Feenster's First

This morning the Tennessee Fainting Goat named Feenster presented us with a fine little doeling. All white (maybe cream), she has blue eyes--so we know who her daddy is: BullyBob. I swear, if Bully's chest gets any more puffed out with paternal pride, that stinky goat will pop! (Seriously though, Bully's genes are grossly overrepresented in this year's batch of kids. As much as I love the guy--and he is lovable when he's not ramming his horns into my shins as I bring hay into his pasture--enough is enough.)

The next name we had waiting was Grandma D--suggested by a friend in New England--and so it was bestowed upon Feenster's offspring. Since this kid is pure white, it also seemed fitting that she carry the "grandma" name. (Get it? White hair = grandma? Simple distinctions such as these make me happy.) Plus, the other kid born this morning is named Uncle Phil, and the grandma name fits with the uncle designation.

Miss Feeney is a fine little mother, as one would expect, who readily discerns the cry of her kid from among all of the kids cries in her maternity stall. [In the top photo, Mitzi's Jack and Josie are "hiding" behind the cattle panel. At just a week old, they're already the big kids in town.] As can be seen in the photo where Feenster is bringing her nose to meet Grandma D's, the maternity stall is getting a bit crowded with all the fainter moms-in-waiting. Now that the three large dairy goats are all feeding the two Nubian kids and the orphan Graham, I find the individual attentions of the fainter and dwarf mothers for their kids to be touching.

With the kid count mounting, kidding season is drawing to a close here on P&CW Farm. Only a few does have yet to kid and all are likely due within a couple of weeks.