Excitement and nervousness have been the order of the day for weeks now in anticipation of the birth of our kid goats. The first time for our goats and the first time for us. We had everything prepped. We had stocked the vet cabinet. We had penicillin on hand in the event of a retained placenta. We were within a week of the due date. And then, the weather changed. I can’t say for sure that it was the driving force behind the goats kidding early but we had a rare cool event. Texas in July doesn’t normally see day time temperatures below 95+ but a cold front drove temperatures down into the 70’s late last week. I was at work and Mrs. Lone Star and the kids were gone on errands. They came home to the first of our nannies cleaning her baby. Apparently they missed it by a short time because the placenta had just delivered. They were ecstatic but rushed. They had to get out of the house and on their way to gymnastics. We anticipated nothing more thinking that it was odd that our nanny kidded early, but that is not unheard of. Unfortunately, they would come home to a worst case scenario.
Hope and Heartbreak: Our Kid Goats Are Born
While they were gone and while I was at work, our second of three pregnant nannies kidded. It was her first time just like the others, but it would not end in the joyous celebration that the first did. They again missed the birth by most likely minutes. Goats often don’t require human intervention, but when they do it is critical. Rapid intervention may be the only difference between life and death. The kid did not survive the birth. Without an actual autopsy we may never know why, but I firmly believe, based on what my wife described and the pictures I’ve seen of the deceased kid, that it was most likely aspiration of fluids from the birth. Without the ability to clear the kids lungs she would not survive. Had we been here we could have intervened and possibly saved the kid but we weren’t prepared for another birth that day and poor timing left the mama without our help. Curious what the correct action would be in this scenario? A large animal vet that I have known for the majority of my life would take the kid, hang its legs over a fence line with its nose pointing to the ground to allow for drainage of the amniotic fluid from its nose and lungs. Then he would slap the kid on the sides to stimulate it to breath. Sometimes you can stimulate it with some moderately rough drying and movement of the kid. Once its lungs were clear and it was breathing, he would take it down and lay it next to the mother so that she could finish the birthing process. This would have been our course of action that day, but sometimes life doesn’t cooperate with our plans. Our third nanny is showing every sign that she is ready to give birth at any moment and there has been someone at the house, around the clock, for the last four days without her giving birth. That’s just the way life is. I’m sure that if no one was home the moment would come, and live or die, the circle of life would continue and we would have another mouth to feed, or another moment to grieve a loss that while sad is an unfortunate part of farm life. Everyday on a homestead will reveal part of God’s natural design, from the plants in the garden, to the trees in the pasture, to the birth and death of our animals that we try so hard to give a good home and a good life. We can only trust that he knows what is best and leave it in his hands. Have a great day and God bless!