I can hear the wind blowing so it isn’t all that calm.... Although there is a winter storm blowing in, that’s not what I’m talking about.

The first round of does have been moved to the barn (except Cadence, the other girls aren’t used to her company so she will go directly into a kidding stall when she gets a tad closer... can’t have preggos figuring out a new pecking order). Kidding season is always a whirlwind of emotions. The excitement of new life, the inevitable losses. The hopes for pink (and occasionally blue), the resulting gratitude or disappointment. The anticipation, the exhaustion (when a doe decides midnight is a reasonable kidding hour). The stress of untangling a mess of kids or rearranging limbs, the relief of doing so successfully.

I’m hopeful for better luck than some fellow herdsmen. A surprising number have had terrible events such as uterine rupture. Even more have had a disproportionate number of bucklings (which isn’t the worst thing, at least everyone is healthy). So fingers crossed for pink, health, and convenient kidding hours!