Dance was our only doe to kid this year. She was due on March 19, but decided to make us wait until the 24th to actually kid. She even had me second guessing her due date.
Late on the 23th I noticed some changes in her behavior; she was becoming very needy and vocal and her udder filled up quite a bit. Her ligs also disappeared completely. She didn't have any other prelabor signs though, such as small contractions, nesting, sticking in one area, or separation from the herd.
The next day (yesterday, the 24th) I was gone all morning. When I arrived home, Dance had made a nest in the barn. I didn't think it was anything serious though. She wasn't in distress, vocal, or contracting, which are the early labor signs I usually see in my does.
An hour later I went to check on her and she had a kid on the ground, already nursed and mostly dry. I was a little shocked to say the least. I had really been hoping to make it to her kidding, but she did quite well without me.
The kid was the cutest little buckling, a broken sundgau with wattles just like Dance. He was a medium-sized kid, so I thought Dance would probably have at least one more. He didn't seem quite big enough to account for the size her stomach was during pregnancy. But Dance soon passed her placenta and seemed perfectly happy with her singleton.
We named the kid Pop Rocks. He's a very smart little dude, picked up nursing very well. I usually have some trouble teaching bucklings where the teats are, but Pop Rocks figured out the correct end of his mama without any assistance. He's also a very active kid. His legs are no longer wobbly even though he's only a day old, and he's already been out to the hay feeder and met the other goats and the dogs.
Pop Rocks is our first Sundgau, our first wattled kid, Eb's last kid, and Dance's first kid to raise herself. This was Dance's third kidding, but her previous owners always bottle fed her kids. Dance is an amazing mother, very protective and attentive. She's producing more milk than Pop can handle, so I'm already milking her once a day.
Here are some photos:
Late on the 23th I noticed some changes in her behavior; she was becoming very needy and vocal and her udder filled up quite a bit. Her ligs also disappeared completely. She didn't have any other prelabor signs though, such as small contractions, nesting, sticking in one area, or separation from the herd.
The next day (yesterday, the 24th) I was gone all morning. When I arrived home, Dance had made a nest in the barn. I didn't think it was anything serious though. She wasn't in distress, vocal, or contracting, which are the early labor signs I usually see in my does.
An hour later I went to check on her and she had a kid on the ground, already nursed and mostly dry. I was a little shocked to say the least. I had really been hoping to make it to her kidding, but she did quite well without me.
The kid was the cutest little buckling, a broken sundgau with wattles just like Dance. He was a medium-sized kid, so I thought Dance would probably have at least one more. He didn't seem quite big enough to account for the size her stomach was during pregnancy. But Dance soon passed her placenta and seemed perfectly happy with her singleton.
We named the kid Pop Rocks. He's a very smart little dude, picked up nursing very well. I usually have some trouble teaching bucklings where the teats are, but Pop Rocks figured out the correct end of his mama without any assistance. He's also a very active kid. His legs are no longer wobbly even though he's only a day old, and he's already been out to the hay feeder and met the other goats and the dogs.
Pop Rocks is our first Sundgau, our first wattled kid, Eb's last kid, and Dance's first kid to raise herself. This was Dance's third kidding, but her previous owners always bottle fed her kids. Dance is an amazing mother, very protective and attentive. She's producing more milk than Pop can handle, so I'm already milking her once a day.
Here are some photos:
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