It’s been a long, rough week on the farm. Fair warning, in the past 6 days we’ve experienced new life and premature passing. But we made it through and have 6 babies to show for it!
It all started last Thursday when we heard the dogs bark from the porch and AC looked out the window to see Meriwether…and a baby peeking out of the kidding castle. AC went to check on things and noticed that Meriwether still had another baby hoof poking out, but wasn’t making any progress for a concerning amount of time. So we called the vet and, long story short, it took 4 doctors several hours and an emergency C-section to get baby #2 out. Sadly, there was a third baby who didn’t make it. Doc said that baby #3 contracted an infection in the uterus. Doc also explained that Meriwether is too small to carry three babies, which probably contributed to her difficult labor. Doc also warned us that baby #2 might face some challenges because he spent so long in the birth canal. But, now that he’s got his legs under him, he’s just a bouncey, silly, little dope. Thus, his name: Dopey! And his equally bouncey, adorable sister, Dot. Meriwether has a gnarly line of stitches that are sprayed with colloidal silver, so she looks like a bionic goat and has secured the title of most expensive animal on the farm. Now, mama and both babies are squatting in my tarp-lined office, and we have to clean it every day like a giant diaper. You can imagine what all that entails. We have one more week of this. Just one more week. Just one more week…
That brings us to Friday. Flora, our youngest goat and first-time mom, started isolating, which is a sign of impending labor. We thought we still had a couple hours, so we put the goats away early. Soon after, though, AC noticed that Meeko was laying down in front of the kidding castle and curiouly looking inside. AC went to check on things, but we were too late. Flora also had triplets, but she’s also quite small so, sadly, two were stillborn. We’ve read that it’s not uncommon for first-time goat moms to have stillborn kids, but it still hurt. The little girl who pulled through has a saddle-like marking on her back so her name is Pegasus (Peggy, for short).
Fast forward to Sunday. After church, Mothers Day lunch with my parents, and a nap, Fauna started showing signs of labor and AC went to check on her right after she gave birth to her third kid. If you’re following along, that means ALL THREE goats have had triplets so far 🤯. Fauna is a bit larger, but we still lost one despite our best efforts to revive it.
For those keeping count, we’ve now had nine babies and lost four. You can imagine the emotions we’re feeling at this point: sadness, confusion, heartbreak, but also joy, happiness, and relief that we have some healthy babies.
Yesterday, we finally wrapped up kidding season. We knew Bashful was close to term so we were keeping a close eye on her and the baby monitors. Like, really close! Like, I had the monitors next to me on work calls! And good thing, because I happened to glance at the monitor the moment Bash’s while body rippled and I knew it was time! AC was in the goat yard for recess (we take Meriwether’s babies out to interact with the others ) so I used the baby monitor’s microphone to yell at her that Bash was about to have a baby. She jumped inside the kidding castle and confirmed that it was happening and I should run if I wanted to see it. So I sprinted out to the goat yard just in time to finally witness a birth! Bashful had a textbook delivery and gave us a healthy baby boy. Of course our largest goat, who probably could have handled multiple kids, only threw one, but there were no complications and everyone is healthy so we’re not complaining!
Our hearts still hurt for the little ones we had to bury. And we’re looking forward to plenty of frolicking and shenanigans from those still with us!
Meet the 6 newest members of the herd!
Bella is being a great auntie and keeping a close, gentle watch on our new kids. Meeko is super stoked to have some new playmates! So stoked that we have to supervise his playdates and call him back for a reset when he gets a bit too excited.
So our first kidding season is over. We can finally turn off the baby monitors and sleep through the night. But the babies don’t end there! Today we’re getting two new barn kittens and we’re expecting three kindles of bunnies. THEN, we’re picking up three new piglets on Friday. So the farm has suddenly exploded from 24 animals to 1 million (it feels like). Never a dull moment!
Until next time,
Charli
Loved the update on farm life! Those are precious baby goats. So sorry some didn’t make it. BYW, you should be a writer! Keep track of all your stories for a book someday!
Wow!! Y’all have been busy!! Will it always be like this? All deliveries at one time? Is it the moon or just the luck of the goat delivery draw?!?
I am so sorry to hear about the loses, what an emotional whirl wind! I can’t remember if you’ve said this, is it typical for them to have multiples? It sounds like a lot of work, make sure you’re taking care of yourselves too! Can’t pour from an empty cup!
Baby animals on the farm are the best!