The new kid on the block

With two of our goats expecting, we've been keeping a closer eye on them lately.  Yesterday, Tabby checked the goats before supper.  Then about an hour later she went back out to close the chicken coop and check the goats one last time for the night.  She said she saw something in the woods and went closer to investigate.

It was Pippi with her new baby!

Tabby blasted into the house to tell us and Hunter and I followed her quickly back outside.  What a precious little kid we found, STANDING beside it's proud mama!

The new kid passed the sweet, soft, and cuddly test!  Then it began to say "MEHHHH!" so loudly that Tabby put it back down by Pippi.

In the above picture you can see a red stringy thing hanging under the kid.  That was its umbilical cord.  Pippi had done a perfect job in cleaning her baby up, but she hadn't bit the cord short enough.  So I took sterilized scissors and cut the cord, then dipped it into iodine to sterilize the stump that was left.

It is common for goats to have twins, but Pippi didn't show any more signs of having another baby.  Her placenta came out in a globby, healthy looking mess.  That was important we confirmed it coming out.  It meant Pippi was doing very well.

It was getting dark fast, but we checked and could see that the kid was a boy.  Tabby groaned and said we would NOT be eatting him.  I said we could sell him when the time came.  (Apparently goats sell well on CraigsList.)

Finally, our biggest concern, was whether or not the new kid would be able to nurse.  You see, Pippi's mama, Topaz, was unable to produce milk well.  By the time her owners found out, Pippi's twin brother was dead.  It is pretty common for the kids of "bad milk producers" to also have milking problems.

Tabby squeezed both of Pippi's teats and milk came out perfectly.  Soon we saw the kid nursing.  A really cute clue that a kid is getting milk is that it wags it's tail while it drinks.  That little tail was wagging fast!  We were very relived, though we will be keeping the kid under close observation for awhile.

It was soon completely dark out so Tabby got Pippi and her kid settled into a stall with fresh hay, food, and water.  I gave Pippi a special drink to pep her up - water mixed with molasses.  And we topped her food with an herbal mix called "Mo Milk" from Molly's Herbals.

Just yesterday morning, the kids (that's MY kids!) and I watched a video of a goat having twins.  It was pretty quick and interesting!  (You can see it here, on the Fias Co Farm website.)  Hunter is my tender hearted child.  As he watched he clutched my arm and was trying not to cry.  He was so worried about the mama goat and upset that she was in pain.  (I thought it best not to tell him at that moment just how much pain he put ME in during labor and birth!)

Babies - of all kinds - are such a miracle!