Shiloh and Bethany heading out to do chores in the cold
Our Goat Kidded!
Guess what! Our goat, Fiddle, kidded on March 4th and had two does! I will be posting pictures as soon as my brother can get them for me... But for now here is the story...
We've been keeping an eye on Fiddle's udder for awhile now and have also been keeping an eye out for any show of birthing signs (she started having signs of impending birth on March 1st). Her bag has been coming down, but in the early afternoon De-De told me that it looked really big so I went out and checked her... she had milk! It very thick--colostrum to be exact-- and looked like a creamy lotion. I came in the house and announced that Fiddle would be kidding soon. Later in the afternoon she separated herself from the other goats and we noticed that she starting having contractions. Bethany quickly cleaned out the kidding stall and I prepared the birthing kit.
After some time she got tired of being in the stall with us and left to be with the other goats. That evening we did our chores and came in for dinner. De-De kept checking Fiddle and we all marched out every half hour or so... nothing... except for a bit of a mucus strand... Finally we finished our evening household chores and prepared to go check her again... it would probably be a couple more hours and we thought she would kid early in the morning... or so we thought. De-De said, "Let's race!" So we ran out to the pen with Bethany and Jordan scrambling behind us. As I neared the gate I said, "Oh, she's sitting down". Then I saw a little kid by her and well... De-De tells me that I stared squealing (I hope it's ok for 18-year-olds to do that when such an exciting event as a goat birth happens) and saying, "She kidded! She kidded!" Eden thought it was a great joke I was playing on the others... that is until I rushed into the pen. When we arrived we found that she had kidded two kids and had just cleaned them up herself. After gathering up the supplies I dipped the umbilical cord areas in iodine and we gave Fiddle some molasses water. Bethany and I then helped the kids find their milk. Meanwhile, Jordan rushed up to the house where Mommy was talking to a friend (about Fiddle). It was pretty funny because Mommy had just said , "Well it will probably be a couple hours." And that's when Jordan came in saying, "She had two! She had two!". Mommy answered, "What?" Jordan answered, "Two kids" and Mommy responded perfectly with, "You're kidding!" The entire family came out to see the new additions to the farm and guess what!? If you remember my last post about the goats... We got what I hoped for! Twins and Does!!! We named the does Rachael and Hadassah (Fiddle gives us Purim babies). :) Rachael looks just like the buck and Hadassah looks just like her Mama, Fiddle. Fiddle is being a great Mama doe and her udder is incredible! I am really looking forward to milking it in about 2 1/2 months!! She's going to give a ton of milk this year!
Well... now that you know the story you can eagerly look forward to pictures (which Bethany and I hope to post very soon). For now we are rejoicing for the new lives God has given us on our farm!
Fiddle: My favorite goat!
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