Today was the first Saturday in a while that didn’t have kid swimming lessons at 8:30. Since Anna and I were up late (again) talking about the decision of which house to buy, we decided to sleep in. So, when Alex and Vicki showed up in the bedroom at 6:45, we sent them to play and rolled over in bed. By the time we got up and ready for chores, the kids were driving me nuts. I sent them outside to check on Mary and Betty, 2 of the Oberhaslis due to kid today. Since I checked them at 11:30 last night, I didn’t expect any surprises.
I was caught off guard when Alex came running in yelling “Mary has a baby sticking out her butt!” We grabbed our jackets and ran out the door. Anna moved Mary into the kidding stall. She was obviously in distress and the kid’s face and feet were starting to dry off. Anna quickly pulled the buckling and we started to work on getting Mary and the baby help. Mary wasn’t doing well so we got the emergency frozen colostrum warmed for the buckling. After about an hour, both seemed to be stable, so we continued with chores.
As I went to feed the bucks and does in a different pen, I discovered Frosty had 2 kids nursing! I called Anna and I quickly commandeered a horse stall and shuffled Frosty with her doeling and buckling to the horse barn. Frosty was specifically surprising because, after we bred her, the bucks kept showing interest and rebreeding her every 3 weeks. If she was pregnant, we didn’t expect kids until June. However, last night, I told Anna “Frosty is starting to build and udder. I guess she is pregnant.”
Then, I got a phone call and had to head in to work to deal with a problem. I left Anna to deal with the 3 new goat kids and chores for the day.
When I called her later in the day to say I was on my way home, she informed me Betty was now in labor. By the time I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a babysitter, it had been almost an hour. I walked in the horse barn to the second commandeered horse stall to find Anna yelling at me “I need help, the kids are stuck!” I took off my jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and headed in.
30 minutes later, another buckling and doeling were on the ground. Betty got some meds and we made sure all the kids were nursing on their mommas. A quick milking of the other does and round chores for us inside and out of the cold. We both ran through the shower and headed out the door to the Dolphin Scholarship Auction. Now, I am sitting here on my iPhone writing this during the auction. We will head home in a while and check on all the kids. Then to bed.
Hopefully tomorrow will have fewer surprises. The next goat isn’t due until April. We think.
Here are some pictures of Frosty’s kids.
Vicki has named the doeling Black Sapphire and Alex named the buckling Bedrock.