Kids, kids, and more kids!

Cicada and her quads

The current tally for Nigerian kids is 23 does and 9 bucks, and we're holding there until probably next weekend when Giselle is due. Then only three more, and we're done for another spring kidding season, except for the two mini la manchas that are due in March and April, so can't forget about them!

Two of Annie's quadruplet bucklings

I suppose it is not such a big deal that I haven't been able to keep up with posting about every single birth. We haven't had any complications this year -- other than does shooting out kids before we could get out there to help clean them up, so we've lost some to suffocation (still inside the sac) or hypothermia. By the end, Mike had rigged up a video monitoring system by borrowing a camera from one person, a microphone from another, and using a modulator (whatever that is) that he just happened to have sitting around. There may have been more parts, but I'm not really sure. Who knew I was marrying a modern-day Thomas Edison when I met him a quarter century ago? (Gee, that makes me sound old!) Anyway, I was able to watch the expectant does on television, and that was really helpful. We had the television on through the night for several nights, and that was a bit odd. Unlike the static-filled baby monitor, the television was so crystal clear, I kept waking up thinking that either I was in a barn or there was a goat in my bedroom.

One of Coco's quadruplet doelings

I know people probably think that I'm joking when I say that I don't think the does even know when a third or fourth kid is coming out sometimes, but based upon what happened with Coco, I am now absolutely certain that it is no joke. Katherine found her laying down and licking off two kids with two more kids at her back end, both in the sac, one piled on top of the other.

Two of Charlotte's triplet boys

And then there was Charlotte, who gave birth in the midst of our goat "Breeding and Birthing" class on Saturday. I normally schedule the class when several goats are due so that people can see newborns and see how the does' bodies are changing as they are approaching kidding -- looking at the udder, how the belly changes, and how the tail ligaments soften as the doe gets closer to birth. Of course, I've always thought it would be cool to have a goat give birth during the class but figured that it would never actually happen!

Sherri with one of her twin doelings

Mike also got a real initiation into kidding as both Sherri and Cicada decided to give birth when I was not home. Between me and our three children, he has never really had to deliver baby goats, but with all three children in college now, it was inevitable that he would find himself home alone when the blessed events occurred. That's why I told him last year that he needed to start helping out at births to learn what to do. Sherri and Cicada made it really easy for him. He only had to help dry off all the babies, and then he was able to get back to his maple sugaring.

Hopefully all of these adorable kid photos (courtesy of daughter Katherine) will help you forgive me for not posting as often as I should!