A 3-for-1 Plus 2

Well Friday was boring.  Absolutely nothing happened, so I figured Saturday would be a doozie.  It was late morning when I figured out who was likely to have kids.  Then I shut Rosie in the Love Shack.

Rosie in the Love Shack pen

I also put Ava, Antigone, and 2TC in the garage and buck paddock.

Then it was a race.  But Ava got cranky.  I had to put her in a pen in the buck room.

Ava in the buck room all to herself (before I used that panel to pen her in the back half)

And everyone was picking on everyone.  I finally kicked Chiffon and Venus outside.  I didn’t care if their babies were sleeping.

Chiffon guarding her boys from everyone else.

Then I shut Antigone in the buck room on the other half.

Antigone in front; Ava behind

By this time, I had seen 2TC’s outer water had broken.

2TC before I brought her into the garage.

I wasn’t about to keep running between buildings, so I brought Rosie into the garage too.  So I had the four girls in the garage, all in labor.

Rosie and 2TC

It was painful.  I still had to keep 2TC from picking on Rosie.  All the while checking on everyone. So I was mostly standing in the door between the garage and the buck room where I could see them all.  Eventually, Rosie decided behind the door (and me) was the safest place to stand.

Rosie peeking around the door to see if it’s safe. It wasn’t (2TC)

Then things kind of went a bit haywire.  Ava and Antigone were screaming.  I checked Ava and could only feel what felt like a joint, and no feet or face.  Antigone was kind of screaming and stressed, but not pushing.  I know she had a bag there.  2TC was open but not pushing.  And I finally called the vet.  I kept going from one to the other and washing hands in between. Eventually, 2TC had a bag coming, and I could see one foot.  I felt and found the second foot.  By the way, she kept smacking and biting at me while I was trying to help her.  Finally, she quit attacking me, and I managed to pull the kid.  By this time, I heard Ava and Antigone again, so I went to see what they were doing (strong contractions but not pushing (Antigone) or making progress (Ava).  By the time I came back out into the garage, the vet had arrived.  Somehow, Rosie had gotten moved into the pen with Antigone and was mostly blocking the door, but the vet and I squeezed through. Antigone was in the first pen, so we started with her.  I honestly had a hard time holding her because she doesn’t have horns (my trying to check her was like wrestling a steer and trying to check her at the same time).  The vet announced she wasn’t pushing because it was backwards.  He pulled it and then went in for the second baby–it was also backwards.

Antigone has a buck and a doe

Then we left her and went into the pen with Ava.  He quickly pull three kids–all of whom were backwards.

Ava has two bucks and a doe

We squeezed back past Rosie into the garage, and I mentioned that I hadn’t even had a chance to see if 2TC had another baby.  I had actually hoped that once I pulled the first one, she’d start pushing and have the second one on her own.  The vet asked if I wanted him to check while he was there, and since she was not being cooperative, I was more than happy to let him pull her second one.

2TC has two girls

I thanked him, made a joke about the visit being a three-for-one and told him I hoped that Rosie and I could handle things without him.  It wasn’t long until we got to test that out.  But I will say, Rosie had some of the most creative labor positions of any goat I’ve ever seen.

The baby was finally ready to make an appearance.  Those were big feet, and she wasn’t making progress.

I worked really hard, and she really was a good girl, and eventually, we got her big buck here.

After checking everyone again quickly, I noticed Flora was now in active labor.

Flora still outside in the small buck paddock

Luckily I had enough time to run into the house and get a bite to eat before going back out.  I saw her trying to push, but there was only one foot.  Flora quit pushing, so I caught her, tied her to a post, and pulled her kids.

She was more interested in the other fluids than her babies. This girl…

She has a girl and a boy

After I gave her some time to bond with the kids (while I rearranged the garage to prepare for the night), I had her follow me up to the garage with her babies.

Then she was more interested in hay.

Then I was done for the day.  I left Ava in the buck room, but made her pen a little smaller.  The other four new moms and Chiffon were in the garage.

Sidney, Venus and the three girls that hadn’t yet kidded had the outside and rest of the buck room.  So after the three-for-one with the vet we added two more girls on the day.  Only five more girls to go!

Checking Goats

During the day, checking goats is easy.  I just head out to the garage.  I look at tails and udders and see if they have dropped.

Flora

Then I wonder if they are in labor or just dropping pellets.  Nothing exciting, so I move on the the next place.

Tansy and Cupid

That’s Joy in the buck room/pen with Sidney.  Again, nothing exciting.

Joy and Sidney

So I head out to pasture.

the herd

There I get to again look at tail position and udders and see if they’ve dropped and whether or not they stop and stretch or are off by themselves.

Ava–please not triplets again

Then I head back until I do it again in a couple of hours.

2TC

At night, the routine is pretty much the same.  But I get to go out to the barn instead of pasture.

Antigone

Then I come back about three hours later.  They are checked around the clock–no more than three hours from one check to another.

Babypalooza Begins

This weekend I had thirteen goats due to kid in four days.  By the time my first goat was due for this weekend, we already had kids!  Sidney and Chiffon were each five days early with their babies.

Joy and Sidney (her early bird boys are under the heat lamp)

When I came home from work on Thursday, Venus was in labor.  I let Antigone out and put Venus in the Love Shack.  But she wasn’t going to have them soon enough to get them dried off before it got cold with the night.

Venus

We moved to the garage. And we waited and waited and waited.

She was very clingy and wanted to sit on my lap

Finally, she had a big boy.

Then she had another boy.

Everyone is doing well. And the boys are cute when they are dry and fluffy.

Boy #1

Boy #2

The next morning was Good Friday–they day they were supposed to start kidding.  Only ten more to go!