Round One of Castlekeep kidding season is now complete….5 does kidded and we now have 12 beautiful & healthy kids on the ground! Round two starts next week with 8 does in the lineup.
There is a first time for everything right? Well, we had our first set of quads! Doe – Himalaya – a first timer – made it all look so easy – kids all strong and healthy (3 bucks & one doe)…. Her udder is just beautiful and add to that she has Awesome Milk Stand Manners! How is this possible? I am clueless! It was as though she had been doing this for years! What a blessing – this calm and gentle young doe.
We had another shocker too….A senior doe, Idelia Rain delivered on her 157th day! I was beginning to think that big wide girl was really just big and wide and not pregnant! Day 150 came and went…..seemed like forever! No loose tail head – no drop – (she’s very deep naturally anyway) – no udder – no nesting – no whining – nothing…for 156 days! Then on Saturday 2/24, the morning of the 157th day, BOOM! Loose tail head – bagged up – sunken sides – stringing – labor started and THEN she QUIT! Not a good sign. I gave her 30 minutes to restart & when she didn’t I decided to milk her out to stimulate contractions, pinched her tail head a few times and told her she was the best in the barn at the “tough stuff”. I also told her she’d better restart or else! I also calmly told her that I knew without a doubt I would be participating in discovery and delivery assistance again this year and I would need her full cooperation as we were totally on our own this time. SURPRISE OF SURPRISES…this girl who has never been easy to handle…became mild mannered, willing and calm. I guess trusting says it best. Well – all I can say is God does answer prayers. Idelia kicked in and with a little help delivered a big beauty – (from the size of the hoofs which emerged with no head – I just knew I had a big “stuck” buck! But a wonderful surprise was in store… a doe…. a big biting doe – with very sharp little teeth (she bit me when I found her head and moved her head into a dive position – from an impossible…. looking up and back at the sky position). We welcome Kristina to the world! A stunning, strong, long and feisty 10 pound strawberry blonde frosted doeling!
The big picture looks like this: All 5 does this first round were late this year. 4 were each late by 2 days and Idelia – our 157 days of gestation girl…(who incidentally, is the dam of last springs big single buck “Jude” – our 12 pound full breach buckling that I just knew could not possibly survive my manipulations but… he did!) Well, Idelia, has scored another one for our record books for sure!
What a rollercoaster ride this past week has been – watching, waiting, sleeping in the milk parlor – well not really sleeping – alarm was set to wake me at 1 hour intervals should I happen to fall asleep while monitoring the video cameras mounted above the kidding pens. Well, thats the story so far this season…. and HERE THEY ARE! Introducing the Castlekeep “first round” kids of 2018!
If you haven’t yet reserved a doeling or buckling, now would be the time! These kids are amazing. So whether you are looking for great milk production, an outstanding young herd sire, or are seeking show ring quality to compete, please take a close look at these kids – and their genetic roots. All are sired by Castlekeep Grand Champions!