Surprise - It’s A Boy
Posted by Farm at March 22nd, 2009
Well, just when you think it’s safe to go back in the water, I mean, you know when a doe’s bred or not, they prove you wrong. There are two little doelings that we’ve been waiting to kid, Xena and Timpatience. Both of these girls are two years old and didn’t take last year. Both were bred early in the breeding season, and it appeared that neither one took on those breedings. Xena was in standing heat in December, so she was rebred at that point. However, she tricked me, and she started looking a little curious last week. Her udder was starting to become noticeable, and this quiet little girl began being much more opinionated. In fact on Friday she out and out screamed at me! I was shocked. Xena has always been strong and quiet, but there was obviously a change coming on.
Yesterday in the barn I noticed that she had a beautiful, full udder, and that her tail head was raised. She’s not supposed to be due until June, so she hadn’t had any extra grain, or her prenatal shots. Oh well, she had other plans! After a quick check on the milking stand, we gave her the Bo-Se and CDT shots and put her back in the main herd. Three hours later she was in a kidding pen, and after a very difficult delivery, she gave birth to a huge, healthy buckling!
I know who the sire is, as I had made sure not to change any sires in repeated breeding. This boy is a wonderful black and white buckskin, and coming out of a brown and white swiss colored doe, that reinforces that my record keeping there was right - Rebel. I don’t know the fate of this little boy, who is perfect and dairy. Though I’d like to see him as a breeding buck for someone, his mother carries extra teats, so he does too. But, if anyone’s looking for a wonderful, unique combination of top milking lines with some Leighstar genes for outcross strength, this little boy would really help such a farm. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can. Xena was very sore from a hard birth, and little one has to dry off a bit for his “grand debut.”
