Lally Broch Farm: A Maine Family Homestead: Hadassah

Ruby has been showing "sign" of impending delivery for weeks. Each day we check her at breakfast, mid-day, and dinner. We run our hands over her spine and under her growing belly. We check her udder, look for indications that today might be the day and wonder, "Is she ever going to kid?"

Except Sunday. We were in a hurry to get to our meeting for worship, after which we intended on participating in our volunteer ministry with our daughters. We fed all the animals, watered them and raced to get to where we needed to be on time. Adding to the day's busy schedule was the need to complete Meaghan's bedroom make-over; complete with new carpeting, fresh paint, building a loft, and the removal of all things Barbie or doll inspired. It was as we were in the midst of loft construction, that Kristen raced upstairs with Meaghan nipping her heels, calling, "There's a baby goat! Hurry!!!"

Sean and I wasted no time in running downstairs to the sight of a very newly delivered Ruby licking the wet and slimy blob of goat kid she'd just plopped onto a mound of hay. I thrust my feet into my boots, grabbed the waiting bag of clean towels and supplies* and began to help Ruby clean off her sweet kid. I began at the head and steadily wiped towards the hind end. Between our efforts, it took just a few minutes to have our new kid cleaned and drying. A quick peek at the underside, revealed our newest baby to be a doe.

* What kind of supplies do you need on hand? Lesa from Better Hens and Gardens wrote a comprehensive article about preparing for kidding Here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com. It was so good, I printed a copy for my binder.

All of the goats we have named at the farm carry names from Bible peoples. Thus, we named the first kid born this year, Hadassah (meaning Myrtle tree). This is the Hebrew name of Queen Esther. We'll call her Haddie for short. She weighed in at 7.5 pounds and is 75% Oberhausli and 25% Boer. In the years to come, she should produce a nicely flavored milk. Miss Haddie is strikingly sweet. I love her matching dark brown boots on her front legs, her light brown head with white stripe to her little nose, and dark brown circle in the middle of her white body. Haddie is already full of mischief and is the more active of the twins.

It took about 30 minutes before the next kid was ready to emerge. Once Ruby got started, within just a few pushes, her second kid was born. Salome slid into the world a slick, mass of black fur and globs of fetal mucus. I set to work wiping the new kid dry. This one was a pure black doe. She, too, is 75% Oberhausli and 25% Boer. Salome weighed in at 6.5 pounds. (Salome is the name of Jesus' disciples- James and John's Mother.) We will call her Me-me (pronounced may-may) which means "little sister". Me-me learned to nurse first, but is the far less inquisitive of the twins. She is less vocal, too.

Sean removed the bloody and soiled hay from the stall. I washed my hands and arms of residual birth fluids and took pictures and video. We spent a couple hours watching Mom and babies to make sure they were all healthy and normal. Then, we gave Ruby an extra ration of grain, some molasses laced water and left her to rest.

Today, we will give the kids and Mom a shot of Bo-Se (Selenium). This helps prevent white muscle disease in the kids. Since Maine is selenium deficient, we supplement it in our herd's diet with foods rich in selenium like broccoli, spinach, and kale most of the year, grain with .03-.06% selenium content, goat treats, and mineral blocks. It doesn't make sense to take chances, though, so we also give any does that deliver a shot after kidding.

I could not wait to wake this morning and spend some time with the tinys. While Ruby was busy eating this morning's grain, I wrapped the kids one-at-a-time in my arms and brought them upstairs for photos. I would have preferred to take pictures of them outside in the grass, but outside was 30 degrees this morning and the grass is dead and brown. I settled for a warm living room instead. I did not want to separate the kids from Ruby too long, either.

I will have many pictures and videos of the does to share with you, but here is a start: