Friday, February 8, 2013

Long Evening, But Worth It!

We had been on baby-watch for our visiting Nigerian Dwarf Jamboree.  Last night she delivered a.... oops its a surprise!
Hangin' with Momma waitng for contractions to begin about 3pm.



















Sometime just after 8:30 pm Jamboree started pushing hard , took a short break to drink some hot molasses water fortified with coffee, corn syrup, baking soda and salt.  Then she made a few final pushes and produced this:


Soaking wet and still attached by the umbilical cord.



















We helped clean the baby's face and she had some mucous in her nose and mouth so I sucked out her passages with one of those squeezy bulb thingys.  I tied off the umbilical cord with dental floss (who knew it has lots of uses just like duct tape) and dipped the end of the cord in iodine to prevent a serious infection that occurs when bacteria travels up the cord.


Momma finishes the job.
























Now to see whether we have a buck or doe so I take a peek.
It a GIRL!!!!!!
























The next task is to make sure the baby gets the much needed colostrum.  Soon she is actively seeking her mother's teat and after a few false starts, quickly latches on.


Nothing like a hot meal. 
In this case it is colostrum, the early milk that contains all the antibodies the baby needs to survive.



















Notice the afterbirth that is starting to be expelled after the last  (in this case, the only kid) is delivered.  A quick peek underneath confirms the baby is latched on and nursing well.




With mother and baby doing well and tucked under a heat lamp, I am off to clean up and leave them for the night.


11 comments:

  1. Yay for Jamboree and you. So in a few weeks you'll have milk. Was this Jamboree's first kidding? How exciting. I'm one month away from babies and I can hardly stand the wait.

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  2. Jam is a third freshener. She will probably be going home soon. Now I'm waiting for my LaMancha is a few weeks.

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  3. wow, I guess I should have read this first! She was in good hands

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  4. Glad the kid is finally there and all is well. In one of the pictures, you say that "In this case, it is colostrum..." If it's not colostrum, what would it be?

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    1. In a day or so it will turn to milk as opposed to the thick yellow stuff that doesn't taste very good to us.

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    2. In a day or so it will turn to milk as opposed to the thick yellow stuff that doesn't taste very good to us.

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    3. I thought that's what you meant. Does it ever just start with milk?

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  5. congratulations!! Still doing behind checks here but very soon I hope to have goat babies!!!

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    Replies
    1. Waiting is the hard part isn't it. I have another due in about 3 weeks so I'll be on watch again soon.

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  6. Normally it starts with colostrum from which the baby can only absorb the antibodies for a matter of hours.

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  7. Congratulations! Adorable baby! And glad it's a girl!

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