In October our farm added a new herd of Registered Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats. Our herd is quite small with only two does and one buck but as we purchased one of the does bred we knew it would be getting larger quite quickly.
The bred doe is Scarlett and she was bred to a beautiful triple registered buck owned by the breeder we purchased her from. We are quite excited about this paring as Scarlett is a beautifully conformed doe and the buck is a polled darling with a wonderful lineage. However, Scarlett is not "filling out" as we expected a bred doe to do. She is due in less than a week and we are wondering if indeed she was bred. Hopefully she is bred and possibly just carrying one kid, although one kid usually means a difficult birth as they are generally much larger. Being as Scarlett is a first time mother does not increase the chances of the birth going any smoother either. Thankfully we have contacted an experience vet in case I can not help her. To say that I am scared to death of the impending birth is an understatement. I am scared spit less! As a mother of three you would imagine that assisting in the birth of any kind would not worry me as I have accomplished the feat myself, however you would be wrong. I may have birthed my own babies but from what I have read goats can have some very trying births especially the first time. As a child I had dreamed of being a vet and followed that dream until I elected to become a stay at home mom my sophomore year in college so I am hoping all of my knowledge with animal care will help out in a real life situation.
For the last few days I have noticed that Scarletts udder is filling out so we are now pretty confident she is bred but as she is still so small the chances of a single birth also seem pretty for sure as well. I will of course hand this worry over to the good Lord who will take care of the worrying for me. As long as I leave things in his capable hands I am sure things will progress as they are meant to. Time to feed the two legged kids around here so more later.....
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