Change in the Routine - Milking Tulip.....

So I don't usually begin milking until the kids are about 3 weeks old.  At that point, I lock them up separate from their dams in the evening, then milk Mamas in the morning and turn the kids back in with them.  They nurse all day long, so I don't have to milk in the evening, then I repeat the process.

However, this year Tulip had a single.  The is the first time she's ever done that.  I bought her as a bred 18 month old doe and she freshened for the first time at our place in IL, with twins.  Star was the doeling of that set of twins, and she had a brother we named Jesse that was sold to a little 4 year old girl for her first 4-H goat.

Star is on the left, with Jesse on the right....

And below I'm holding Jesse with Star standing in front...

Then her next kidding she had triplet bucklings....

And then triplets again, two doelings and a buckling...

The buckling, Lightning, and one of the doelings Carmen....

And the second doeling Maggie Faith....

And then she had triplets again, this time two doelings and a buckling again, I think.  This was the beginning of things getting crazy with The Man losing his job and us making the move to KY, so I don't remember...but I do know it was three babies....and I don't even have any pictures of them!

And then I sold Tulip and Star to Jennifer and she gave Jennifer multiple kids every time, with quads the last two times. 

So the point being, Tulip has never had a single until now!

 Tulip gives A LOT of milk.  In order to keep her production up where I'd like it to be, I've begun milking her already. 

Her milk isn't "sweet" yet, but that's ok.  I can use it for cooking and soap, and I'm freezing it to feed to pigs later .  It usually takes about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks for my girls to totally stop making colostrum in their milk.  I don't take it all, just enough to even her udder out and encourage her to produce more.  When Jen takes Tulip's doeling home, I'll milk Tulip twice a day to keep her producing.

Tulip is pretty funny with this baby.  I can only assume it's from having only one to worry about, but worry she does.  She doesn't want her to get too far away, and she "talks" to her all the time.  The doeling will be running amuck and bouncing around with Star's kids and Tulip is following her everywhere, softly bleating as if to say..

"Hey!  Be careful!  Watch your step!  Get away from there!  Don't play with those kids!  

Bless her heart, she's a good Momma and I love her.  She doesn't like kids that aren't her own, and she lets them know she isn't Momma.  She throws her head at them and if that doesn't work, she'll nip their tail, and if that doesn't work, she'll butt them, and if that doesn't work (which we seldom EVER get to this point) she'll knock them down.  They quickly learn she isn't their Momma and they avoid her.  She is pretty jealous of Merida and will come try to bully her when she's playing in my lap, but I don't let her do that.  I make a point to give her lots of love, so she knows she's still my baby too!

Tulip's baby is much more "filled out" than the other three, and this too comes from being a single.  She didn't have to compete in the womb and she doesn't have to compete now..

She's a pretty little doeling and should have a great future ahead as a milking doe, if she's anything like her Momma!

Till next time........

God Bless,