Almost Time for Annie to Kid

Back in September, we posted HERE about taking our Nubian goat, Annie, down the road to get bred.  Our neighbor has a Nubian buck.  We left her with the buck for a while and then our neighbor informed us that she was bred successfully and we picked her up.  To the best of our calculations, Annie should be kidding before the end of the month.  Her belly is pretty big and oddly shaped.  She spends a lot of time just laying around.

Oddly Shaped Annie

Annie miscarried in her first pregnancy, so we're hoping for better results this time. I began to read a little on kidding and learned that, like a cow, the last few days before delivery, the udder will fill with milk.  We're already seeing her start to "bag up," so it can't be too much longer.  The article stated that delivery will take five hours - Four hours for dilation and one hour for delivery of the kid.  Twins are quite common with goats, so we'll be on the lookout for two!

Wide Load

A normal delivery is when the kid presents right side up, with front feet out, with the head between the legs.  We're praying for a normal position and delivery.  We are keeping our eyes on her.  When Annie was born, her momma, Nellie, delivered her in secret.  We never saw here in labor and only found Annie after she had been born for an hour or two.

Momma to be

Like in calving, baby goats should be standing within a few hours after birth and looking to begin nursing.  It's always an exciting time when babies come, whether they be calves, chicks, or kids. We'll keep you posted and be sure to show plenty of baby pics.  Baby goats are cute little critters.  We will be happy to have new babies and goat milk once again.