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Countdown: 10 Days Til Kidding Season Begins

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A nice break in the weather yesterday gave us chance to kick the goats out of the barn long enough to strip their stall, put in their new rubber mat flooring and re-bed it with fresh shavings. Just in time, too, since kidding season will start here around March 5.  Ten more days, and then things start really getting busy around here.

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The bedding we remove from the goat stall gets repurposed and given to the chickens, who love foraging through and cleaning it up. After they break it down naturally by scratching through it for a month or so, we will transfer it to the gardens to use as mulch and fertilizer.

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Abbie really wins the prize every year for the biggest pregnancy display. I always think there is no way she can get any bigger, yet she proves me wrong each time. Not only does she currently look like she's smuggling two beach balls in her belly, but she's moaning and groaning a lot as the growing babies crowd up her insides. Counting from the first day she was exposed to the buck in the fall, her official due date is March 5. However the last two years she has gone a day early. Either way, we will be on baby watch shortly after the first and will report any news as soon as there is any.  Molly and Greta are possibly due the same week, and Sage (we think) is a little further behind.

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Here is a short video I took yesterday of Abbie snoozing outside of the barn, enjoying the 63 degree temps we had all day. Yep, that's her moaning and groaning nearly with every breath! Ten more days... can you believe it? She's HUGE! Care to take a stab and guess how many babies Abbie is hiding in that belly of hers?
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