All is quiet in the barn. We rushed out after seeing some heaving, pushing, rearranging and nesting on the goat cam while sitting warm and comfy on the couch. May is showing signs of impending labor.
The Capra Lane herd enjoys private birthing stalls, complete with infrared heaters when needed, comfy straw and pine shavings that they quickly shred and nest into piles. Also they can take advantage of the tube gates to work off stress and bash their neighbors and hog all the 'good' hay. Here is May, a first fresehener getting down to business.
There is no glamour in goat birthing. I prefer gloves, a long ghetto gangster puffer coat to catch fluids and goo, waterproof boots and layers. Also a luxurious seat to rest on. A milk crate will do.
What's she hollering about?? We're hungry! M-a-a-a-a! Starving!
Almost there, May...Front feet and nose is a perfect birth presentation. They do twist themselves around on occasion, which is a lot more work for both me and the goat. Today, smooth sailing!
Snip the cord, check the breathing, clear the airway of any mucus, then the kid is passed along to the doula (thanks, Ma!) where it is promptly cuddled, dried, cord tied off and cleaned with iodine, then placed under the heat lamp until we're sure no more kids are coming.
Its a girl! Standing up in just a few minutes looking for food. Into the 'neonatal care center' (my basement in a box, don't judge!) they go for feeding and rest.
We raise our kids on a CAE (caprine arthritis encephalitis) prevention program, which means we pull kids from the dams at birth then raise them on heat-treated colostrum and pasteurized milk to prevent transmission of disease. This also means the kids think that we are 'mom' and turn into clingy little boogers very quickly, they are very sociable and tame. Its a lot more work, we try to dam raise some pre-ordered meat kids to cut down on the workload, every little bit helps!
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