Breckenridge nanny goat surprises owners with quadruplets
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
When Tommy Wimberley of Breckenridge went to check on one of his nanny goats a couple of weeks ago, he got the surprise of his life: quadruplets!
“It was quite a shock when I walked out…and there was four babies laying there,” he said. “She’d just had them. One of them was laying there and couldn’t get up, but the other three were already up and trying to walk.”
From what Wimberley has heard, the chance of a goat giving birth to four kids at once is about 2 percent. “I’ve never heard of any other quadruplets around here,” he said.
Tommy and Sharon Wimberley check on the leg of one of the goat quadruplets born a couple of weeks ago. The male kid couldn’t stand up when he was born, and Sharon has been bottle feeding him to help him recover. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Wimberley’s wife, Sharon, decided to bottle-feed the one that was having trouble getting up.
“He has some sort of a scar on his leg and would just drag that leg when he tried to walk,” she said, pointing out a little brown and white male kid. “I told Tommy, ‘Let me feed that one.’ And, it really worked.”
All four baby goats — three males and one female — were running around their pen on Saturday morning. The Wimberleys said they have had problems with coyotes, bobcats and even a mountain lion, so the goat family is penned up for now to protect them. During the day, the rest of the herd is allowed to roam the hilly pasture behind their house with the Wimberleys’ llama, coming in to the pens at night.
Tommy and Sharon, started raising Boer goats about four years ago on their property at the end of Sha Lane. They have a few goats that are more like pets and the rest they raise to sell. They’ve been selling the males and keeping the females to help build the herd, Tommy said. Right now, there are 27 goats.
“It started out as a hobby; now it’s a big hobby,” Sharon said.
Most goats have one or two babies at a time, occasionally more. “We’ve had triplets,” Sharon said. “But, never four.”
Boer goats originated in South Africa, according to agricultural research. One study revealed that Boer goats have a 1.1 to 5.5 percent chance of have quadruplets, depending on the age of the mother. Other breeds, such as Nigerian dwarf goats, may be more likely to have four kids.
Tommy said he decided to raise goats simply because he enjoys them. “I just like goats,” he said. “They’re fun to watch. The little ones, they play like kids. I can have trouble at the office all day long and come home and get out here with the goats and it goes away.
“They’re just for our entertainment…we’re not making any money at it,” Tommy said with a laugh.
Just two weeks old, the quads still stay fairly close to their mama in the goat pen. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Billy Bob is the daddy of the quadruplets born to a nanny goat owned by Tommy and Sharon Wimberley of Breckenridge. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Tommy looks over the nanny goat and her kids. He said he started raising goats about four years ago, mostly just because he likes goats. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: The quadruplets born to one of Tommy and Sharon Wimberley’s nanny goats include three males and one female. The smallest male, pictured in the front left, had an injured leg at birth and is being bottle fed by Sharon. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
