Updates From the Maternity & Nursery Wards at Gullringstorp

Yesterday morning , my first goat on the Milk Stand for breakfast was Keriana. The moment she stood on the stand a feeling came over me and I said to my husband and Max, today’s the day. I just felt it in my maternal bones that there would be a birth. It wasn’t the best weather so no goats were out yesterday. Oddly enough, the sun came out and the cold winds ceased around 5 pm. I let my recuperating Frida and her daughters out into the front “baby yard”. Windows were open and front and back doors so all our goats had a breath of some fresh air, even though there were not out.

As the day continued, I saw no signs from my Keriana. Max and I enjoyed watching Little Toby hop around the stable and watched how Little Miss Nanna became much more comfortable with us around her and her new baby. We checked in on Keriana, and she was resting comfortably.

This birth is special to us because this baby will be 3rd generation here at Gullringstorp. Frida was our first goat who gave birth to Keriana and now Keriana will give birth here at Gullringstorp.

Keriana resting

It was really nice to see how Alika wanted to stay as close as possible to Keriana. I am sure she knew also that labor was coming soon

One hour later, when I came to feed the girls on the Milk Stand, I looked and saw a definite sign of impending labor. Keriana had started to rearrange the straw in her box as she attempted to make a nest.  Because of my feeling in the morning, I laid fresh straw in her box.

6 pm Keriana was in full  labor:

The straw had been rearranged as Keriana tried to decide where her nest should be

Keriana has a fantastic, beautiful udder! Lots of milk for me!!! Oh and baby of course!!!

Alika was so interested in all the  happenings!

Keriana is having a contraction in this photo. They were every 25 minutes and soon went to every 5 minutes

I sat with Keriana from 6 pm till she gave birth. It was a long labor and I really felt for her. I watched and could tell clearly by her body language and her sounds that a contraction was on its way, had peaked and was now over. It was all so natural and beautiful. Although this was going smoothly, there is always the fear that the actual delivery may not go off without a hitch. Keriana is our 3rd doe to deliver for the very first time. Pumpkin was a first time fresher as was Little Miss Nanna. Now we have Keriana and soon we will also have Alika deliver for the first time. Keriana’s labor continued:

Keriana does what every new mother-to-be does , takes a rest and takes advantage of the down time , between contractions

Another contraction then back down to relax for a few minutes

You can see concentration on her face as she rests between contractions

Her labor took her to different corners to find some comfort

Around 10 pm , my husband was ready to be off to bed and would await a call on our walkie -talkie when the deliver had happened. I told him that I felt she would deliver soon, maybe within the next hour. There had been a change in her behavior, her sound and the way she moved around her box. I assured him, that I would call right away.

Labor intensified:

Here is my Keriana in true labor

Birthing begins…

Take a rest Keriana

Delivery begins:

Labor and birth got a bit more intense

Keriana’s new baby was born at 10:45 May 18, 2012

A new baby goat is born !  Alika is watching all the action !

Alika watches as the new baby walks around

Little Man is so tender. He loves to hear new babies and watch them

It took a while before Keriana started to clean her new baby. It was strange to watch her tongue start flicking even before she started cleaning her baby.  She took such a long time before she cleaned her baby that I asked my husband for a pair of gloves and a towel to wipe the baby dry; at least to clear the sac from the face. As soon as I had the items, Keriana had turned to her baby and started to clean the baby up. She did a fine job and she worked really hard to clean and dry the baby.

Keriana does a good job cleaning her new baby

 

There’s a brand new baby in our stable

We waited some time before we left Keriana because she was so large that we were sure she would have att least two  babies. When we left her and went to bed, we each had a feeling that maybe she could still deliver a second. This morning, Keriana and baby were just fine. There was only one baby  and we found out this baby was a girl! Oh how happy I am!

May 19, 2012 New Baby Girl!

New baby !

 

What a cutie!

This little girl is strong and healthy and bouncy ! Keriana got our traditional morning after breakfast, chopped veggies and fruit and a bowl of warm molasses water. She was happy to have it.

Keriana looks up as Alika gets apples from my husband

Leif holds our new baby this morning

Keriana is a big girl. She is part Nigerian Dwarf, her mother is Frida. Her father was Julius, a larger breed Swedish Lantras. We made the decision to breed her with a smaller goat so that she did not have problems with a large baby. She was bred with Balder one of our Pygmy bucks:

Proud daddy Balder!

Mother and baby are doing very well. We are so happy and relieved that all went well for both mother and baby!