Friday, April 20, 2007

Birth On The Farm

I want to give you fair warning. The pictures are very graphic of a goat giving birth. So, if you are squeamish, I suggest you read my blog another day. Tina asked about birthing pictures and Peggy has a goat that will give birth soon and she would like to see them, so I am posting them on here. This birth did not take place this year. We no longer have this Momma goat. This was our first goat that had our herd name. Her name is Shiloh. Here is a picture of her big and pregnant. Her coloring was very unusual. The front half of her was chamoisee and then just past her withers, she was all white. Everyone in the goat world always commented on her coloring.


On a normal presentation of a birth in goats, you will see the front hooves first and maybe the nose resting on top of them. When Shiloh herself was born, her tongue was sticking out and you could see it. Her mother birthed just the head and walked around while Shiloh was blinking and looking around. We had to get the legs and assist her on the next push. Shiloh was huge as far as baby goats go. If you look closely at this picture you can see the little whitish/yellowish hooves showing. You can click on any of these pictures to make them a bit bigger.


This next picture you can see both front hooves very distinctly and the big dark bulge is the nose and head coming. During the labor, the goat will get up and walk around. They like to paw at the ground like they are fixing a nest and then they will lay back down or walk around a bit.


This next picture you can see both the front legs and the head are out. That is usually the hardest part for the Momma goat.


Now, most of the body is out and just part of the back legs are still in her. At this point, she often stands up and then the rest of the kid is birthed and it snaps the cord.


Here the baby is out and Shiloh is cleaning him off. I usually assist the Momma in cleaning off the babies using a towel. I also gather up the sac pieces, etc. so that the Doe won't eat them. I am sure God gave them that instinct for when they are in the wild. I have had people tell me that it is bad for them and others say it is really good for them to eat it. It just grosses me out, so I don't give them the option. =) I would say within 10 mins. of being born, the babies are trying out their wobbly little legs. How someone could watch an animal birth and not believe in a Master Creator is beyond me. Here this brand new little life gets on its wobbly legs and immediately starts looking for a teat to nurse.


Here is her second baby coming. He is still encased in the birthing sac. You will notice she is standing up for this one.


Here is Momma Shiloh with her twin bucklings. They are just the color I breed for. Too bad they were both boys.


I will show you these last two pictures. They are from another one of Shiloh's birthings. This shows you how they often lay when they are pushing. The lay on their side and sort of roll. They also turn and look back to see what is going on.

13 comments:

Tina Leigh said...

Marci I loved them!!! How neat!! I would love to be there when that is happening. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A VET! Or just married a rich guy with a farm, lol! JUST kidding Danny! Any who...I cant believe that little goat was sticking its tongue out! I wonder what it was thinking when it was looking out of its mom? Ahhhh....life is so good at times. Man I want some goats!! Just one would be fine with me...Marci you think you could call Danny & talk him into letting me have one! I'm so glad you shared these photos!!

Kelli said...

Marci, feel free to add your post to Mr. Linky! Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos, what a sweet new baby goat! I hope the mama and baby are doing well!
Kelli

La Tea Dah said...

LOL! Well, a goat giving birth might have been shocking to Kelli's readers. But, I'm glad you posted it on your own blog. We used to birth lambs and puppies at our house --- once we had to reach in up to our armpits to pull out triplet lambs that just couldn't figure out HOW to get out!

Thanks for visiting Gracious Hospitality. I'm really happy to meet you!

LaTeaDah

dot said...

I've been here before but probably not left a comment. Wow, those pictures are something! My mother (Tina Leigh's grandmother) raised goats and she loved them better than humans.
Thanks for the visit today!

Peggy said...

Thank you so much for posting the photos. I am a nervous wreck waiting for Diva to kid and she still has several weeks to go. I have been reading everything I can on kidding and its funny but everything I read said the kid will have its tongue stuck out. I noticed there was another goat in the pen when she kidded. Do they do well with other goats around? I have a stall I plan on locking Diva in so she can be alone away from the other goats.

Candy said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a nice comment :)
Come by again anytime :)

Candy

Unknown said...

Oh wow, how cool is that?! I want a goat too!!:-)
Love,
Karen

Emily said...

Awesome! Just fascinating, Marci. I never tire of seeing the wonder of birth, no matter what the species! Even a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis astounds me and makes me even more in awe of our Creator.

Amber said...

What wonderful pictures. We have several friends who raise goats. We are wanting to own a few one of these days. They are so cute! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Marci said...

Tina, we are selling our two goats. Come and get them!!! =)

La Tea Dah, thanks for stopping by. I have been up not quite to my armpits a couple of times.

Peggy, if you can put her in a separate pen, it would be better. Sometimes the other goats get down right nosy and bother the Momma or try and take the baby.

That is funny about the tongue. That was our only one that was that way.

Peggy said...

Thanks Marci and I hope you are right about the delivery date!!

Rachel said...

I hope Peggy enjoyed seeing these!! LOL

Nature at it's finest!! What pretty goats. I just love those twins even if they are both boys! I sure hope Miss (I guess it's MRS. now!) Diva does well for Peggy!

NewLifestyle said...

Awwwww, that is just such a precious thing when babies come into this old world. God is truely an awesome God!!
I so miss being on a farm.