Caution: Gratuitous baby photos ahead!
I awoke at 2:39 a.m. to the sounds of a female in travail. Labor. Birthing. And she wasn't too happy about it by the sound of it.
It was twins!
A boy!
And a girl!
It's been two years since our last kidding. Last year the breeding didn't work and there were no kids in the spring. The last time our goats kidded two years ago was no fun. We lost one mother and three kids. It was enough to make me want to give up this whole homesteading thing.
The goat that kidded last night (her name is Poppy) had her first kid two years ago. That time her kid was a giant baby that had so much trouble coming out that it died before it could. The dead kid had to be pulled out of the mama and it was no fun for her. Or us. Sorry for the dreadful details but just for balance, such is life on the farm.
So last night's kidding seemed to come as an unpleasant surprise to Poppy. Like she didn't know she was pregnant and didn't want to be. Maybe she was having disturbing flash-backs during the kidding. Usually the goats are pretty quiet during a birth and we just discover kids during the morning chores. Poppy also didn't respond as she should by licking the kids. She was just sort of clueless.
But it didn't take her long to figure out her job and for all the right instincts to kick in.
She's going to be a very fine mama!
New goats are so precious. So clean and pure. So ridiculously cute!
They are also a little clueless. It is endlessly interesting to see nature take its course. After a few hours of rest and adjustment their powerful instinct for food keeps them searching, not always sure of the right direction.
But getting it right often enough.
When the kids arrive, so does spring!
Now we will wait for Poppy's mother, Lily, to show us what she's got.
It will be great to have fresh goat milk again around here. It's been too long.