Dallas Alice and Lola's Babies

I stopped at Homestead Feed to buy more milk replacer...something I had hoped to avoid this breeding season. It is so gosh darn expensive but cannot be avoided if you want to save your lambs. With the mastitus, pneumonia and sudden maternal death cases I have had this year, milk replacer is a life saver. I have a bad habit of waiting until I am almost out before getting more, and found myself making a frantic call to Homestead from work today. When a tape machine answered I panicked...did they go to the Caribbean on vacation? What gives? I suddenly heard the screams of hungry lambs...I quickly thought of Tractor Supply, but they only have generic milk replacer (not specific to sheep) or calve milk replacer. Lambs hate when you pull a switch on them. I called back later and breathed a sigh of relief when Barb answered the phone. Yes, she had two buckets and would put them aside. I drove right there after work, lest some other desperate shepherd talk her out of one of them. I got the goods but was disappointed to hear she won't have any more until a week from Friday. Now this is the same lady that never heard of Pritchard Teats. Doesn't she know that this is lambing time???? I know they are just starting out...and if it is so expensive for us to buy, it must be expensive for them to buy, too. Nevertheless, she should get more in. Now I will have to scour Central New York for LAMB milk replacer. It never ends...
So I make it home just before the pouring rain starts, get the dogs out of the trailer (they are shredding the quasi sofa again) and carry in my rabbit food. I forgot how heavy 50 pound bags are. I am attacked by the bottle babies but still am able to spy, out of the corner of my eye, a cute little soaking wet brown and white newborn kid standing next to Dallas Alice. Just then Steven walked in to work on the barn apt. and helped me get the bottle lambs fed so I could tend to Lola. He took a walk to the back of the barn and found Dallas Alice with a soaking wet white doe kid! Mother and daughter gave birth within minutes of each other! Thank Goodness for Steven...he helped me get them in their jugs and do my clip, dip and strip. Before he could get Dallas Alice by the horns she gave me two good slams. It's been a long time since I was butted good by a sheep or goat and it hurt. Now I know why the dogs avoid them at all costs! Celeste is grinding her teeth, so I don't think we are done yet tonight. The goatie express is underway.