So, I've been tearing up the virtual pavement trying to find Artemesia just the right date.
There was that nice Mini-Nubian buck who wanted her to come stay over
for a month...but Abigail and I begged our darling doeling not to go
since we would have missed her too much. A high-class Dwarf Nigerian
offered to meet Artemesia for a quick hookup, but he never told us his
phone number and didn't call back after he saw her online profile. (Poor
Artie felt so jilted.) Then there was the blue-collar guy who I was
trying to set her up with...until I took a closer look and decided maybe
I needed to be thinking about another sort of date entirely.
Two weeks, ago, the pooch test
appeared negative. But now, considering this lineup of goat butts, I'm
suddenly 50% sure Lamb Chop actually managed to do the deed in June
after all. Meanwhile, my post on a goat forum resulted in two expert
opinions, both in favor of Artemesia being knocked up.
Artemesia is
a lot rounder lately too, but she and Abigail have been eating more hay
since the weather turned wet and I cleared the old stuff out of the
manger. I'd say our doeling appears just as big on the right side as the
left side at the moment --- inconclusive.
The biggest point in
favor of a possible pregnancy is that Artemesia doesn't seem to have
come into heat at all this fall. Abigail has --- our usually quiet goat
yelled like crazy this week and sported mucous under her tail. But Artie
--- usually the chatty one --- has been mild-mannered and quiet for months.
So maybe I have a first
freshener on my hands, not a doeling after all? This would be wonderful
news --- winter milk starting up just about the time Abigail dries off,
plus a doeling who will kid while fat and happy on summer browse.
Depending on whether a
Mini-Nubian counts as a standard breed or a miniature breed, Artemesia
would be due between November 5 and November 10. Gulp. I'd better start
training her to enjoy butternuts and carrots if I want to keep that
healthy layer of fat on her back. And if the signs of pregnancy continue
to look positive, we can buckle down for the next step --- guessing how
many kids will pop out.