Brownie's Birth Story - May 4th, 2015

I realized recently that I never blogged Brownie's birth story as I had promised. Oops! Better late than never, right?

Well, this will be a short tale. Brownie has always been a very stoic, sneaky doe when it comes to giving birth. The first couple of times she did so, I missed it all together. The second time she gave birth, my dad and I checked her before leaving to get lunch at Taco Bell, which is roughly 10-15 minutes away from us. When we came back, she had twin bucklings all dried off and ready to go.

On the morning May 4th, 2015, Brownie seemed pretty much normal. She was a little reluctant to be moved from the barn to the pasture, but honestly that isn't unusual for her. She doesn't like to be walked on a leash, so not wanting to be taken to browse didn't send up red flags for me. I was also in a little bit of a rush to get everyone moved, for reasons I can't remember now, so I just did a quick once-over of her, got everyone moved, and went about my business. Since she didn't seem eminent, I didn't bother to do any extra mid-day checks other than looking out the window. In the back of my mind, I really thought I had at least several days before she gave birth.

That evening when it was time for everyone to go back to the barn for the night, Brownie was also reluctant to go back "home." That struck me as unusual, because the goats are usually ready to make a bee line for the barn when it's time for them go back up for the night. I think they understand that the barn is safer than the pasture, so when dusk is getting closer they want to be tucked in safe and sound.

Noticing this, I stopped to pay more attention. Light bulbs went off. This goat was about to kid! Not in a week or a few days, but tonight! Her behavior and non-existent ligaments were a big tip off, but the main give away was a small amount of amber mucus. A little bit of white or opaque mucus can show up weeks before the doe actually goes into labor, but once you've seen both types of mucus you know the difference. The "I'm about to go" mucus is amber in color and will be present in larger amounts. At first there may only be a bit visible -- on Brownie that night there was perhaps a teaspoon or two early on -- but when things really get going it will come in a long stream. (I should note that I've also had does kid who didn't present significant mucus beforehand. They like to mix it up and keep us on our toes.)

Aye yi yi. Let this be a lesson to you: don't put things off thinking you have plenty of time to do them. I didn't even have the kidding stall ready! Before each doe kids, I like to completely clean out the kidding stall (if it hasn't been already), spread some diatomaceous earth (DE) on the floor, and put down fresh straw or shavings to be sure that everything is nice and neat.

Now it was nearly dusk, the stall was not ready, and the goat was going to kid soon. I have never prepped a kidding stall so fast! I quickly spruced it up, hastily put down some DE, and spread out fresh straw. Then I moved Brownie over, filled a water bucket and hay manger for her, and ran to get my kidding kit from the house.

Then I waited, but I didn't have to wait long at all. She gave birth to single chamoise buckling. Nothing terribly eventful there. He came out feet and nose first just like we like, and nursed fairly quickly.

If there's one thing I can say about Brownie, she is an excellent mother. She kids easily and quickly and takes care of those babies like a pro.

 Way to go Brownie!

Cheers