May 2026 NEWSLETTER
Written By David Whitaker
New life at Windermere. Kidding, not kidding.
In the time since I last wrote to you all. Three baby goats (kids) were conceived and born at Windermere Ranch. Read on for the full story.
PART 1
In November of last year, we briefly hosted our neighbor's Nubian Buck, Taffy. Our intention with this healthy male goat was to introduce him to our herd of Nubian brush goats. These valuable cleaners roam the ranch and devour weeds, grass, and leaves that would otherwise be a fire hazard. Their herd size has dwindled to just nine goats over the last five years or so, and we hoped Taffy would mate with the brush goats and fill in their ranks.
To get Taffy in the mood for mating, I decided to bring in Mellie, one of our Nigerian Dwarf goats who lives with her siblings in a pen at the barn. These milking goats are much smaller and unlike the brush goats don’t roam the ranch.
Mellie was in heat. She would be the perfect bait, I thought, to lure Taffy across the property. Little did I imagine that while traveling from Horse Flats (near the Church House) to the area below the Garden House, Taffy and Mellie would mate several times. Whoa! I guess they were not so different after all.
Taffy's introduction to the brush goats went well. However, over a few days, Taffy gradually drifted from the herd and headed back toward the gate at the Church house and more familiar territory. On Saturday night, he was found there, calling out to go home with our herd of Nubians nowhere in sight. Apparently, he was ready to go home.
But remembering Taffy and Mellie's interactions, I marked my calendar for 145 days (the approximate gestation period for small goats).
Here's Taffy:
PART 2
My hunch was right. Mellie had gotten pregnant. Goats are known for clockwork gestation. And soon the 145th day from her encounter with Taffy would arrive.
The day before, on Monday, March 16, Andrea Bratt, a friend of Windermere and Goat Herder came to check on Mellie and to set us up with some supplies for the birth. We thought that the babies would be born on Monday night so we set our alarm clocks to visit the barn several times. No kids were born.
The next day, I doublechecked the due date with a goat birthing calculator (easy to find online) and realized that 150 days is the normal goat gestation period, so Mellie's due date wouldn't be until Sunday, March 22. So, thinking that the goats wouldn't be born until Sunday, I fed the goats on Tuesday evening and went to bed.
Well, when I went to the barn to feed the goats on Wednesday morning, I was met by three baby goats! Since then, we've named them Amethyst, Bella, and Coco. Here they are:
These kids are a mix of two goat breeds, Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf. We hope that next year these adorable female goats can get pregnant and later become milk goats! What a treat for residents and visitors it would be. In the meantime, they are still very tiny and vulnerable, wonderful to hold and cuddle.
Photos & Videos!
Enjoy these photos and videos from Windermere Ranch.
Album: November 2025
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Monday, June 29, 2026
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time
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