Births, deaths and baby oil.

This morning as we drew back the curtains to say hello to a new day, we were surprised to find a dead kid on the barbeque roof outside of our bedroom (baby goat for those not in the know).  Overnight and this morning three of the goats had had kids.  A total of four live ones and a "not so alive" one as it was now sitting on the roof of the barbeque out of harms way.  Apparently the silly goat had forgotten she'd given birth already when the second one popped out and so it was left alone to perish.

 As if this wasn't bad enough I spent a large proportion of the day sitting in the goat barn watching another goat in labour.  By teatime the goat had still not produced so Margaret made the decision to "go in" to get it out.  Armed with a bowl of hot water, some baby oil, clean rags and a handbook with useful pictures, we wrestled the goat into position.  My job was to hold the goat by the horns to keep it still. Margaret then had a very tough and bloody job of trying to find the head and legs in order to pull it out.  It took quite a while as the baby goat was not in a good position and the cervix was not dilated.  The goat's cries of pain were really heart-wrenching but not as sad as seeing this tiny, wet body being yanked out, heart still beating in it's chest, and watching it stop very quickly.

Margaret and Thomas with one of the kids.

Despite it being a bit macabre, the little body was thrown into the kitchen fire when the mother eventually realised it was not going to get up.   So sad but that is life on a farm and you have to be practical.











There are a few more goats due to give birth so lets hope they run a bit smoother than today.