PART 2 OF THE REST OF THE KIDDING STORY
When I got my 6 goats back in the fall of '23, I didn't know they would all kid at the same time! Needless to say I've had my hands full.
I left the last email with having had 2 does kid and we had 2 bucklings and 2 doelings.
On to the next Doe to give birth...Andromeda: aka Drama
I did not expect her to be next at all. She wasn't as big as her sister Flossie Mae and for once was not living up to her name...until...she did.
She started acting weird and all of a sudden started having contractions out in the field. After coaxing her back to the barn and into the birthing stall, she started to push. It all happened so fast up to this point.
Then things got scary. The kid was presenting all 4 feet, instead of the regular bithing position so I had to re-adjust the best way possible by going in. YES WITH MY HANDS! I was wearing gloves just fyi. I really didn't know what I was doing but after that, she kept pushing and nothing was happening. This went on for half an hour at least. I had Alicia, my daughter there with me handing me all the things as I needed them. I tried to help by grabbing the kid and pulling with no luck. I stopped. Prayed. Asked God to intervene because we were not getting anywhere. I was afraid of losing them both.
Immediately, she pushed and boom, Astrid was born. Mom was so attentive and has been ever since. I do have her on a few days of penicillin because I did have to go in and hopefully didn't introduce any bacteria to the area but you want to be cautious.
Mom and baby have been healthy and doing great.
BTW, after that experience, we changed her name to Meda, meaning wisdom, priestess, full of honor.
Flossie Mae was up to bat!
She was such a love bug leading up to kidding. She wanted to be rubbed and loved on. My friend Amanda and I had been outside having just made sure all was well with Meda, we knew it would be a few before Flossie Mae gave birth and we had a couple things to do real quick.
Amanda left to go feed her beasts and I needed to use the bathroom!
I came back out and that quickly, flossie Mae was full on giving birth. I heard her screaming, as they do, and went running. As I came around the corner of the barn to her, she was on her hind legs up in the air pushing then fell over. Within seconds, out comes the most beautiful of all the babies, a tri-color doeling. She cleaned her up and got her moved to the barn. Another friend, Melissa, happened to stop by and drop off a couple things I had her pick up while at tractor supply and stayed a bit.
Time went by and normally when there is more than one kid, the next one presents about 10 minutes later. Well we were at the 25 min mark and although she looked like she wanted to have another one, we didn't see one coming. I ran to the house to grab something, came back, then low and behold she had birthed #2. It was a little black and white buckling with blue eye. The cutest fella ever. We named him Leif. Both he and his sister have been quite the little explorers. The names suit them perfectly.
Leif Erikson and Freydis Eiriksdottir were actual half siblings in history.
Flossie Mae's 1st birthing experience, she rejected one of the doelings. Amanda has one, Praline, and I have the other, Amaretto aka Ami. So knowing how that went, I was a little concerned she might do the same but nope. She's been so attentive and loves those 2 kids.
Overall, I'd have to say, I was very fortunate to have an amazingly easy 1st time kidding season. We now have 7 kids running around with 2 of them already being claimed for new homes.
All of the kids are registered, have been disbudded, and will have their 1st set of CDT shots. Although I follow the Holistic Goat approach to my heard, I understand that others may go the more traditional approach so I do honor that.
They will be ready for new homes any time from May 17-30th as they hopefully will be fully weaned by then at the 12 wk mark.
I have 1 doe that did not get pregnant at the same time, and honestly, I have no idea if she is now. If so, I'll definitely be on the lookout for a summer baby.
This up coming weekend, Milking Season BEGINS!
Think Cheese, yogurt, icecream, soap, lotion...