Does it figure that tomorrow could be Twee's due date, and we are expecting "significant accumulation" tomorrow also?
Uno - January 2008
As a reminder, a goats gestation is five months, or 150 days, give or take a few. Last go around, two were dead on, one a day late, and Speckles, who has more mix in her than Boer, was four or five days late.
We built an extra pen, and have some new gates in the stalls that can divide them up into smaller "jugs". We just call it the maternity ward. Trinity has been using it at night since she came back from her honeymoon. She'll be in with the rest of the nannies soon, when we reshuffle things with kids.
The expectant mother is in a gated off part of a stall. I
checked above her tail bone for the softening of the ligaments, but didn't feel it yet. She's had a little white discharge the past two days, but that can go on for a week or a month. Its time for her to be allowed a little quiet, and her own space. There is little mercy at dinner time. Head butting is given freely, no matter your condition. She is with her mother for company, and I think Vinegar is next to kid also. Twee's udder has been making slow progress, but in the past two days, it seems to have tightened up. Or maybe I just want her to go tomorrow, and I'm seeing what I want to see. Her belly does not look huge, so I would only expect a single tucked in there, but I am wildly guessing. Twins would be great as long as they come in a good size in this colder weather. Its lingering around freezing, but not severe, and the barn is dry and protected.
I have an extra load of wood in the garage, just in case we get the greater of the snow predictions. The cats have had an extra handful of the better cat food tonight, are already tucked in. The goats are bedded and well fed, so if plowing is a priority in the morning, they can hang in there a while
The baby monitor is on in the kitchen, and will be by my bed tonight.
My friend Juliann just emailed about the impending events and said, "
ANOTHER snow storm makes us feel as though time stands still!!" How right she is.
I'm glad this is working into the week-end, so the stress of a regular work week is off many shoulders.
If the kids come, they can be a treat for many to share early on.
Prenatal Care
Preparation for Kidding
& Signs Labor
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/prenatalcare.html#labor
So, Dave was there for the first bucks birth at about 5:15PM.
Yea - that's what we were doing an hour before expecting friends for the Super Bowl. I got my kit, and clean rags and towels and arrived with the neighbors, Karen and Abby, to watch Twee lay back down and birth her second buck.
Then to run back to the house and watch the game was...Well - just not quite the same.
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