Speedy (Goat) Delivery Service

When you've survived another day on this goat ranch, you know it by the back pain, extreme fatigue, and inability to string sentences together.

I've been working pretty much twelve hour days for the last week.  My little UTV is outfitted with two vented plastic picnic baskets, lined with clean towels and a dog leash.  I bought those picnic baskets many years ago in a Big Lots in Orlando, Florida.  I had no idea what they'd be good for, but at five dollars apiece, it seemed like a good buy.

My little UTV travels uphill and down and all around the pastures, picking up mothers and babies who have been born al fresco and delivering them to the barns where mothers get food, hay, and water and semi-private digs.  Mothers are usually tied onto the handhold of the UTV and I slowly proceed with them in tow.  Babies naval cords are iodined; the date, mother's tag number and the babies new herd numbers are entered in my little notebook; paper collars containing the same information are placed on little baby necks and kisses and congratulations are given all around.

There are also a good number of overnight births in the barn.  This morning, my husband and I worked to sort out a dozen new births, clean out the biggest space in the bottom of the barn and figure out a strategy for housing all in some sort of orderly fashion.

I've just done a count from my notebook.  We have had 64 live births so far.  Many sets of triplets and two sets of quads so far.  Most births are twins, but today we had a couple of singles -- all bucklings.

So, those of you who love baby goat time at Brambleberry Farm and want to help out for a few hours (you know who you are), come on out or give me a call or email to set up a time.  I figure we are only about half way through.

The picnic baskets were a great buy and the UTV was a great buy in terms of useful tools.