Wish was not due for 11 days yet. She must have kidded around noon. We were at work/school today and got out later than we should have. This AM, Wish showed no signs of any sort of imminent birth what-so-ever this morning (we look for this) except for a really nice udder that was coming in over the last few days. She was NOT acting like a goat about to give birth.
When Jacob and I got home, today, Wish was screaming like crazy. I dropped everything and ran out there. She looked like she'd kidded, but there were no kids. I started looking. I came across a dead brown kid and picked it up and it was cold and stiff, and then it moved and made a sound. I must have looked like a football player, climbing over the fence and heading for the house with a baby goat tucked under my arm. I got a sink full of warm water and dropped him in, and told Jacob to go look for any other kids. Jacob said there was another baby out there, but the Anatolian Ayya wouldn't let him near it. We traded off, and Jacob held the baby in the sink while I went out and got the other buckling, who was more convincingly dead. The other buckling was posthumously named "Stonewall Jackson". He was stunning - grey with moonspots.
"Harry" (named after Harry Potter, "the boy who lived") spent at least an hour moving from one sink to the other; as one cooled down, we'd put him in a fresh warm sink. We were excited when he started shivering and we were even more excited when he quit shivering. Our mentor told us to wait until he was 99 or higher temp before we fed him, but to give him molasses in his mouth, which we did. I blew dried him while Hazel milked Wish and we've managed to get about 1.5 ounces in him, though we had to wrap him up in plastic and do the sink thing again.
Right now, we're concerned about his maintaining temp. Harry is in a styrofoam cooler that has a heating pad warming two ziplock bags of water underneath the baby, with two ziplock bags of warm water on top of him, and that all covered with a towel. Hazel will be staying home from school tomorrow to make sure Harry keeps his temperature.
He's brown with a couple moon-spots on him, and white ears and white nose. Pictures attached just show his head.
We have NO IDEA why Wish kidded 11 days early, but this kid must be amazingly strong. We think he was the firstborn, because he was found where most of the moisture on the ground was. The other kid, also a buckling, looked 'pawed' - covered with debris and dirt .
11 days is a bit early, but Harry seems to be breathing well and he's obviously a helluva fighter.
On the upside, it must have been a super easy, super fast kidding and Wish is so far showing a very pretty udder.
Pictures: Harry on his second stint in the sink, inside of some garbage bags so he didn't get wet. Harry in his cooler, with Hazel trying to arrange someone to take her presentation slot tomorrow, so she could stay home. (Thank you Mr. Hanchett!!!)
When Jacob and I got home, today, Wish was screaming like crazy. I dropped everything and ran out there. She looked like she'd kidded, but there were no kids. I started looking. I came across a dead brown kid and picked it up and it was cold and stiff, and then it moved and made a sound. I must have looked like a football player, climbing over the fence and heading for the house with a baby goat tucked under my arm. I got a sink full of warm water and dropped him in, and told Jacob to go look for any other kids. Jacob said there was another baby out there, but the Anatolian Ayya wouldn't let him near it. We traded off, and Jacob held the baby in the sink while I went out and got the other buckling, who was more convincingly dead. The other buckling was posthumously named "Stonewall Jackson". He was stunning - grey with moonspots.
"Harry" (named after Harry Potter, "the boy who lived") spent at least an hour moving from one sink to the other; as one cooled down, we'd put him in a fresh warm sink. We were excited when he started shivering and we were even more excited when he quit shivering. Our mentor told us to wait until he was 99 or higher temp before we fed him, but to give him molasses in his mouth, which we did. I blew dried him while Hazel milked Wish and we've managed to get about 1.5 ounces in him, though we had to wrap him up in plastic and do the sink thing again.
Right now, we're concerned about his maintaining temp. Harry is in a styrofoam cooler that has a heating pad warming two ziplock bags of water underneath the baby, with two ziplock bags of warm water on top of him, and that all covered with a towel. Hazel will be staying home from school tomorrow to make sure Harry keeps his temperature.
He's brown with a couple moon-spots on him, and white ears and white nose. Pictures attached just show his head.
We have NO IDEA why Wish kidded 11 days early, but this kid must be amazingly strong. We think he was the firstborn, because he was found where most of the moisture on the ground was. The other kid, also a buckling, looked 'pawed' - covered with debris and dirt .
11 days is a bit early, but Harry seems to be breathing well and he's obviously a helluva fighter.
On the upside, it must have been a super easy, super fast kidding and Wish is so far showing a very pretty udder.
Pictures: Harry on his second stint in the sink, inside of some garbage bags so he didn't get wet. Harry in his cooler, with Hazel trying to arrange someone to take her presentation slot tomorrow, so she could stay home. (Thank you Mr. Hanchett!!!)