Coco finally kidded!

And it appears there was another buck out that we either didn't realize, or forgot to write down. Because these were definitely NOT half-LaMancha kids. All four (yes, four!) have regular ears and, although on the larger side for Nigerian kids, nothing astounding.

The event went as follows...

5:45pm - I arrived home from work and went straight to the barn. As I walked in the door, I heard Coco let out a scream. Walking quickly to her pen, I found that her water had broken and she had a thick string of mucus.

5:55pm - Coco starts pushing like she actually wants to do something about it.

5:58pm - I inform her, quite calmly, that if I don't see a hoof, mouth, hock, etc, by 6:10, she'd better be ready for me to go in for a vaginal exam. Generally we wait a while before doing that, but since odds were pretty good she was going to be having trouble, I didn't want to put it off.

6:05pm - I ask Jonathan to get me the lube, and show it to Coco, explaining what's going to happen if she doesn't get serious.

6:08pm - I ask Dad to get alcohol and latex gloves, in preparation for going in.

6:12pm - There's been a slight delay, as the gloves are hard to find. However, Coco has realized she's run out of time, and begins pushing like she REALLY means it.

6:13pm - The first kid is born!

There was a good 10 minute break between the first and second kids, then about 15 minutes between the second and third kids, and then 10 seconds between the last two. Three bucks (born first) and a doe (born last). Three of the kids seemed very skinny when they were born, more so than usual, so I made sure to give them NutriDrench. The first-born in particular was troublesome. His coordination was nowhere to be found and he didn't seem very excited about living in the real world.


As of now, they've all nursed off mom. I attempted to give them some of their mom's colostrum from a bottle, but unfortunately all of our Pritchard teats have been destroyed, and goats don't take well to the nipples on human-baby-bottles. Coco's colostrum is very, very thick, so I am hopeful that even the smallish amount that I observed the kids drinking will be enough to keep them going. I will be trying again in the morning to get them to nurse off a bottle. However, for now, sleep sounds like an excellent idea.