Uncle Grant's Surprise

Uncle Grant came by our house earlier this week to let us know that two of his goats had given birth to twins (Twins are very common for goats)! By the time we made it out to the farm last night, another two mother goats had delivered, leaving Uncle Grant with a total of seven new babies!

Norah loved meeting all of the new baby goats. (And I have to say, that I now have a new favorite "baby animal") They were all so tiny and soft, and kept making their sweet, baby goat noises. (Norah thought it was her fault, so every time a baby goat would cry, she'd sweetly tell it, "I saw-wee baby dote" )

It was fun watching her in the animal stalls with her Uncle Grant. She reminded me of a little Fern (from Charlotte's Web...which I can't wait to read together)


Because of the time change, it was completely dark by the time we made it out to the goat's pens. I knew as we were approaching them that we were in for a treat. Uncle Grant (U.G.) had done SO much work to make it look great. It's hard to see it in the picture, but over to the left, there is (a hand-built by U.G.) hay-feeder, that looks a lot like the manger baby Jesus might have slept in. Uncle Grant had plenty of lights (this picture was taken after he had turned a few off) to keep the babies warm, and to help us see them better. We felt very privileged getting to see something so special in the dark of night.

These were the first goats we saw. I think they were my favorites, but it's hard to choose because they were all so cute! They were much smaller than I expected them to be, which of course, made them that much cuter!



Norah even got to witness a baby goat drinking some of its momma goat's milk. We explained to her what was going on, and I think she understood, because as she was looking over my shoulder at the pictures this morning, when we came to this one, she pointed and said, "Drinkin' milk!" with enthusiasm.


The brown and black twins were the newest babies to the herd, born only a few hours before our arrival. I was amazed, thinking that they were already walking around with ease, and very comfortable with people.

I also felt a little ripped off when I learned that the gestation of a baby goat is a mere 5 months, so these goats were pregnant a little over half the amount of time that I have been, and they're done! (Of course, Grant reminded me that most goats DO have twins...but even with that, their labor lasts only about 30 minutes!)



It looks like Norah is ignoring the baby goat in this picture, but that's because she's listening to what Uncle Grant is telling her. The corner where she's looking is where the momma goat was. This particular mother goat was a little skiddish, so U.G. was explaining to Norah that she needed to stay close to him and the baby and leave the momma goat alone. (And that her horns were very sharp!) Thankfully, she paid attention and obeyed.

It was another great trip to the farm, and Norah left in tears, reluctant to leave Uncle Grant and his animal menagerie behind. He sweetly reminded her that she could come back to see the baby goats any time, and I'm pretty sure she will very soon! (He has at least one more momma goat who is likely to deliver soon, so there may be even more babies the next time we go)