Theresa is a Toggenburg goat. They are a dairy breed that are well suited to the cold of Michigan winters. It is the breed I have been hoping to get when we were ready to start our herd.
And would you just look at that little doeling in the back of this picture? How could you not just fall in love? I can't wait to see how big she has gotten in the last five weeks.
And let's not forget the udder. Nice and ready for me to milk. I just can't wait to have all that wonderful fresh milk ever day. I've already ordered a book on making cheese.
In other news, the two little rabbit does we got a while back both kindled and lost their litters in a freeze we had last week. Both of our meat rabbits kindled this week as well. One litter died and I am not sure why. But they had gotten really cold at one point less than 24 hours after birth. The mom didn't put enough fur in the nest at first. I had gotten the babies warm again, but I have no idea how long they had been cold. So perhaps they just weren't able to fully recover from that. The other litter is doing OK so far, but two did die from that one. They were much smaller than the rest of their litter mates and so probably just not as strong as they needed to be. I have been told that it's so common that rabbits loose their first litter that it's almost expected. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it. I'm not ready to give up yet though.
For now, I'm going to focus on the happy things. We have a goat pen and shelter to build. OK, so Rob has a goat pen and shelter to build. I have a project to finish for www.musicforall.biz. Check out their Mapex Drums. :o)
Oh, and we are open so suggestions on naming the little doeling.
