Sunday marked a week since Violet’s babies were born. They seem to be strong, healthy and happy.
It is exceptionally neat that they have each other….and Billy. All the babies think he is their daddy….and love to go wherever he goes.
They push and shove to get fed first…they romp and play on the rocks in the back yard….and cuddle together when they sleep. They even include Lucy whenever she wants to join in.
Today, as well as this past weekend…. was rainy and cold, so the babies are still being kept warm by the wood stove. They have advanced to where they can be fed every 6 hours. That is a schedule that isn’t too hard.
We have gotten a pretty good routine going. Of course that means Lucy is still among those being fed.
Needless to say, we are going through a lot of milk around here. Billy said….hey, we should start milking the cows to get the milk we need. I looked at him as if he was talking in a foreign language.
You do know that it would be a whole lot more work than what we are doing now….right?
Can’t you just see us milking the cows twice a day to feed the goats, four times a day…. Whew…no thanks…we are not at that level of farming just yet. I don’t know that we ever will be. Besides, this schedule won’t last for much longer…well….a month….. or two….or….
I’m pretty sure we don’t have any more goats expecting any time soon. But, before long….it will be time for some baby calves to be born! I think as long as we can have a little down time in between.. things will be fine.
We try to start morning feedings around 6:00 or so. That puts another one around noon…dinner time and one at bedtime.
Monday was another COLD, COLD day. After dinner…Billy rounded up extra wood for the stove, while I prepared bottles for everyone. Billy came in the house quickly and ran his hand under cool water. He had burned his hand on the wood stove. Somehow, while reloading the wood ring, he performed an acrobatic move over the little fencing where the goats are. Loosing his balance he knew he was going down. He chose to brace the fall with his hand…instead of a full body burn. Bless his heart….he burned his palm and the tips off almost every finger. I don’t think he has any remaining fingerprints. Seriously…we weren’t really sure just how bad it was, until the next morning. For hours he FELT the burn. (Thankfully Billy’s “WORK ” hands were tough enough to take a burn like that….If it had been the top of the hand it would have turned out much worse…he is blistered…but we think it will be alright) Once his pain subsided around 11:oo p.m…..he headed toward bed. I warmed bottles and headed to the sun room, for the last feeding of the day. Just as I went out the door I heard a cry.
WHAT? OH…NO……
I darted back into the house and approached Billy with the news……..
Guess What?!?!?!
What?
I just heard a cry from the back yard……Pearl must have had her babies!!!!
OH…. NO…..ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!
I wish I were……
I will have to admit….of all nights…it was just not a good time.
Quickly I fed the babies their warm milk bottle and grabbed a flashlight. I saw Pearl behind the goat house in the woods. Once again….I heard a little cry. I entered the gate….that is when I saw two precious babies. Shivering in the cold night air. They were beautiful of course!!!!!! One looked like a little gray rabbit…and the other was white with a black/brown head and spots here and there. OH…. BOY!!!! Now what…..
Back into house I went to report what I had found to Billy. Poor guy….he bundled up…burned hurting hand and all…. to take a look. Mama seemed fine and must have delivered without any trouble. This was her second time to give birth. She had Hoot-n-Nanny around this same time last year. Pearl…the mama…was Violet’s first daughter…. anyway, the babies were wet and cold. The wind chill was 26 or so earlier in the evening.
Trying to decide just what to do….we checked out the babies. They were so cold…..especially the little boy…..he was limp and could barely hold his head up. We started brain storming again. How can we keep them all warm and together. It is always best to keep Mama and babies together.
Billy with his bummed up hand started gathering materials. Tarps, saw horses…blankets…Maybe we could do this….maybe we could do that….
But……looking at one another with that look……well…you know what happened next. We took the babies inside to warm them.
I know….I know….trust me…it wasn’t our first choice. We debated and debated, but it was our only choice if we wanted the babies to live.
Billy took the little boy and worked with him. He held him close, to get his body temperature up, while standing near the heater. The little girl was wrapped in a blanket and we placed her near the wood stove…all while Violet’ two were crying and trying to see what was going on. Lucy was in a cage in the sun room too…because it was so bitterly cold. Meanwhile, I warmed a bottle of colostrum for the newborns. I was able to ease a little bit down the little girls throat….then just a tiny bit down her brothers. When the babies are cold like that….they can hardly swallow. It is a slow process….warming them and getting nutrition in them.
We pulled out the blow dryer, rubbing and warming the baby boy. He slowly started moving around a little. He really grabbed Billy’s heart. Finally, we were able to get a little more food down him. The warm milk also warms them from the inside too….from what I understand. Billy had him in his coveralls all warm and cozy. Baby girl finally started sucking the bottle. That was a really good sign. About an hour after bringing them in….baby boy also started sucking the bottle a little bit.
So about 1:30 p.m. we put them to bed in the sun room with all the others….cuddled up in their own little box.
They were worn out……and so were we.
The next morning…..we gathered them up to see if Mama would still take them.
She looked excited to see them.
Checked them out carefully.
Poor Billy…. he had Lucy at his heels, the newborns under the tarp….and Mama just walks away.
So, we stepped back, waited and watched. The only problem with slow progress is that the temperature was still at freezing. That is brutal to a baby without heat from their Mama’s body. Pearl had decided to go to her house….without them…..so he took them to her.
He placed baby girl in first….
and then baby boy…..
Ah….progress….She laid down in the back of the house. We hoped that things would all fall into place now.
But…Mom decided to go into the woods with the herd. I checked on the babies throughout the hours to make sure they were warm. The little house provided a good bit of warmth, so that is where they spent several hours.
Eventually they toppled out of the opening. After crying and picking themselves back up they snuggled into the straw.
They were pretty strong for a good part of the day.
Then came the tricky part. Do you feed them to keep their strength up, or do you wait for them to get so hungry they scream and cry and cry and cry……and MAYBE she will come feed them?
So….we waited….hours…..
Meanwhile between the cold and the hunger….they became weak.
She would walk near them…but wouldn’t offer to feed them or lay down with them to keep them warm.
I know it is our fault….because we moved them the night they were born. The boy would have surely died and the girl…had a 50/50 chance.
You make the call at the time. It is just hard to go to bed knowing they will die due to the harsh elements. Especially when you can warm them and feed them…and they will probably survive without problems.
Baby boy was crying…hungry and cold. He looks strong here….but actually it is all he can do to stand. He can’t walk …he is so drained. Now, I was worried that I had let them stay out too long…waiting on Mama’s instincts to kick in.
Baby girl walks a little distance…. then takes a little rest. Both are ready for some food. It is amazing how much that energizes them.
Meanwhile, Violet’s girls…Viola and Freida….are playing full steam ahead…..
I have actually been able to let them play in the fence with Lucy when the temps go into the 40’s during the day.
Poo-pa took Riley and Layla to lunch and brought them by to see the new babies.
They arrived just in time to help feed the babies. Notice how this baby is all sprawled out….she needs nourishment. Their little legs slide out from under them and they don’t have enough strength to pull themselves back up. After food and rest she will regain her strength.
I really appreciate the girls help…we fed five bottles at each feeding yesterday. The babies will have to be fed every 4 hours for the first week or so. I hope and pray they progress as quickly as the other ones have.
Billy and I worked with Pearl and tried to get them to nurse yesterday. They aren’t strong enough to fight for it yet. This morning we milked her. By dingo’s we are trying our best to keep her milk producing, at least the kids were able to benefit from that. We are still hoping that we can have her take over….somehow…someway.
Meanwhile….we warm more bottles!
I've Gone Country 