That thread was supposed to post this morning...boy, has a lot changed since then.... So, if you saw you saw the coffee thread yesterday then, you saw that I took a horn to the eye by a new a goat yesterday. So, this morning I decided to run to med express to have it checked out. Before I left is when Stormy was making all the noise...so, I told Chris to keep checking her, and call, ASAP..if something started to change and I would rush home. He kept checking and told me to take my time. I even stopped for hay. I get home, and I was hungry, so I said I was going to grab a banana and head to the barn. Chris headed out before me. The phone rang....it was him. He says...get out here QUICK..BUSTY is in labor!! What? That’s the wrong goat?? So, I ran really fast. Her sac was out and we waited awhile. It popped. I was a wreck! I called the vet to see what to do...it was her voicemail... At 30 minutes I reached in and...felt feet, but no head. I was too scared to make any decisions. I made Chris try. He felt the same thing, but pulled...the kid was breach! By this time we thought this baby was not going to be alive...but...after we got him all sucked clean...he coughed and sputtered and we whooped for joy!! It was sooo thrilling! But, we didn’t have time for much more than a quick drying of the little guy, and out shot the next one. This one was big! Then it made us realize how tiny the first one is! Both of them are like a beautiful blackish grey with white markings on their heads...just beautiful! All legs!
We thought Busty would have twins and Stormy just one. Then..sure enough, there was a third! She was beautiful...looks exactly like her mom...brown with a black stripe down the ridge of her back...white on her side and black legs...a little black stripe on her nose and white on her head...it’s like she’s a mini me of Busty! I’m definitely keeping her!
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So, we got them dried with the drier, Busty wasn’t being really affectionate at first, and that had us concerned. She was pawing at the ground, not letting them nurse. But, just then...Stormy started her noises again..I went to check...sure enough..she was in labor! We couldn’t believe they were going like this...one after another! Stormy was a breeze...one adorable little girl popped out and she was very fuzzy...a lot grey and white markings...just adorable! But, once again..we thought we were done...but, she had a twin!! They are just as cute as can be! Stormy was being much better with them, and it was her first freshening. Then, I think we might have discovered a problem. Busty kept pull on her nipples..hard. Stormy’s were just leaking with milk. Not Busty. I tried to milk her...nothing...Chris tried..nothing. He tried for a good few minutes and, finally we got it..he said it felt like she was plugged? I mean...her nipples were the size of hotdogs and definitely looked like they were about to explode. I could tell they hurt her. She was relieved when he got the milk going and the kids could get some good colostrum. Here’s a question. We had to work really hard to get these buggers to nurse...some didn’t want to, some couldn’t find it..some only did it for a second...How long do these little ones nurse? They went back a few times bef we left the barn for the night. when The vet finally called I asked if I will need to raise one as a bottle baby. She said maybe no, but maybe just supplement? What have you all found with triplets? The small one would be the small choice to supplement ...I would like to choose the brown one as I want her for my pet. If I take her out of the equation..will he have enough to grow big and strong? If I choose to bottle feed...do I bring them in the house full time? No time with their sibs? If my goal is to make one my special pet...is supplement feeding the way to go? Or simply more attention?
oh, I realized, that my goats DO like molasses..but, it needs to be heated. Chris brought the jar warm and the water too. I offered the molasses to Busty and she just loved it! Funny! They are sooo picky!
the drench gun we bought at TS fell apart as we were putting it together..three times. We made do with it today, but I’m going to exchange it for a different one.
So..something else I learned...on the other site I was on, I was given a loooong list of kidding necessities. I bought everything except what was needed by the vet. Expensive. I used the shoulder length gloves....nutridrench, lubricants, dental floss and iodine. I think I’ll probably be returning a lot to Jeffers now that I see, I would’ve rather had, more nutridrench, more probiotics than Calciumgluconate, etc. oh well..live and learn....the shoulder length gloves were definitely necessary!!
ok, so, I gave the kids a bit of probiotic today...I was thinking to give Jumpstart tomorrow? Then make appt for debudding very first of next week. How soon do I deworm them? Do I give them nutridrench? When do I give copper bolus? I know they only get the 2 mg or however it is portioned. I now have new one mth kid, in the new goats we bought. None of them have been bolusEd...ugh! I called the guy today...before the baby boom, to get all the medical records...I just have to call his vet...but everything is pretty out of date. Ugh! They are really sweet goats though!
ok...here are some pictures
jeepers! They really don’t seem to like the molasses on the grain, but I put karo syrup on it and they both tried to eat the bottle...is that ok? I can definitely put the warm molasses in the warm water....but, is the karo ok to hide the molasses in the feed right now? Busty was much perkier tonight and she wasn’t staring off into space. She got up to eat her hay and I was thrilled!
