Goat Kidding 2008 - Part 2

Our next 2 does have finally kidded.  Dolly and Patsy both had twins Sunday afternoon.  They have looked ready to kid for weeks.  We had all about given up on them.  Patsy had a doe, Pixie, and a buck, Sprite.  Dolly had two bucks - lovely- which we have named Gideon and Rascal.  Mr. Bechtel affectionately calls them stupid and stupid.  They both absolutely refuse to drink from a bottle.  (More on why a bottle is necessary in a minute.)  Theoretically one would think if you offered a hungry animal food, they would eat.  No way.  Instead, the goats refuse to open their mouths, go limp, play dead, and affect this, "go ahead and slit my throat" attitude.  When we pry open their jaws, squirt milk in, let them suck on our fingers, try to sneak the bottle in their mouth, and then pry open their jaws again they shake their heads and bleat and try to escape any attempts at nourishment.  This is where the nicknames come in.

This charming ritual is enacted over and over and over again until we finally give up and decide they must have swallowed something.

Meanwhile their moms want their babies but they have "edema of the udder"  uggh.  Whatever that is.  It means their udders are so swollen they won't let their milk down.  Cortisone shots are supposed to help, but only maybe.  One vet I talked to thought it was mastitis, but the does aren't sick and their udders were like this before they kidded.  It's a mystery.

Happily, Pixie has learned to bottle feed and Sprite is coming along.  Two down and two to go.