Baby Season Update

Well, dear reader, the kidding season is off to a fast and hard start. To date, Fauna, Boo, and Mama Boo have delivered. Fauna had triplet bucklings, Larry, Mo, and Curly. The boys were off to a fantastic start. They appeared strong, were eating well, and up and about. Larry seemed to be a bit delayed, but nothing concerning. Sadly, The Bibbed Wonder went to the barn to do a baby check, and Larry and Mo had passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly. To say we were shocked is an understatement. We have absolutely no clue as to what could have happened. The three of us were in the barn throughout the night, we held them, snuggled them, and watched them suckle on their mom. Nothing appeared to be amiss. I have learned that sometimes there are no signs or reasons with animals. The little ones passed quietly in their sleep. I guess if I am looking for silver linings, they did not appear to be sick or suffering, went quietly, and if we had to lose anyone, I guess it's better that it was little boys and not little girls. Regardless, it saddens us, makes us question our care, and has put us on high alert with the other little ones.

Boo, my sweet girl, had one single girl. Both momma and baby are doing well. Boo is a very attentive mother and makes constant comforting noises to her little girl. This is Boo's last baby, so we are highly protective of her. We covet the Boo genes, especially the little girls. Boo's little girl has yet to be named. I am thinking about going with bird names this year. I am toying with the name Wren. I have no idea why, it just feels right. The Bibbed Wonder and The Bean will probably name her something silly like Twinkie. I come up with lovely flower names and am consistently voted off the island in my choices. Jasmine and Juniper have become Wilma and Betty. Sigh.

So, lets talk about Mama Boo. Mama Boo, whom we affectionately call Mama, was supposed to be retired. I shared that the other day, she was under the weather. My girl was not under the weather; she was pregnant. Eric went to the barn for a check yesterday afternoon to the shocking sight of Mama delivering triplets. The first little girl was on the ground, but she was stillborn. Eric reported that she was a rather large little girl, still in her amniotic sac. Eric helped deliver baby number two, who was a medium-sized little boy. He came out strong and screaming. Lastly, he helped deliver a teenie-tiny little girl. She is the tiniest baby we have ever seen. It happened so fast, Er didn't even have time to message me. He came in and announced Mama had triplets, and I did not believe him. He messes with me so often that I never know when he is serious or if he is kidding. His way of proving he was telling the truth was to stick his arm that smelled like afterbirth under my nose. It was a most convincing, if not disgusting, way to prove his sincerity. Sigh.

As we talked, dumbfounded that she was pregnant in the first place, we can only guess she was bred very early in the season before we noticed any signs of estrous and separated the boys from the girls. My sneaky little Mama Boo had a secret rondesvous. We have learned our lesson the hard way. As early as June, all the boys and girls will be separated regardless of age and size. I am worried sick that my sweet Mama has severe health repercussions from this unplanned pregnancy. So far, she seems to be well, and is improving since she has gotten "those life sucking parasites" as Eric calls them, out of her. Because we covet our Boo line and love our babies, we erred on the side of caution and brought her babies into the house last night. I was up in two-hour intervals checking on them. I slept on the couch and kept them in a box near the sofa so I could hear if anything was amiss; at 1:30 a.m. I tried to feed them. They ate very little. At 2:30, they decided they were starving. They ate again at 4:00, 6:00, and 7:30. They are so vocal, I could not ignore them if I tried.

The teenie-tiny little girl is doing great. She is eating like a champ, walking around, awake and alert. The little boy, who is bigger and chubbier, can't seem to get his feet under him. He has me a bit concerned. If things don't improve, I will give him a shot of vitamins and a boosting drench at lunchtime. Being born is difficult and exhausting, but he should be more mobile than he is as of right now. I have been calling the teenie-tiny girl my little dove, so Dovey might be her name. Eric wants to call her Bobby. That will be a hard no. I have not named the little boy, because it always hurts a little more if I name them and something bad happens. Right now, he is called various names of affection like boo-boo, sweetie, and stinker. We must decide on a name if he makes it through the weekend.

Today, we await the delivery of Dot's babies. I am hoping for little girls, but it is always a surprise. We anticipated Dot would deliver first. Despite careful record keeping, we cannot control nature, especially when the little tarts have secret romantic rendezvous! I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well, and we don't have any more surprises or losses. I will spend the next few days caring for bottle babies and doing everything I can to ensure our goat's well-being. It's going to be a hectic few weeks, indeed. If you are inclined, please send out good thoughts for the goats' safety. We appreciate it.

On this chilly, rainy Thursday, stay safe, be smart, know you can't control or anticipate everything, do your very best to care for those you love, accept the good with the bad, and keep washing your hands.