Two Weeks and Counting
All of the kids are now two weeks old. Whoa.
It’s strange to think back to a time when we had no idea what they’d look like, how many of them were in the girls’ bellies, or even whether they’d make it through the birth OK. What a huge relief that all the births went well. I can’t stress that enough. I was *so* nervous and anxious reading all the horror stories on the Internet.
I hear pregnant women say things like that all the time–how reading information on pregnancy tends to scare you because it’s all the bad stuff that gets written about. Well, goat birth stories definitely did the same for me. Of course it’s nice to be prepared for the possibilities of complications, same as with human births, but still…it can really get your imagination working overtime. I had lots of really scary thoughts about having to deal with a breech birth or worse….
Anyway, can you do me a favor and tell me whether you think they’re growing?
It’s so hard to see the changes when you’re with them every day, but every now and again, you get a good glimpse like in this photo with Nina’s baby hooves up on the gate. Doesn’t she look enormous?!
One of the coolest things in the past two weeks has been seeing the difference in their confidence levels.
They used to stand on my lap with these shaky, wobbly legs. Now they love to use me as a springboard as they jump up and off my lap — sort of like mini-skateboarders with the way they’re starting to kick out their legs off to the side on the jump.
They also rather enjoy just boinging around the pen, off the walls, off whoever might be standing there videoing the whole thing. etc. YouTube wasn’t so kind on the quality of this video, but you can still get the point, I think.
It’s *so* easy to spend hours in there with them.
6 Responses to “Two Weeks and Counting”
Leave a Reply
Sponsor the Old Goats of Apifera!
GoatSpotting!
Goats that readers have spotted out and about. Send your photos to michelle(at)goatberries(dot)com!
~sigh~ I can *so* imagine! I didn’t think it was possible, but the little ones are getting cuter as they get bigger! Ryan & I were watching together, ( yes, you’re kids have got him hooked too, lol!), & when you swung the camera around & showed the view, we both gasped! We both wondered how you ever leave the pens! :o)
The goats actually have a better view from their pen than we have from the house…definitely hard to leave 😀
[Reply]
Pinta is wondering why you aren’t putting down your camera to bounce around with her. Lol, she’s following you like a shadow 🙂 They do seem bigger although Pinta looks more petite than the other two, maybe it’s just the angle that the photos were taken though.
Good eye, Rebecca! Pinta is definitely smaller than the other two; in fact, they seem to be following the sizes of their moms, with Nina the biggest (as is Carmelina of the dams) even though Colombo was born first and is male. He’s next in size (as is Margherita), then little Pinters/Pintaruccia as I call her ♥ …petite like her mum Pasqualina. Basically the two big ones are considered “meat goats” here while the Ps are dairy. They won’t be meat though, don’t worry!
[Reply]
When does a kid stop being a “kid”? At some point a puppy becomes a dog, a kitten a cat, but is there an age or size when your kids will be grown-up goats? Still cute, I’m sure. Saw a coyote in West Sonoma, Ca., yesterday that was the size of all four of your kids together. Are there coyotes in Calabria?
No coyotes here, although there are some (few) wolves further up in the mountains; rumor has it that most were killed years ago b/c they’d do so much damage to animals and crops. I believe the cut-off age for “kids” is 6 months old; females (does) are sexually mature as early as 8 months. I’ll do a post on the terms soon 🙂 They still grow, though, until they’re about four years old!
[Reply]
I love the videos of Pinta. LOL’d at both this one and the last one where she tipped over trying to reach her backside. Clearly, she’s a lot more stable now!
Yeah they don’t really just randomly fall over now 😉 They’ll sometimes fall funny off my lap as they dance around, but they always pop back up and give it another go! Adorable…and inspiring!
[Reply]
Definitely growing!!! Imagine their relatives in the wild bouncing from pinnacle to pinnacle in some high mountain range. Champions of balance eventually!!!
They really are amazing creatures, aren’t they?! They still make me nervous though….
[Reply]
They definitely seem bigger! they are so cute! I love how they bounce around. It’s like they have springs instead of hooves.
The bouncing is definitely adorable; I always think of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh…boing boing boing!
[Reply]