Meet Mina

I was right again! Yesterday morning I made the prediction Brighita would kid either that day or the next, and by 2:00, we had a new baby goat on the ground. 

We named her Mina, pronounced MEE-nah, which means mini. She is a mini-me of her mom! 

Brighita did well mothering. She licked her dry and got her up and moving right away. 

The other goats were there watching. It was very chill in the shed... Sage watched from her lounging position on the milking stand. 

Gerda chowed down on alfalfa while her kids hung out in a feed tub. 

They actually fell asleep while I was out there! 

I left everyone peaceful and snug. That evening after Jaron went to bed, G and I checked to make sure Mina nursed. Even though we hadn't seen her nursing, based on her energy level, I was pretty sure she had. Still, we wanted to confirm. 

Also, we were nervous about Brighita's udder. Turns out she has two teats on each side. They weren't noticeable until her udder got really big otherwise we probably would've gotten rid of her before kidding. 

I've never seen double teats with goats before! According to the Internet, it's more common in meat goats. It doesn't hurt them at all, but it can make nursing difficult since the extras aren't typically functional. 

In Brighita's case, both teats work on the one side! I didn't test the false teat on the other side; it's much smaller so my guess is it doesn't work. 

Mina had cleared out one side of the udder but hadn't drunk from the other. I showed her there was milk over there and she quickly figured it out. We'll let her nurse for a week and then begin milking. 

In other news, the goats have found interesting ways to access their mineral feeder. We saw Sage lean over from on top of the milking stand to nibble on the salt. I almost caught her in the action! 

The chickens have been very pleased with this warm weather. They're roaming all over our property! A bunch made it out to the pasture. Can you see them in the distance?