Twins for the Fourth Time!

There has been so much going on the past few days I haven't had the chance to share about our newest babies. Amber was nearing her due date last Friday 2/25 and we had already been putting her up at night in the birthing pens. She gave us a scare the day before when she began to lie around and limp badly when ever she did move. Something wasn't right and I knew she was getting in trouble with the lethargic way she was acting. There is a condition that the does can get when they are carrying multiples and not able to consume enough feed for themselves, due to expanding bellies. Their bodies start converting their own carbohydrate stores into nourishment for the babies. Leaving them with low blood sugars, kinda like a diabetic would do. Realizing she was showing signs of the condition, I began feeding her a high energy/caloric drink to stabilize her. By the next feeding that evening she was looking better and I repeated the magic elixir.


Saturday morning she refused to come out of the birthing pen. At first I thought she was still feeling bad, but wondered. From all I have read about labor signs, one I hadn't put much stock in was ~ "if they do anything that causes you to think - they've never done that before." Came to mind and I left her alone. A trip to the feed store had me getting home later than I had planned. So it was late afternoon before I could check on her again. Sure enough my suspicions were confirmed when there she stood beside the twins she had just delivered. They were cleaned and dry for the most part, so could only have been about an hour old. One buck and one doe, very small in size but pretty in coloration. Once again she birthed alone, being the pro that she is. She doesn't want anyone to know what she is up to until it is all over.

The buck is the black one with freckled ears ~
The doe is the tawny one who looks like Amber

They were showing signs of being chilled, so after clipping & tying off umbilical cords. I slipped them into "goatie" sweaters to help them regulate their body temperatures. The little doe nursed before I headed back to the house. But the buck didn't seem interested, not knowing if he had already or not. I left them alone to bond for a little while. Made one more trip back to the barn before bed to check on the new family. I didn't like the buck's weak looking actions and knew I couldn't leave him as he was. Milking some colostrum from mom, I mixed it with some goat power aid and syringed it into his mouth. He drank it, he was still shivering despite the heater being on in the barn. Seemed like a good enough reason to nuzzle him inside my sweat coat till he warmed up. He snuggled up to me and closed his eyes for a brief nap. Putting him back in the pen he then went straight to Amber to nurse. A sign I had been waiting on all along.

They are doing great now, still underweight but that can be easily fixed. As Amber is a great mother, who has always produced rich milk. We've stepped up her protein intake to give her a boost, so she can meet the demands of 2 very hungry youngsters. I'm sure it won't be long before they fatten up like the other kids playing out in the pasture.

Waiting on the next doe to kid, but loving the new arrivals,

Deborah