Kidding Notes: Day 138 Annabelle, 139 Lilly

Oh boy. To say that I am excited would be an understatement. Excited, anxious, nervous, elated, ecstatic, nauseous, worried, terrified, confident, thrilled.

Last night the does spent the entire night in their private kidding pens. For a few days before that I gave them their morning grain in their new pens, and each evening they spent an hour or two enjoying their personal stashes of hay. Leaving the barn last night I felt confident that they were comfortable and happy in their new pens, and they are really only a few feet from the rest of the herd so it's not like they are very far apart. Of course throughout the night I worried that they were stressed, despite the baby monitor's relative quiet (it is still a barn full of goats, after all). All seemed well this morning, and today they are basking in the early summer sun and enjoying the cool lake breeze with the other girls.

The weather has been mercifully cooler and less humid this season than it typically is, and the wind continues to come from the north which means we are ten degrees cooler here on the lake shore than just a half mile inland. Despite this, I have the barn fans running today in an attempt to keep the girls as comfortable as possible. Tomorrow and Monday are supposed to be much hotter and more humid, with temps in the high 80s and a southerly breeze. Yikes. But the rest of the week looks like back down into the 70s so I will keep my fingers crossed. It could be much worse.

The boys are now permanently separated from the girls, and I think that will keep things calmer. Boys are just so rough and pushy. Even though they are sweet, they are very large and physical, and combining that with their very different nutritional needs it just makes sense to me to keep the herd divided, at least during pregnancy and through weaning. The boys threw a stink about the division because they loved to "raid" the girls' stall, but they got over it pretty quickly.

The birthing supplies are ready and my schedule is cleared. Next week is the final week of state exams at school and the last week I am required to report for the summer, so that combined with my accrued comp time leaves me with a ton of flexibility.

Both Lilly and Annabelle seem healthy, but they are clearly uncomfortable. They want me to pet and scratch them like never before, and if I stop they make the sweetest little tiny baa sounds as if they are saying "please don't stop". They are laying down more than ever, and when they turn their head back to take care of an itch they make little grunty sounds. I did not think I could bond any more deeply with them but I have, and I imagine that assisting with the kidding will only deepen that bond with them beyond what I can imagine.

Both girls are absurdly round, and their udders have really developed more than I expected. I saw a drop of white discharge under Lilly's tail this morning which at first startled me (it's too early!) but then I remembered reading that they can have small spots of opaque discharge a day, a week, or even a month before kidding.

The weather has been mercifully cooler and less humid this season than it typically is, and the wind continues to come from the north which means we are ten degrees cooler here on the lake shore than just a half mile inland. Despite this, I have the barn fans running today in an attempt to keep the girls as comfortable as possible. Tomorrow and Monday are supposed to be hotter and more humid, with temps in the high 80s and a southerly breeze. Yikes. But the rest of the week looks like back down into the 70s so I will keep my fingers crossed. It could be much worse.

A common theme when breeders discuss what the signs are of impending delivery is that each doe is different. That makes me nervous, but it is also the reason why I am going to keep posting notes here of what each doe is doing over the next week. If I breed them next year then I will at least have a starting point of what to watch for.

<< Deep breath >> This is a perfect time to keep repeating my mantra: I can do this.

Some excellent sites with lots of helpful information:
Fias Co Farm
Kinne's Mini's (although they raise Pygmy's, so much of the info is still helpful)
Cornerstone Farm
Goldenbrook Farm