 THE WHAT'S NEW AT BRYN HOLLOW FARM NEWSLETTER, By Sandie J. Dass for March 2006 |
 Elijah, Red Angora Buckling and Doeling Ashley: They're Young But They Sure are Growing FastA GOAT NAMED KITTEN It should probably be surmised that when you discover that you bought a Reg, Colored Angora goat named Kitten that there will be some additional surprises along the way. Kitten is black, more or less, and the less part was the first surprise after seeking her out at The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. Arrangements to buy Kitten were made via email and so viewing her in a large pen among quite a few other Angora does was our first encounter. She seemed receptive to this stranger calling out her name and although she wasn’t as solid black as desired, there was something about her that said, “Take me home.” The second surprise came after Kitten arrived. Walking by her pen area, it was a fright to see Kitten hunched in a corner of the pasture. My first reaction was that she was injured and so I ran out to see what was wrong. As I approached, she casually stood up and strolled toward her pen where upon arriving, she once again sat down. Yes, sitting, as in sit, like a dog sits down and like goats do not sit down. So there is Kitten with her silver-gray-black fleece that needed to be sheered nonchalantly sitting and ignoring the goats carefully chosen to welcome her to her new home. When she finally did make a friend it was another shock, for she chose a Cashmere doe named Midnight who has never been known for her social graces with other goats. As a matter of fact, Midnight had snuck into Kitten’s pasture on her own initiative when I had the gate open to bring in feed. Kitten was added to the herd to give birth to Colored Pygora kids. The plan was to mate her with Cisco, a Reg. Pygora Buck with red fleece and a black dam. The objective was to have black or red kids splash into being from this carefully chosen dip into the Angora-Pygora genetic pool. Midnight had been bred to my Grand Champion Pygora buck and after giving Kitten a couple of weeks to settle in, Cisco went to join Kitten in her pen. With Cisco being young there was a slight concern about his abilities, but after all, if Kitten could sit down she could certainly accommodate the young and inexperienced smaller Pygora buck. There were 3 kids born in December, Midnight delivered a doeling and buckling, Bethany and Fletcher. Gretel, who shouldn’t have mated until October and didn’t look pregnant, gave me a surprise all her own. Hearing a goat baa loudly on December 20th, I ran into the barn expecting to see some goat in a head stuck jam. Not even in the realm of possibilities did it cross my mind that I would find Gretel standing and attending a new born doeling, now named Holly. As January rained into already soggy pastures and gloomy hills, ears were kept on alert listening for the Baa’s of another two does expected to kid, Sparkle and Gwen. So when the high pitched “Ma” baa of a newborn reached attentive ears the expectation was to find that Sparkle had given birth. But what to my wondering eyes did I behold but Kitten in front of the barn with two tiny new kids just a few minutes old. While this certainly couldn’t be offspring from Cisco, given the 145 day gestation period, I nonetheless checked the calendar in shock or simply as a reality check. And so after tending mom and her kids and settling them in, put in a call to Kitten’s former owner to find out who sired these unexpected arrivals that came in the form of a brownish-red buckling and a doeling with the gentle coloring of coffee ice cream. Both had very tight baby locks, long lanky legs, ears dangling almost down to their noses, and that sweet little Angora tussle of hair on top of their heads. Kitten, silver-black Dam and her buckling, brownish-red Elijah, and her creamy doeling Ashley. Kitten’s former owner was sure it was the little brown buckling she had left in the pasture with his mom, thinking he was still too young to breed. In all fairness, it is difficult to believe these innocent little bucklings who cry so profoundly when taken from their moms are really capable of procreating. And so, while there is no moral to this story, Bryn Hollow Farm now has 3 Angora goats, Kitten and her two kids whom are being named Elijah and Ashley. Still waiting for Sparkle and Gwen to Kid, and hoping there are no more surprises no matter how adorable, lovable, or beautiful the kid and their fleece Click here to download  Click here to download | Bryn Hollow Farm Newsletter: March 2006 | Goat Care, Bottle Kids, Fiber Types & Harvesting F | | Return Home | About Our Farm and FAQ | Fiber & Fiber Products: Pygora, Angora, and Pycazz | Artistic Creations of our Farm Animal Friends | Articles on Pycazz (Cashmere-Pygora Cross Breed), | Links to Other Farms, Organizations, Oregon Wool G | Pycazz Goat Breeders Association and Registry | |
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