On Tuesday, Miracle spent a lot of time in the barn, even when the others went out. Her due date was March 1st, so we were well within her expected labor and delivery time frame. Dan and I prepared the kidding stall, and at afternoon chore time I moved her in.
At suppertime she finally started pushing. I always watch to get a clue as to how the baby is presenting. Two feet is normal, followed by a nose if the kid is head first. I saw neither feet nor nose, so I gently tried to feel what was going on. This baby was trying to be born tail first—no good! I managed to find one leg and foot and pulled him out.
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| Miracle's first buckling. |
The second seemed to take awhile. This time when she started pushing there was only a nose. I felt around for front legs but couldn't feel them—no good! The baby's head was huge and Miracle wasn't able to make much progress on her own. First-timers are often tight. I knew I had to get that baby out, and somehow I managed to get my hand over the head and hook it at the neck with two fingers. Miracle screamed and it took a lot of pulling but she managed to deliver a huge black buckling.
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| Interested onlookers |
There was no time for a picture, however, because the third kid was right behind him, also nose first, also no legs, also no good! This one was smaller so easier to pull out. It was a doe, but she was still and not breathing. Trouble was, kids #2 and #3 were still firmly attached to their umbilical cords and a yet undelivered placenta. Dan ran to get my surgical scissors and I cut the cords. The black buckling was sputtering, but the little doe still wasn't breathing.
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| Black buckling was second, little doeling was last. |
I spent the next several minutes furiously massaging with a towel and clearing the remains of the birth sac and mucous from her airways. She started to squawk and pant, and I noticed her tongue was bluish. That's a sign of not enough oxygen—no good! She had a lot of mucous down her throat, which I was able to pull out in strings. She continued to pant and cry and eventually, her tongue became more pinkish. She still had trouble breathing, however, which was worrisome. She was shivering. She needed to conserve her energy to breath, so I put a kid coat on her, even though the temperature was mild.
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| Being born is hard work! |
Trying to help them get their first colostrum was a challenge too. The black buckling finally managed on his own, but the other two were slow. The little doe was still panting through her mouth and wouldn't suck. Between trying to get her on her mom and trying to bottle feed her, she got a little down. I started her on a lung tincture, just drops per dose.
The next day her breathing was better. She wasn't panicky and was able to stand on her own.
She and her littlest brother both still had trouble finding and latching onto a teat. They wouldn't take the bottle, but they would swallow half-droppersful of Miracle's milk, so at least I know they're getting something down until they are steadier on their feet and figure it out. It's funny how some kids catch on right away, while others are less steady and take longer.
So, all's well that ends well, but it was definitely not an enjoyable kidding, nor one that I want to repeat.
UPDATE: I'm sad to have to say that we lost the little doe. What happened?
Click here.
