One of the strongest instincts, I believe, is that of a mother protecting her young.
A perfect illustration of this is our newest mother, O'Malley.
Our maternity ward currently houses our three does,
Sissy, O'Malley, and O'Malley's daughter from two years ago...Sally.
These three live together all of the time and are the very best friends.
When babies are born, however, friendships are put aside.
Each mother's babies take precedence over any other previously formed bonds.
If another doe's babies get too close, a mother will give them a warning butt.
And if another Mama gets too close to another doe's babies,
a display of head butting ensues.
This picture is O'Malley and her two year old Sally (mother of the single buckling)
going head to head because Sally got too close to O'Malley's twins.
Normally, Sally and O'Malley share a goat house and sleep together...inseparable.
However, when babies are added to the mix,
relationships are reworked for a while.
This behavior continues for the first couple of weeks after birth.
Eventually, though, the Mama's calm down and relax a little...
which is good, because it isn't long before all the new kids are running amok!
Comments
The kids are so darn cute! You could put that to music.
Yes, It looks like new mom is on top of it.. Very protective...