This post is for all of you lovely people with whom I have been unable to give an account of the goat triplets' exciting birth in person.
Cinnamon, our best milking doe was due to deliver her kids on Friday June 6th.
Perfectly timed, like clockwork, she went into labour on Friday in the early afternoon.
When I returned from school & work she was showing more signs of labour, so I checked on her every hour (maybe half hour), and administered the herbal tea we have particularly for goats in and after labour with an oral syringe.
It looked like it was going to be a long night, so I stationed myself in the loft with a sleeping bag, flashlight, my iPad & my MacBook.
I checked on her at intervals (in between which I looked at Craigslist), and by 1:00 AM her water broke.
I was sure she would deliver soon, and I could hear her grunting & pushing really hard, but by 4:00, there were still no little feet signaling the entrance of a baby goat into the world.
I went and got my fabulous mother, and told her I needed to have a feel inside Cinnamon and would she hold her still for me.
On went the rubber glove, & I eased my way inside.
I could only feel a backbone, and couldn't get a grip on anything. Baby goats are so slippery when they're still inside their mother!
Then I remembered from my extensive reading of James Herriot books, that the way to remedy this presentation is to push the kid back, and then bring the back legs forward.
Finally, I was able to grip a slippery little leg & bring it under the tiny body. The next back leg quickly followed, & I eased a slippery little kid onto the clean straw.
Cinnamon eagerly began licking it off. It was a doeling.
After a few minutes, and because Cinnamon had been in labour for over 13 hours, I reached in for the second kid.
It was born backward; a buckling this time. I reached in again, delivering another doeling.
Cinnamon expertly cleaned off her kids. She's an excellent mother, and this was her 4th time delivering kids, but she's never needed help before.
We helped with towels, and soon all the kids were dry. I squirted colostrum into each of their mouths, went inside, and went to bed because I had been up for about 25 hours. I slept from 5 until 10.
Now both mother and babies are happy, healthy and vigorous.
Both times I have assisted in goat births was very exciting, and I enjoy every minute of it.
Here are some photos of the kids I took today below. They are a little out of focus because the kids didn't want to hold still for the camera. ☺️
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the blessing of new life on the farm.
Until next time,
-Grace