This is Judy's daughter Justine here :). We wanted to share some pictures of our very pregnant girls residing in our barn. These lovely ladies are 4-6 weeks out from their due dates. The average gestation for goats is 150 days. LaManchas average 145 day, and other breeds have been known to go up to 155 days. All but 3 does are bred to our Nigerian Dwarf buck Jack Jack, so their kids will be 1st Generation LaManchas.Before we go on I want to clarify what exactly a 1st Generation LaMancha is. When a LaMancha is bred to a Nigerian Dwarf, their kids are what is known in the goat world as a First Generation LaMancha. 1st Generation's average size is 80lbs as opposed to the 140lb-170lb LaMancha or the 40-60lb Nigerian Dwarf. You can have 1st Generation in other breeds also, it just requires breeding a standard size goat such as a LaMancha or Nubian to a Nigerian Dwarf buck. I won't go in to more details and bore you guys with the whole genetic dynamics. I did want to give an outline, so you could better understand when I refer to a doe as a 1st Generation LaMancha instead of just LaMancha.The LaManchas bred to Jack Jack, will have kids averaging about 3-5lbs. The 1st Generation LaMancha's bred to Jack Jack, will have kids averaging 2-4lbs. The size of the kids depends on how many they are carrying. A goat can have anywhere from a single kid to quads and you do have the rare quints, most common is twins although we have had singles and triplets here on the farm. A single kid is going to weigh more than a kid from a set of triplets, which is why I say the size depends on how many kids. I do have 3 does bred to my LaMancha buck Abraham which some of you might remember from last February. Their kids will average about 7-8lbs.
Ping my mom's 3yr old 1st Generation Mini LaMancha, due March 25th. You can't tell in the photo but her belly actually is quite large. Me and mom are guessing she will have 2-3 kids, do you have any guesses?
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Ricoalette my mom's 9yr old LaMancha due, March 26th. She is also known around here as "The Tank" :). Mom and I where discussing how many she might have and we think maybe twins. She is large in her belly anyways, but do you have any guesses?
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Rosie my mom's 3yr old 1st Generation Mini LaMancha, due March 30th. She has a pretty large girth going, so we are guessing triplets. Any guesses from you guys?
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This sweet lady is Nim, my 2yr old LaMancha, due March 30th. She is the first of the three bred to Abraham. This girl is the sweetheart of the farm, she loves her cuddles and kisses as you can see in the top photo :). She is bred to Abraham, so I am thinking a single kid. She might be hiding a second baby up in her rib cage though, any guesses? (these kids will be in the 7-8lb range)
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Sue Bear is my 2yr old LaMancha due March 30th. She is actually showing a bit in the belly so I am thinking twins what with her being bred mini. She is what we call a first freshener meaning she has never been bred. First freshener's tend to not show as much when pregnant for the first time. Any guesses from the peanut gallery?
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Mia is my 4yr old LaMancha, due March 30th. I am thinking she will have triplets, with her being bred mini. Her belly is getting quite large, but she has surprised me before. Care to wager a guess?
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Briar Rose my 3yr old LaMancha, due March 31st. She is one of my most dairy looking does on the farm, add her long body to the mix and she could be hiding twins. She is bred to Abe so you have to remember the kids will be in the 7-8lb range.
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Tinkerbell my mom's 2yr old 1st Generation Mini LaMancha, due April 7th. You can't tell from the photos but out of all 4 mini's we have due she has the largest belly going on. Mom and I say triplets, how about you guys?
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Trinket is my 7yr old LaMancha, due March 8th. She isn't as strong in her hocks and that comes from her momma but so far her babies have been nice and strong. She is to Abe and her belly isn't too big so I am hoping for a single little girl. What do you think? (again 7-8lb kids)
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Last but not least we have Zoe my 2yr old 1st Generation Mini Lamancha, due March 11th. She is just a bit smaller in the belly than her twin sister Tinkerbell so I think twins. Any guesses on how many she is going to have? Funny little fact, Trinket is Zoe and Tinkerbell's momma. I was rather tickled to see that they are all due within a few days of each other. When all these does are 1-2 weeks out from delivering we will post some updated photos of their increasing girth and then of course when they finally "pop" we will give birth announcements along with photos :). We do have 3 other does due later but they are no fun to post pictures of as they are still retaining their girlish figures for another few months. But no worries when they start getting some womanly curves in their bellies we shall post some pictures.
