Our Newest Baby Goats

Born yesterday evening! I didn’t think Ursa was due until next week, so I really hadn’t been keeping a close eye on her. But when the others presented themselves for their evening feed and she didn’t, I suspected something was up. She was lying behind the hay feeder, looking very much like a doe does when she’s coming up on delivery. Dan helped me set up the kidding stall and we moved her in. She wasn’t interested in her feed or hay, but since nothing looked imminent, we went in after chores to eat our own supper. 

After we ate, I went out to check on Ursa’s progress. When I have a doe due soon, I always listen as soon as I get out the door. They often call or sometimes I hear the new babies first, which always gets me running! I heard nothing until I opened the barn door. Then Ursa cried out and I could see something was going on. Actually, two somethings, and she must have just pushed the second one out. I quickly cleared the babies’ air passages and stuck them under her nose. She got to licking immediately and had them cleaned up in no time. 

Here they are this morning, about 13 hours old. 

These are Ursa’s first, and it’s always a relief when they take instantly to mothering. Some does are less sure with their first kids, puzzled by where these little creatures came from and upset that they want to get to their teats. But I’ve only had one kid rejected by a doe, I think because she had quads and knew she couldn’t feed them all. He was the runt, and she tended to him like she did the others, but she refused to let him nurse. He became my bottle baby. 

Ursa couldn’t have picked better weather, because while other parts of the country are experiencing a winter storm, we’re having lovely mild days. No worries about the babies getting chilled.

So, only Caroline is left to kid. My anticipated due date for her is March 5th.