Well, that almost ended tragically. I SWEAR when I checked on Helen this morning, she had ligaments and a so-so udder. However, when I checked on her after Fort’s kidding, she had 2 kids on the ground out by the hay feeder in below freezing weather. One looked dead and one was clearly just born. I grabbed them and phoned my husband to come out and help. I handed him the kids and directed him to the kidding room, already overflowing with mamas and babies. Helen has never been what one might call “easy to lead”, so it took me a few minutes to push, pull and drag her into the kidding room. Chris was holding the babies up to the heater, and Boy #1 (the nearly dead one) was only 91 degrees. I wrapped him up in my heating pad, tucked him into a laundry basket and covered him with a towel. I rubbed some molasses on his gums to give him some quick energy. I turned my attention to Boy#2 who was 101.5, so I tucked him with Helen. I quickly bumped Helen’s belly to see if she had any more kids hiding in there, and she did not. We expected triplets, so I ran out to the goat lot and quickly scoured it for missing babies. Thankfully I didn’t find anyone, so I headed back in to feed and water Helen. With a little help, I got Terra and her triplets transferred into the barn with Andi, and moved Helen into that kidding stall. In no time at all, both boys were up and eating. They are both solid brown with brown eyes, and will be available as wethers. It’s funny that Helen x Hocus was my flashiest pairing this year, but has yielded these plain little kiddos. Helen impressed me with her rapid, easy delivery and great mothering instincts. I’ll have to keep a close eye on her next year!
