Leslie's Kids

Week-old Stew (left) stands near his newborn playmates, Stroganoff and Chili.

On Sunday morning when I headed out to the barn, I was relieved to see that Leslie Lupine, our other Nubian doe, had finally kidded. The poor gal had been getting heavier and heavier, and her bag had been getting fuller and fuller for some time now. Indeed, on Saturday evening I had threatened her that if she did not kid within twenty-four hours, I would begin milking her--something I preferred to avoid because the newborns fare best when they get their initial colostrum directly from their dams.

When I first spied the finer-boned bay colored kid, I mistook him for a female and joyously named him Ada. After singing Leslie's praises for some minutes while I puttered about doing chores, I noticed a heavier-boned golden tan kid propping himself up against the side of the barn. A glance from behind reassured me that we had two new doelings! I was thrilled; however, when I picked them up to cut and clean their umbilical cords, I saw that I had been mistaken in my initial assessment.

Ada was promptly renamed: Stroganoff, and the presumed-firstborn kid was dubbed Chili. We will enjoy these kids for however long it takes them to reach market size. Considering how much Stew gained in just the space of a week, he may be ready for the spit by Cinco de Mayo--which is just around the corner.