Don’t Know Nuthin’ About Birthin’ No (Goat) Babies
Sharon July 20th, 2010
Tomorrow we begin the obstetric countdown to goat birthing. This is only our second time ’round with this, and while I’m less nervous than last time (way more nervous than the actual goats, though), I’m still a little worried. Mostly about Selene, who after her bout with meningeal parasite last year has some residual weakness in her back legs. Although she gets along great, can still jump on the stanchion, etc… and is a fine milker, I’m worried she’ll have trouble delivering.
Still, we’re spending the week getting our ducks in a row. The barn has to be cleaned and the kidding pen prepared. We need to move the two bucks (Cadfael, our new little buckling arrived on Thursday) up the hill into the old stable and their new pen, so that no one gets pregnant again right off.
We have our supplies altogether, but I really need some storage space in the barn better than the cardboard box on a high but open shelf where the birthing supplies live. Got the dental floss, for tying off umbilical cords, the antiseptic lube, the towels (birth is a gooey process, as I vaguely remember from when I did it myself).
I’ve found this website incredibly useful when preparing for birth - I don’t do everything just the way they do, but the pictures are incomparable, so for anyone who wants goats or already has them and is scared to have babies, this is great stuff!
There really isn’t a week’s worth of stuff to do, and I know I’m just making myself nuts, but that’s what getting ready for babies, human or goat is like. First there’s the endless-seeming waiting, and then there’s the sleep deprivation, the constant “is that normal” worries, and finally, with all good fortune, you have a barn full of babies (or an armfull) and the good stuff begins. Me, I can’t wait til the good stuff starts.
Sharon