So many critters, so little time.

Our little horse herd is up to five members now.  And I have little to no time/babysitting available to work with any of them.  I answered a CraigsList ad for an Icelandic mare for sale, and ended up buying her.  She's adorable, smart, and didn't jump the fence and run away.  She's 18 years old, given riding lessons, jumped, shown in several different disciplines, and I think just about perfect for the kids around here to ride.  Her name is Jonina (Yo-neena).  She's hanging out in the pond pasture with the other three mares and all seems well.

All four Nubian does kidded in February, which means last October was a happy time for our buck Hondo.  :) Little Bit went first, as I've already posted about.  Her twins were named Annabelle (the doeling) and Macadamia Brownie, Brownie for short (the buckling).  My neighbor named the buckling, and I named the doeling.  When I was growing up our two best milkers were a Toggenburg/Nubian cross doe named Annabelle and her daughter Little Bit (1/4 Togg 3/4 Nubian).  So now, I have a Little Bit and her daughter Annabelle.  :)

Viola was next to kid, and she also had buck/doe twins.  The buckling is drop-dead gorgeous, black with lots of white spots and great conformation.  Too bad he's to be wethered because he can't be registered.  I named him Rocky Road, Rocky for short.  My vet said he wants to buy Brownie and Rocky, as he has two goats and really liked those two.  Viola's doeling is black with frosted ears, crown and nose and a few white spots.  Not nearly as flashy as her brother but still pretty.  I named her Allegra.

Then Oreo kidded with another set of buck/doe twins.  Unfortunately the doeling was trampled to death when the herd panicked in a sudden storm.  She was only a week or so old, and it was her and her dam and brother's first day out of the barn with the herd.  She never even got a name.  She was brown with frosted ears, nose and crown and a partial white belt.  Her brother is huge, black with frosted ears, nose and crown and some white spots.  I named him Jethro because he's very big and very clumsy but endearing in his own way.

Madeline was last but certainly not least.  She had a single doeling, but wow what a doeling.  Her daughter is long, level backed, wide bodied but still very dainty and dairy.  She's also black with frosted ears, nose and crown.  She has a small splash of white on one side.  I think she's the pick of the doeling crop for this year.  I named her Adelaide as it seemed to go well with her dam's name.

After all the kidding was done here, we drove 6 1/2 hours to Saucier, Mississippi to pick up the doeling I had put a deposit on back in January of this year.  Her dam was in the Top Ten in the nation two years in a row for production and butterfat, and one of those years she was also in for milk solids.  So I'm expecting great things from this little girl when she freshens next spring.  Her name is Athena, she is red roan with frosted ears, nose and crown.

I didn't plan to have all the doelings from this year have their names start with "A,"  it just kind of happened.  Athena was named first, then Annabelle.  Then Adelaide.  Then I figured I'd continue the trend and named Viola's doeling Allegra.  I'm keeping all the doelings born here and of course keeping Athena.  Oreo and her buckling Jethro are for sale.  I suspect this is Madeline's last year to kid, so I've not even been milking her, just letting Adelaide have all the milk to grow to her best potential.