Timmy, Tommy and Toby

The boys are three days old now and we are starting to breathe more easily. After they were born the weather turned cold but they were snug and Daisy kept them warm with her milk and her body. We got down to 3F/-16C and last night the gale force winds made it difficult to open the storm door on the house. The trip to the barn at 10pm was made in record time as I had a south wind behind me but I felt every step back to the house. The babies were in their little corner with Daisy on one side and Randy on the other.

These goats are so very different from our sheep...more so than you would expect. They are not just a flock they actually live and function as a family unit. The matriarch is most definitely Petal and she will tolerate nothing less than complete obedience. They all follow her out of the barn when it is time, they follow her back in, they lay in the sun when and where she determines fit. Not only do they eat when she decides but they eat WHAT she tells them. Even Randy listens to Petal. They follow her at a set distance, too close and they will be pushed away, too far and Petal rounds them up and tells them in no uncertain terms to get their act together. Yet when Daisy was getting close to giving birth, Petal gave her special dispensation to stay apart from the rest and to stay in the pen as labour came closer.

Once the babies were born, Petal sniffed, nosed and memorised their scents, acknowledged their presence and has left them alone since then, allowing Daisy to do her job of raising them. It will stay that way until Petal feels they are old enough to pay homage to the matriarch first hand rather than by proxy through their mother. Hyacinth, their one year old sister seemed a little jealous the first few hours but once she realised we were still scratching her head at every opportunity, she settled into the role of older sister, laying by the babies while Daisy eats or drinks. If these actions are anything to go by, she will also be a good mother when her time comes. Randy has been fascinated by the babies. At night he will be found laying down close to Daisy and the boys, sometimes with the kids between them. Daisy allows us to handle the babies but Randy is less trusting and is usually unsettled till the babies are back in Daisy's care.

We go down to the barn at least 4 times a day to check on them and I admit it, this is not a chore. Standing at the gate watching them, even if it is to watch them sleep is a joy. Touching their warm soft bodies is just wonderful. It won't be too long before they start exploring their new world and then the real fun begins.

It's hard to tell where one body begins and another ends:

 waking up is a slow business:

Mama is always close:

 Daisy has them sleep between the tin (draught protection) and the stock panel so they can't get flattened:

Proud Daddy wants to remind me I am only tolerated and not to push my luck:

Jake knows better than to get near new mothers of any breed but he loves to watch them: