Our first dairy goat, Maharani, delivered triplets girls Thursday evening. Just hours after putting the final touches on the new birthing pen, her mucous plug broke, and we were officially on baby watch. This being Maharani's second birth, it didn't take things long to progress. I thought I had plenty of time to run to the feed store on the corner, but when I came back, it was to immediately set stuff down, wash my hands, roll up my sleeves and jump into delivery mode.
Her water broke just as I entered the pen, and then we went straight into hard contractions. My husband said something was coming out, but it didn't look to be a hoof or head. We changed positions, and I determined it was a front elbow poking out. I looked at my husband, said something like, "Here goes nothing," and gently pushed the elbow back inside. This is the first time I've tried to turn a baby, and let me just say, it was amazing, cool and freaky all at the same time. Things were progressing too quickly to do more than rotate the leg back against the body of the baby and let it come out in a modified birth position. Goat baby 1!! Goat baby 2 popped out in the standard diving position twenty seconds later. Goat baby 3 quickly followed, toosh-end first and still encased in her amniotic sac. We ripped open the sac and cleared the mucous away from her mouth, and she mewled too.
Aha!! Three goat babies! You never really know for sure how many babies you'll get from a goat. Twins are typical, but it's just as common to get singles or triplets. After last year's single boy from Dharma, I was hoping for at least one girl, and twin girls would even better. I'm not sure I can share just how elated we were at delivering three (count 'em, three!) girls.
Everbody was up and nursing withing twenty minutes.
Riley really wanted to see. He's not quite sure about the need for any more babies...
So, we've got the light brown with white undersides, the black and white, and the calico. Everyone needs names. Suggestions? I'd love to have some kind of theme...
