For the last couple days I've been thinking it was "the day." By my dates she was due on March 11th. Monday she started pawing at the ground, loosing lots of mucous (I won't go any further for queazy stomached folks) and generally acting different. But last night I noticed one of her teats was shiny and more full than before and was pointed outward. From what I'd read, an outward pointed teat may mean delivery is imminent. So I slept on the couch and woke up at 1:30 to check on her. Nothing.
When I got the boys up for school at 5:45 she was still just laying down in her pen. But at 7am I saw her squat twice and when I went out to check on her I witnessed the breaking of a goat's amniotic sac. I was so excited! I ran all the way back to the house like a first time dad running for car keys when his wife says, "It's time!"
I let the boys stay home from school, partly because there was no way I was leaving my momma goat at that point to do the hour drive to get them to school and back, and partly because they really wanted to stay home and watch her give birth. Ryland made it. He watched the whole thing quietly. Connor saw the fluid pouring out of Darla's back end and said, "No thank you. I'll be in the house." But he came out right after the first doe was born and did stick around to witness the second one coming into the world.
It was just plain cool. The whole experience.
"Daisy"
"Daylight"
"Never let school get in the way of an education." Congrats, mom!
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