January 25, 2023

Kidding Has Commenced!

River's due date was January 24th, so I'd been on kidding watch for the past four or five days. On Monday morning, the 23rd, she stayed back in the barn while the others went out to pasture. Not much was going on by lunchtime, so I thought I had some time and put her in the kidding pen. I went in to make lunch, came back about an hour later, and found this!


So, I missed it! The black is a little buck and the spotted is a little doe.

Yes, he's quite a bit bigger and heavier than she is.

I'm thinking that the buck came first because River was cleaning him off when I got there whereas the little doe was still covered in birth membranes. It was sunny but chilly so I helped dry them off. They were up on their feet in no time. Then came the business of finding that first meal.



I usually try to help with this, but goats are stubborn from the git-go! Even when you rub their little noses on a teat they clamp their mouths shut and push away with all their might. Sheesh. 

Here they are the next day, dried off and sporting their little sweaters.

River and her twins

Little buck

Little doe

All of this was much earlier than I planned, but we had a buck breakout last August and we weren't able to get the bucks back before they'd done the deed. The other doe was Sky, who is due any minute now too. The amazing thing is, they were bred by the bucks I intended to put them with anyway!

23 comments:

Michelle said...

Congratulations! Sounds like you know exactly who bred whom; wonderful that they 'went along with' your plans!

Cederq said...

Ahh, kidding! My favorite times of the year! I always enjoyed the birthing. I too have spent many of the night being a midwife. It sure helped from my nursing career when I had floated to L&D...

Leigh said...

Michelle, thanks! It's always a relief when mother and babies are doing well (as you know!) I wish the timing had worked out for warmer weather, but confess I'll be glad to have milk again.

Kevin, my background in nursing has been a tremendous help too! For this and goat vetting in general.:)

Sandi said...

OH! Oh my. How cute! Do they need the sweaters?

daisy g said...

What a wonderful surprise! They look hale and healthy!

Mama Pea said...

I know you would have liked to have been in on the actual birth, but how wonderful it seems to have gone without a hitch. By the looks of River's udder and teats, the kids should be well-nourished and happy. Congratulations!

Leigh said...

Sandi, when our nights get down into the 20s I like for them to wears sweaters for the first couple of days. I want all the nourishment they take in to go to growing, not trying to stay warm. :)

Daisy, yes, and that's always the best blessing!

Mama Pea, yes River is a great producer! She's short, though, so her teats are lower to the ground than a tall goat, which gives the kids something extra to figure out. They're two days old now and experts and getting their milk!

Boud said...

What the chic kids are wearing. The yellow one especially! Congratulations on two healthy kids to start the kidding period.

Ed said...

I found pigs to be the same way, always giving birth the minute you stepped away. I guess I can't blame them. Fortunately they were discovered quickly and didn't get too cold. Nothing worse than discovering too late a litter of pigs frozen to death because we missed signs. Fortunately that only happened very rarely.

Leigh said...

Boud, thanks! I loved making their little sweaters. The blue one was knitted and the yellow one crocheted. That one was a coat pattern for small dogs, but it's still too long! I have to tuck it under so mom can tend the the back end business. :)

Ed, it's almost as though they are determined to not have an audience! I've lost several kids to hypothermia, and know what a heartbreak it can be. I swore never again. But the goats didn't seem interested in cooperating.

Quinn said...

Glad it went smoothly, even if you did miss the actual moment/s. I was taken completely by surprise only once, and I'm still shocked when I remember it! :)

Debby Riddle said...

Precious new life! A fun and very busy time. He's quite sturdy looking, and she's as dainty and sweet as can be. It looks like River has good mothering skills. Congrats!

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

These particular posts always bring me great joy.

Leigh said...

Quinn, I'm just relieved all went well!

Debby, they're both very sweet! The little doe cried a lot at first, until we finally got her tummy full. They started bouncing around today. :)

TB, it is a joyful time. Reminds me to take time to enjoy it and be thankful.

Nina said...

They are adorable. I love the sweaters. We had lambs born earlier than expected once, when daytime temperatures were -25 during a freak cold spell. I cut the arms off some of my children's old sweaters and used those for a couple of days. It was amazing how much that little bit of sweater helped them grow dramatically in those few days. Well worth the effort in cold weather!

tpals said...

Hooray! I love these posts from you. Especially when it's all good news.

Leigh said...

Nina, I've lost kids to hypothermia and it's heartbreaking. When their body temp drops too low, they lose the sucking reflex, which makes it worse. Your sweater idea is brilliant!

Tpals, always grateful for easy deliveries and healthy kids!

Cederq said...

Leigh, "I want all the nourishment they take in to go to growing, not trying to stay warm. :)" Even down in LA I used sweaters from Goodwill and thrift stores to put on my kids when born in the latter fall and winter. Tho warmer there then where you are at, it still got cold enough I too wanted the milk they took in to go for growing and immunity, not trying to stay warm. One late fall I had 24 kids drop in a weeks time and it was comical to see 24 kids in colorful sweaters. One pasture was close to US231 and people would stop and take pictures and gaggle over all those kids in sweaters.

Leigh said...

Kevin, I would have loved to have seen that! Good idea about the thrift stores for sweater sources too. I enjoy knitting and crocheting, but I've used sleeves out of old sweatshirts in a pinch.

PioneerPreppy said...

I so miss babies especially the baby goat kids. Now that I am dealing with the other end of the timeline more than the start I just cannot see growing my flocks anymore. Losing my Ram this Winter stil bothers me but those black and white kinds almost had me motivated to turn the ram pen into a billy goat pen :)

Leigh said...

PP, they're hard to resist, aren't they? Besides the joy, we love getting the milk. Plus my goat sales buy everybody's feed for the year!

Losing animals is always hard. It can feel like a real setback, can't it?

Retired Knitter said...

Just adorable. New life! How grand.

Leigh said...

RT, good to hear from you! Kidding is one of my favorite events of the year. :)