Alpine/Saanen kids!

Frosted Mini's · #1 02/01/15, 01:20 PM

My 2 alpine does just gave me triplets and quads on their FF! The triplets were born night before last and quads yesterday morning. I like multiples, but not sure I want my FF's to be popping them out like that! My husband was holding the quad doe for me to sort out the tangled mess of babies and the first one I pulled was a buck and he was like, "Put it back!" LOL. I am a bit worried about what my Nigerians might be having this year if my alpines are doing this! One doe had 2 bucks and a doe-the bucks are polled and the doe is horned (of course) and the other had 2 bucks and 2 does with one each horned/polled of each sex. All the babies are white...looks like a bunch of little saanens running around. i think my girls are trying to make a new herd for me! :P I have pics, but they're on my phone, not sure I can get them here...but I am planning to take some with my camera. If I do, I will update here.

Frosted Mini's · #2 02/01/15, 08:32 PM

These are the boys. They are in the house because there's a guy coming to get them all as bottle babies that wants them for pack goats. The 3 doelings are in the barn on their dams. I am going to try to do both dam and bottle raising, like I'm doing with some Nigerian kids right now and they are very tame...hoping it works just as well with these!

marusempai · #3 02/01/15, 08:45 PM

I hear that the white coloring of the Saanens is pretty dominant. They are adorable! They will make fabulous little packers I'm sure.

Frosted Mini's · #4 02/01/15, 09:13 PM

Oh yes, white is definitely dominant. If the saanen is carrying a color gene ("sable"), bred to an alpine, you should see some colored kids. These kids, out of colored dams, should all be carrying color. It won't matter for the bucks because they'll be wethered, but the does should have some colored babies, if bred back to alpine.

GoldenWood Farm · #5 02/01/15, 09:26 PM

Send some of those multiple vibes my way Nancy! I want some triplets/quads this Spring

.

Justine

Frosted Mini's · #6 02/02/15, 12:24 AM

Are you sure? I mean, it's great, love it, but man all mighty, am I ever glad that these first fresheners are almost 2 year old, rather than my typical yearlings having all these babies. Maybe that is why they didn't kid as yearlings...they needed the extra time for growing all these babies!

Goats Galore · #7 02/02/15, 07:51 AM

Oh my, a whole batch of cuteness. I have a couple of saanen mixes and white does appear dominant. However, their thick winter coats are colorful. Actually the tips (about half strand) is colored, but the base remains white. Looks like different goats in the winter, but they will be white again for the warm season.

Alice In TX/MO · #8 02/02/15, 09:31 AM

I have two Alpine/Saanen cross does (white) bred to an Alpine buck this year. Looking forward to seeing what the genetic roll-of-the-dice brings.

punchiepal · #9 02/02/15, 01:36 PM

The colors can turn out interesting! With the mini saanens we have bred F1's that appeared white and gotten sable babies. Both the parents must carry a colored recessive and the kid got one from each parent, therefore sable. The white is the dominate gene, color recessive, so even if you have a white animal it can carry colored. So the white sibs from those breedings could still carry a white/color genes instead of white/white. We will see......

TRAILRIDER · #10 02/02/15, 01:59 PM

Beautiful white babies!

I have a saanen X boer 2 y.o. first freshener, hopefully bred to a wildly spotted Nubian buck. My doe is almost completely white (as was her brother) but she has about a dozen red brown hairs in one spot and about as many black hairs in another spot. You'd have to know her to even find them. I really hope she is bred, who knows what colors we will have!

nehimama · #11 02/03/15, 07:59 AM

Very beautiful babies! Congratulations on the new herd!