Exciting news! Last night, two cute little kids were born. The photo is about 30 minutes old. They look way cuter now at one day old.
Many of you got the letter a month ago about us trying to get our goat pregnant. What did we know. The reason the bucks weren't interested was that she was already 4 months along. The last two weeks, she has really gotten fat and developed a very, very big udder!
I asked my fellow goat keepers to call me when their goats were kidding so I could see it happen and learn what to do. A few days ago I got the call that their enormous La Mancha was in labour. She needed help, so Terry put on his latex glove and went in up to his elbow to pull the babies out. I stood at the mother's head and patted and talked to her to keep her calm. There were four babies! It was pretty amazing.
Last night I went out to check on our girls and Sarah was bellowing in the shed. I could see one kid emerging so I rushed back to get towels and call Ray. The baby plopped out and Sarah started licking it all over - very sticky stuff. Pretty soon another one started to come out. I guided that one, too, and there they were. Within 30 minutes they were up on their feet and learning to walk. We hoped they would feed by themselves.
This morning, however, the babies were bleating so desperately and had not eaten at all. Sarah's udder was too full and they couldn't latch on. I tried to milk her but I don't really know how and we had to leave for work. So I called our new best friends and asked them to come over and help the situation while we were gone. This is a small town after all, and people really do mean it when they say, 'Call if you need anything.' So a young woman came over twice to milk Sarah and bottle feed the babies. Consequently, everyone looked happy when we returned from work. By tonight, the kids have figured out where to go and what to do and I think they will be fine. The little doe has been named Aurora by a neighbour girl and I think we will just call the male 'Food' because that's what he will be. Terry knows how to de-horn and vaccinate and castrate, so we better figure out a way to trade or barter or make ourselves useful so this doesn't turn into a one-sided friendship!
As it turns out, we think our other goats are also pregnant! In the last two weeks, Dolly and Nova have also gotten fatter and developed milk bags. We may have a big herd on our hands soon. I think we are in over our heads. Do you know anyone who wants a baby goat?
Anyway, those of you who live nearby, please stop in and visit us, especially if you have kids(!) of your own with Spring Break almost here, and all. We love visitors.
Bye for now.
Love, Fern and Ray
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