Snuggly, Cuddly Winston...
…as he is known to my granddaughters, was born on April 20,
right on schedule. Indeed, Clemmie was pregnant. Remember when I doubted?
I’d been watching her closely for a few days and signs were
showing that it was close. I locked her in the pen overnight on the 19th
and checked on her during the night. She was indignant about the separation,
and nothing happened. I let her out the next morning, and soon, it was obvious
that the birth was imminent!
Birthing is such an amazing event, in any species, and I was
excited and nervous that it would go well. My first kidding had ended up at the
vet clinic, so I was hoping for a normal easy birth this time…like most of them
are.
But that was not to be. The first goat baby emerged, head
first (that’s good) but no feet. Its front legs were folded back, making the
shoulders and the body too large for moving through. When I confirmed that baby
was in the wrong position, I called the vet for help. Unfortunately, all the
vets were on calls at that particular time. Clemmie and I were on our own.
I did the best I could, but the baby was very stuck but
alive. Clemmie and I worked hard and finally got the baby out – but it took too
long. The little doe was limp and would not be revived no matter how much I
tried to bring her back.
This is the worst of animal husbandry. Having never dealt
with a stuck baby before, I know there are things that I did wrong. Whether better
choices would have saved the baby is unknown, and make no difference now, but I
wish I had done some things differently. The fact is that it was an unusually
large baby – over 4 lbs. – and those births tend to be problematic with mixed
results. After it was clear that the beautiful little doe was gone, I admit
that I bawled my eyes out.
Fortunately, I didn’t have much time to cry as, only a short
time later, Winston slipped right out into the world without a problem! He was
barely 3lbs -- tiny but full of spunk. Soon he was trying to stand and making
tiny goat bleats – littlest loud voice ever! Clemmie was cleaning him off and
nickering to him as she had the first baby. I was so relieved that we didn’t
have another problem.
Or so I thought.
These were Clemmie’s first babies, and the birth was
traumatic and after Winston was cleaned and dry, she then decided she wanted
nothing to do with the whole situation. She began to act very aggressively to
the baby boy, actually butting him hard and knocking him away from her! I had
to intervene to protect him. Spunky little Winston wasn’t deterred and kept
approaching his mom for a drink of milk and she kept trying to avoid him or to butt him into next week!
Baby goats are so amazing! Tiny little things, in short
order they are acting like…goats! No sleepy eyes-closed beginnings for them
like puppies and kittens. Within minutes they are on their feet, heading to
their momma and butting her, looking for milk. But coupled with their amazing
innate ability is a real lack of good spatial relationship as they can spend a
lot of time butting momma not in the udder, but in the shoulder, or the chest,
or the leg – seriously pursuing that fountain of milk but not even close to the
spigot. It’s so frustrating to watch!
Babies do best when they get to eat colostrum in the first
hour of life. It can be maddening to watch them fumble around the mom, butting
and bumping and missing the nipple by a millimeter or a mile! Add to that a
momma who will not stand for it…well, it gets a little tense. You want that
antibody and nutrient rich colostrum in that baby so it does not get weak and
fade away.
I needed to enlist some help. Caitlin came as did my goat
expert friend, Kat. It took the three of us – two to hold on to Clemmie and one
to get Winston on the nipple. When we finally got him there, he wouldn’t nurse!
Could we just have ALL the problems please? Nothing was coming easily for this
birth!
We spent the rest of the day struggling through nursing
sessions. On the positive, Clemmie kept getting less aggressive and more
accepting – but no milk seemed to be consumed. Late in the day, with Winston’s
tummy feeling flat and empty, I finally called the vet to come check if he
needed a tube feeding. Might as well not wait until the middle of the night. It
had already been 5 hours with little to no food for him. We left the two alone
while we waited for the vet.
When Dr. Holly came, it seemed that Winston’s tummy was not
as flat. We tried again to help him nurse and though Clemmie was still not keen
on it (think kicking the leg I was holding onto with great vigor!), Winston was
sucking and getting some nourishment! Hurrah! Dr. Holly said it would be a
detriment to tube feed at that point, and that she thought they had turned a
corner. The recommendation was to hold momma down for nursing every couple
hours through the night. “It will be hell for the next 12 hours,” she said,
“but I think they are going to be fine.”
We separated them from the other goats and they relaxed and
bedded down together. A few hours earlier, I didn’t know that I’d ever see
that! It was hopeful. Thankfully, Winston’s spunk kept him strong until he finally got some
nourishment. When I went to attempt the next forced nursing, I found him with a
nice round little belly and realized that it was no longer necessary! He and
momma had found their groove…and not a minute too soon for me!
The next day I found an attentive mom and a feisty little
buck in the pen, and I almost cried to see that everything was normal. Now I
could be glad that I had embarked on another baby goat adventure. The previous
day, I had been thinking NEVER AGAIN!
I still feel badly about the beautiful little doe that
didn’t make it. Losing her left me undone for the next several days. Even
though I understand the risks that come with animal husbandry, it’s still very
hard to go through when you love your animals inordinately much, as I do.
I’m so glad we have Winston, so named as the Churchills were
Winston and Clementine! He is doing very well. He does all the things the big
goats do, just in a miniature version which is adorable and comical. Today he became
strong enough to jump up on the lowest of the spool tables we have, and now has
access from there to the highest ones. So much fun to watch!
Emma and Kit cannot wait to hold him each time they come by
and it’s my delight to watch them enjoy! They both had decided on names for him on their own: Snuggles & Cuddles. Their moms told them that Grandma was going to choose the name but I allowed that we could combine. Thus the long moniker "Snuggly Cuddly Winston".
Watching them learn to hold him properly, and have them ask questions about him is why I’ve gone to the work of goats. I want my grands to learn to care for animals and love them and be able to learn all that I did from my early years on a dairy farm. My plan was for cows, originally, but The Farmer said they would take too much room. Plan B was goats, and I’m so glad I’ve gotten to know these lovely little animals! Personality plus, and easy to work with…well, most of the time.
Maybe the third kidding will be charmed…
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