Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Thanks HQ!

Kiddos got to see their first birth today. I got up early and went to check on the gals and noticed that K'ili's bag had expanded seriously over night. She was at day 152 so it was time! I waited until the grand kids got up then we went out and got the doe and brought her up to the front pen. Grandkids always notice the weirdest things so when she squatted to pee they announced it - Ewwww - she's peeing! And she was... But a minute or so later she squatted once again and fluid came gushing out of her. So, we pulled her into a kidding pen and I started explaining that birthing is a messy process and that there would be lots of fluids and that most of the time everything goes right...but that sometimes things can get crazy. Ugh!

So far with the three births I've had this year none of them have been textbook. So, when K'ili was acting a little strangely I had concerns. She wouldn't lay all the way down to push... kind of sat halfway up so I told the kids that I was a little worried that she might need some help. Sure enough. I could feel a head and I could feel a foot, but that particular foot and that particular head did NOT go together. The grandkids were not impressed that I had to 'go in' to deliver these guys. I kept hearing "eww...and gross...and oh my goodness... what's wrong...are the babies going to die?" But mostly they were just concerned that I had slimy stuff all over my hands, lol.

It wasn't a terrible malpresentation...just two kids trying to come out at the same time. I just had to push the legs of the second baby back so that I could get a leg of the first baby up and get her delivered. The next one came fairly quickly - and why not - it was already in the birth canal. And, he's a big ol' boy! One doeling already named Angel, and the second one a buckling named Batman. All's well that ends well and we've got two more little critters on the farm.

Today was the grandkids last full day here. They will be leaving tomorrow evening so I'm really glad they've gotten to experience all that they have this trip. They've been a great help and I'm gonna miss 'em like crazy.

 

[Denim Deb]

Glad they got to see that! That's one of the things that holds me back from breeding goats. I wouldn't have a clue as to what to do to assist w/a birthing.

 

[Mini Horses]

FEM you've had a "bad" year with so many assists -- even minor issues -- because generally goats do very well with kidding, as an overall breed. Of six does kidding so far, only one needed a little help here. She was a FF, tight, just a little tug on leg did it.
Other 3 FF....twins & trips all ok.

Nice the grandkids got to see a birth but, would have bee nice to see less eventful one. Then, that's life! At their ages, they can begin to realize that not everything is smooth sailing.

I bet they love the farm chores!! Sadly, my only one is not at all interested in more than an occasional pet and coming to "take a look" at new ones. Never has been, really. Wish my kids were more interested in farm life, not just living out of the city.

How's that garden and orchard doing at your son's place? I know you are proud of that, I would be!!!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Deb, it's one of those things you learn out of necessity for sure. But, you're so animal savvy I bet it would come naturally to you!

 

[Denim Deb]

I hope so! Do you need to lubricate your arm B4 you assist?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

@Denim Deb - The answer to that question is sometimes yes and sometimes no. In this instance, I was there from the beginning, when the doe supplied all the lubrication necessary. If I had come into the picture an hour or so later, when the all the 'goop' had passed, I would likely need to lube up.

@Mini Horses - You're right! Every stinkin' year is different and this one hasn't started too well. Waaaaay back when I first started raising pygmy goats it was almost standard practice to have to at least assist, or at worst, do a C-section. I guarantee you when you learn on a pygmy - a malpresentation in any other breed seems like a piece of cake to fix! Being inside a pygmy doe with multiples is like being inside one of those clown cars that a dozen clowns climb out of....but being inside a Nubian is like walking around the mall! Lotsa room!

The old time pygmy show folks would have two herds - their breeding herd and their showing herd. After a couple years and too many C-sections I refused to continue that trend. Myself and a couple of other show herds decided that we were going to start breeding for a 'show doe' with a little bit longer body and lo and behold some of the judges actually liked 'em! "Cobby" doesn't have to mean a short bodied doe and that was how a lot of folks were interpreting the breed standard.

That was my long-winded way of saying that I have learned over the years to assist if I even have a hint of trouble. The sooner I can correct a problem the easier it is. Sparkle would never have delivered her doeling on her own...Spooky however, delivered easily, lol. Her babies literally fell out of her! But, she doesn't 'mother' her babies until/unless they are lively. Stoopid goat. K'ili's babies were a tangled up mess - but again with early intervention it was an easy fix.

