Last week I left for five days for Arizona. Leaving my children is always really hard, but this time I was also leaving my pregnant goat who could have her babies at any time. The day I left she lost her mucus plug, so the clock was ticking. We had everything that was needed for my mama and the babies and I told my mom to call me if Daisy went into labor.
Thankfully she didn’t and I got back home safe and sound Monday night to a goat that was still very much pregnant. My husband, Rob, left early the next morning and won’t be home until Saturday night, so I have known that delivering these goats would be up to my children and me. Today Daisy was super lethargic and kept going into the barn instead of free grazing outside of the fenced in area. We knew something was up and I would have a child check in on her periodically throughout the afternoon.
Around 4:00 Carter came running down to the house and said that Daisy was making a terrible noise and he was sure she was having a baby. Mia and Eva grabbed some towels and blankets and ran lickety-split up to the barn so sure that in fact the great moment had FINALLY arrived.
I heard a bunch of hollering, “It’s a baby! It’s a baby! Daisy has had her first baby," and, “Here comes another one!! Hurry, Mommy!”
I got to the barn and saw that the second one had been delivered but was still in the sack, unable to move or breath. I called my goat lady and she talked me through the whole process of taking care of this situation. So I busted the bag open, swiped the mucus membrane mess away from her nose and face and started rubbing her. She wasn’t crying, or breathing for that matter, so my goat lady instructed me to swing her upside down, then clear her airways, and massage her.
I did that and she still wasn’t moving, and that’s when Summer said, “Well, you will have to give her mouth-to-mouth.” Riiiightttttt….”How do I do that? I squeaked. “Just cover her mouth and nose with your mouth and breathe for her,” she calmly replied. I took a deep breath, wiped her face one more time, and then, then she bleated a fantastic little sound, lifted her head, and coughed up whatever was blocking her airways. Yes, no mouth-to-mouth on a goat this day!
As we were taking care of our two new baby goats I was talking to Daisy and helping her dry the babies off. They were just beginning to stand on very wobbly legs when Daisy started making terrible noises again, and Mia started yelling, “Something's coming out of her butt!!” And alas, she delivered TWO more babies! Yep, that would be four babies in 30 minutes, from one goat. So crazy.
We finally got everyone all cleaned up and nursing. Tonight when I went out to the barn to check on them, they were all snuggled in tight against their mama, recovering from the hard ordeal of being born. So now we have four new little balls of fur running around the farm. My children are so excited and can not wait to play with these babies.
I'm not sure they come any cuter than this!
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