One Week Later

Baby update!

Let's start with the feathered first, and end with the furred.  On the feathered front, the little ducklings are doing just fine.

They are spending as many days as possible out in the "tractor" in the sun.  They are getting big.  I put them out with the class chicks, whose rear ends you can see here:

And here's the other one:

They are also getting big. 

Celebrating their one week birthday this week are these two little ones:

Can you see them under Ginger's crippled wing?  Ginger finally switched from sitting mode to mommy mode on Sunday and started to walk around with them.  They walk right beneath her feet, which is funny to see-especially because she never seems to step on them.  There have been some problems with these guys, mostly because Ginger is such an outcast amongst her own tribe, as it were.  She's not allowed near them, so she doesn't have access to the pond like they do.  That's meant a lot of special care on my part, which is tiring.  I've had to find where she is and feed them, because now she's not allowed to eat with the gaggle.  Luckily, Ginger is smart, and remembered that she can come get me at the front door, if she needs me.  Yesterday I found her "knocking" at the front door, babies in tow.  I realized she needed food and water, so I served her on the porch.  Since that worked, she did the same thing this morning.  So now maybe we have a system.  We'll see.

Now for the furred.  Let's start with the littlest, the kittens.

The little stripey blobs have been moved behind my husband's dresser, by Ellie.  I think she didn't want us touching them anymore.  See this face?

Look at those little fatties!  They are huge next to Ellie (who is small, granted)!

It clearly says, "Leave my babies alone, sucker!!".  Usually she's yelling at me when I stick my head back there, I just didn't catch it that time. 

Anyway, her babies are getting big and fat and walk like little walruses, and they yell when you pick them up. 

(There's no nice way to hold them, because they squirm, so it looks like I'm squishing him here, but I'm not.)

That's better, see?  He was quiet for all of 2 seconds. 

The boys are much more vocal than the girl, but they are all sweet.  One more week and their eyes should be open and hopefully they won't yell as much when they're handled.  I only can assume that they yell now because they're being moved and can't see what's going on.  That's got to be disconcerting.

Sigh.

And now onto the BIG furry babies:

Ah, my girls.  I just LOVE them.  They are sweet and funny and frisky and gentle all at the same time.  They are always happy to see me and I get lots of goaty hugs. 

With these girls here, the place feels complete.  Happiness. 

We've gotten our routine down-ish.  They are currently sleeping in a nice pen in the garage-barn, so every morning, I bribe them with a little grain to get them to go into their outdoor yard, where they spend the day, browsing and possibly eating hay (which they would rather not have, it seems, as they seem to prefer dry leaves or weeds or even sticks).  They get grain for dinner when everyone gets fed, and then after we've had dinner (the people, I mean), they get to free-browse while I watch them until my husband comes home.  They love that.  And they love him, too.  They run right up to him and chew his shirt and give him goaty hugs.  What open-hearted little creatures these two are!  It's really something.

Anyway, I have some more to tell you on the goat front, but it'll have to wait until Sunday, methinks. Until then!