Kids and the milk bucket..!

Several posts ago I wrote about Celeste goat having twins. Her kids are doing fine, but Celeste still hates them. For several days I kept her tied up so she could reach food and water, stand up and lie down, but not get away from her hungry kids. I went out several times a day and held her still so the kids could nurse, and hoped they were getting milk between times.

Yesterday evening I went out to repeat the process. While I was at it, Celeste kicked me twice, hard, then bit one of the kids and callously tried to butt her. That did it for me. I milked her and began to bottle feed the kids with her milk. They seemed pleased to have full bellies without threats of death. Celeste seems pleased to be rid of the little things.



So the milk bucket has been taken off it's shelf, where it has sat, unused, all winter. (In this picture it is next to a whole bunch of duck eggs.) And Celeste is being milked twice a day. Soon I will begin to milk Luna, too, and after Ella kids, I'll add her to the line up. The season has begun!

I will make yogurt and cheese and soap. I will feed extra milk to the dogs and the hens and the new pigs that will arrive next week. Meanwhile the kids will grow and flourish. The goats will be the center of our tiny hobby farm, and our well used milk bucket will see a lot of service.