More Goats!!

Daisy kidded on Monday. She was a few days late -- day 153 and a first freshener so her labor and delivery was a little rugged. She had two lovely kids, a buck and a doe. I noticed her ligaments were looser on Sunday so I set up the baby monitor to listen through the night for any noises. Of course, every fart and burp woke both my husband and I up all night long. When I did chores on Monday morning, Daisy's tail was crooked and her ligaments were gone. I sent my daughter to daycare and spent the day watching and listening to things progress. It was pretty slow progress. Daisy slowly got to the pushing stage at about 1pm. She wasn't very happy about me messing with her so I had to be patient and not run in the pen every time she laid down or else she would jump up and not get back to pushing for a while. She was a dam-raised kid who has never been very comfortable with people. This is the big reason why I like to bottle-feed!

Anywho.... Daisy got down to pushing. Her water broke and she spent a long time licking and eating every pile of goo that came out. It's a gross habit of pregnant goats but whatever. I was getting a little nervous because she spent such a long time between the water breaking and actually trying to push a kid out. I went in and felt some hooves close up so I knew it wouldn't be too much longer. The baby finally started coming out and it presented the largest hoof I have ever seen on a new kid! Judging by the size of the feet, I knew he was going to be a massive buck. I grabbed the leg and started to pull as Daisy pushed. I pulled as hard as I could and was pretty sure I was going to end up with just a leg and nothing else. Daisy pushed with all her might, I pulled with all my might, and we both screamed the entire time! The buck's forehead was hung up because he was so big. After a lot of stretching, pulling and pushing, the buck came out and was fine. I am pretty certain that he would have died if Daisy had to pass him all on her own. There was no way she would have pushed him out in time for him to be alive. I am glad I was there.

Soon after the buck came out, a smaller doe followed. She basically shot right out due to the space left by her brother. Both kids are creamy/white/tan-ish. I call the color "pink" because they do have a hint of strawberry highlights in the tan. They are both super cute with dark eyes and dark noses on white heads. Not much is cuter than a Saanen kid!

Both kids are doing great. I am bottle feeding them because they would be totally wild if I left them with Daisy. Daisy's udder is nice and producing 1/2 gallon of milk a day right now. It's still pretty tight and congested -- first fresheners can be like that -- so I am sure she will be producing a lot more milk soon. I pulled the milk machine out of storage and I am very glad to have it because first freshener teats can be too small for my meaty paws.

The other goats are well. Lucy's kid is winning the "Largest Baby On The Planet" award and no wonder since he is guzzling almost 1 gallon of milk a day already. Luckily the over-consumption of milk from his mom doesn't seem to adversely affect him. I am hoping to start putting him in with the new babies this weekend so he can get used to them.