On Ember‘s 147th day after her breeding to Sors, her ligaments had disappeared and her modest pre-kidding udder was substantially bigger. She was acting normally in the morning; eating with her herd and seeming generally unperturbed. I decided to monitor her through the day as I cleaned the house.
By 2pm, she had separated herself from the herd and seemed a little agitated. She was also answering the goat kids who were calling to their dams, which let me know her maternal hormones were starting to surge. I moved her into our kidding area and turned on the camera so I could watch her closely as I finished cleaning and had a late lunch. She was definitely uncomfortable; changing positions frequently, but also fussing because she did not like to be separated from her herd.
At 3:35, she began pushing, and in no time had delivered a little buckling. She was clearly gobsmacked by his arrival, but we dried him off together. I checked her to confirm that there was another kid and assess the position. This one was also lined up correctly (two hooves and a nose), and delivered quickly. Also a boy. I bumped her to check for the presence of more kids and definitely felt hard baby part, so I checked to determine position and felt another pair of hooves and a nose. In no time, she had delivered buckling number 3. At this point, her belly was soft and she had no more kids to deliver. All three boys were vigorous and up nursing within 20 minutes. Ember got some molasses water and the boys got weighed and had their cords dipped. All 3 boys will be looking for new homes. Ember has a promising udder and will be on milk test this Spring. Here’s the breakdown:
Buckling 1: 3 lbs, 14 oz; Black/Tan over Red-Cheek Mahogany, blue eyes, white on poll, frosted ears.
Buckling 2: 4lbs, 2 oz; Black/Tan over Red-Cheek Mahogany, blue-eyes, white on poll, frosted ears
Buckling 3: 4lbs, 14 oz; Black/Tan over Red Cheek Mahogany, brown-eyes, frosted ears, polled