I've still got plenty of does holding on to their babies. Probably have at least a half-dozen more to go by the end of April....geeze! But - here's hoping that they go well!

My son calls with updates on the garden - and it sounds like it's growing by leaps and bounds. I need to get over there and see it with my own eyes. He did tell me that he thinks he 'weeded' all his new onions though - he planted from seed. Rookie mistake, lol, and it'll probably be the last time he does that. The citrus trees are blooming like crazy!

At my house we should have a banner year for lemons. I've got three trees that are COVERED with blooms and they smell so good! Hope the lime and kumquats do as well.

In baby news, Spooky has accepted back the little doeling that she didn't really want at first. And, Sparkle has rejected the little boy that she 'adopted' so freely at first. After about a week she was being bitchy and now she won't let him nurse at all....geeze! So, I definitely have a bottle baby. He's a cutie, but I think I'll put an ad on Craigslist in a few weeks to sell him. He's doing great but I want to give him a few more weeks here so I can give him his 'firsts'....first worming, first coccidia preventative and all that kinda stuff.

Too quiet here with the kiddos gone...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

First full days with no kiddos in the house. And, the first day in a week that I haven't cooked 3 meals a day! Don't get me wrong - I love to cook, but DH and I are both real good at finding what we want and not having 'formal' meals. Even though I'm cooking buffalo chicken legs tonight, just cuz I wanted them.

The oldest (goat) kids are now two weeks old, so I milked Sparkle tonight for 'people' milk! I got a quart without separating her baby. I generally wait about 3 weeks, but since I've been milking these does every day since they kidded (needed milk for bottle babies) I think it'll be fine. I'll find out in the morning when I try some in my coffee, lol.

We got the area around the raised beds cleaned up - finally! I hadn't gotten the push mower started until today...and all it took was me beating on the side of the lawnmower with a screwdriver. I think the float was stuck in the carburetor so I hit it and it worked....eh...I guess I'm more mechanical than I thought, lol!

I'm really loving K'ili's buck kid. No fancy moon-spots or anything like that - but he's so eye catching. I think it's because he has the most "Nubian" head on the place! I love big ol' Roman noses and really long ears and he's got 'em. I absolutely refuse to even think about keeping him... not gonna do it...nope...don't need another buck.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Well, it's official. My grandkids are great garden planters! We've got seedlings from the beans and squashes they planted. I had to send them pictures this afternoon so they'd know how wonderful they are!

I needed another day of spring break, because it was so nice today, so I took an extra day off. It was a good decision. I got a lot done like planting trees and trimming goat feet and weeding raised beds. Back to work tomorrow though. But, we're off Friday and Monday too - so it's all good!

DH has been waiting all evening for a call from his heart/vascular surgeon. He was supposed to call with the results of DH's leg scans. We already know there's an "issue" because the sonographer hinted to DH that it was a good thing he had the scan. I believe he said "this was NOT a waste of your time" but they're not allowed to give any details.... So, we wait. It's already 9:40ish so I kind of doubt that he'll call tonight. Ugh...another day of waiting.

I want a cookie, lol. Stress does that to me.

 

[Denim Deb]

I want a cookie, too. But stress has nothing to do w/it!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I need a lot of cookies...

DH heard from the surgeon today about his sonogram results. What he heard was that he should get to the hospital now for an immediate CT scan. Actually they want two scans - one without contrast and one with contrast. Unfortunately, he is allergic to the IVP dye they use and will need to wait until Friday because they have him on Prednisone for two days before the procedure and they will also give him IV Benadryl during the scan. But, of course they still haven't even told us why. His doc said he will explain it all to us after he gets the CT results. GRRRRR....we're back in 'hurry up and wait' mode.

But, through my awesome powers of deduction - my guess is that we're headed for some sort of 'procedure' to deal with an obstruction somewhere. They are CT'ing both his abdomen and his legs. I'm hoping it'll be something simple like a stent or 6... really don't want to think about a real surgical invasive kind of solution.

Still have a whole bunch of does due to kid in the next 5-6 weeks. My luck they'll all want to deliver at the very worst time possible. If that's the case I guess they'll be on their own.

Good thing I didn't buy cookies today - they would be gone by now, lol.