it shouldn't have been, as they are my animals by the fact I was doing everything for them and, most importantly, by the fact I legally owned them. During the last few months of owning the four goats I sold, my parents and sister nagged me and constantly brought up the subject, and it was all so uncomfortable. Ultimately, I didn't involve my sister and parents in the sale and took the profits (which are going to go towards Stella and Bean, so it's not as if I'm just getting money, anyway). I'm much happier with the lower financial investment and the fact that my parents and sister can no longer harass me about it.)

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Overall, I'm excited to be moving on from that draining time period and once more seeing my goats as a fun project and hobby rather than a constant weight in my life! ^^

I plan on settling at a herd size of three, my original size, with Stella, Bean, and a Bean daughter that is yet to be born. I like the size of three for now, though I do plan on expanding further once I'm a bit more settled into life :)