Yesterday Tilly had her kids!!! Mom was in Misuli (Missoula) and Caleb was working at the grandparents so I was by myself watching for her to go into labor. She was really swollen around her vulva area and bagged up so we knew she was close. In the afternoon she started to get restless and affectionate (which are also signs of imminent birth), she'd get up and down repeatedly, turn around, etc. She started to have intermittent contractions by the time Mom and Caleb got back so we moved her to the birthing stall.
We found out that if you move a goat that has gone into labor she'll forget what she was doing and want to eat something - it may take a few minutes or a few hours before they start having contractions again. With Tilly it was about 30 minutes. Then she started having 3 to 4 really good contractions every 5 minutes or so. And then started the screaming - goats are very vocal during birthing - and within 10 minutes the first kid slid out and Mom cleaned it up with a towel and made sure she was able to breath. Tilly stood up and started cleaning her off herself when the second baby came. They're both girls! They both got clean and stood up. Then we left to give her some alone time. By the time we came back they were both able to latch on and nurse!
It is such a blessing to be able to watch a new life come into the world! God is so good to us!
Here are some photos:
We found out that if you move a goat that has gone into labor she'll forget what she was doing and want to eat something - it may take a few minutes or a few hours before they start having contractions again. With Tilly it was about 30 minutes. Then she started having 3 to 4 really good contractions every 5 minutes or so. And then started the screaming - goats are very vocal during birthing - and within 10 minutes the first kid slid out and Mom cleaned it up with a towel and made sure she was able to breath. Tilly stood up and started cleaning her off herself when the second baby came. They're both girls! They both got clean and stood up. Then we left to give her some alone time. By the time we came back they were both able to latch on and nurse!
It is such a blessing to be able to watch a new life come into the world! God is so good to us!
Here are some photos:
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