3/21/11

The Kids Are All Right


Showing no signs of their "Dystocia" (difficult birth), Terra and Freya are growing apace at 6 days old.
Freya (above) is an uncanny copy 
of her Mom at the same age (above and below)
She and sister Terra are exploring their home
which means tasting everything;
imitating Mom they nibble at the hay, even though they're still on a milk diet.
They've enjoyed their trips outside
in the spring weather.
 It's hard to believe how big, strong and coordinated they've become since their first day.
Here's a crude video of them at one hour and 24 hours old:

Niblet can't wait till they're old enough to fight with and boss around.
Some warm days have opened up the surrounding meadows
and uncovered the 9-inch-in-diameter burrows that popped up last fall on the front lawn (above) and side garden (below);
we haven't seen the denizens emerge yet.
Right on schedule Red Oak Lane
has become Brown Mud Lane.
Nearby Spring Lake is still iced over
as is the pond in front of the house.  With a significant blizzard predicted for March 22 and 23, we may be back in winter mode for a while yet.

3/16/11

From their mother's womb timely released

 Alba's delivery last year went so smoothly
 that Rosa, Crema and Luna popped out quickly while Barb was taking a coffee break.
 This year, however, Alba went into labor at noon on March 15 but simply could not deliver the kids. Luckily Barb's vet, Dr. Delores, swooped in for an emergency call (one of many for her that day) and found that the babies were so twisted inside Alba that they could not emerge normally.
 With cool expertise, Dr. Delores reached in up to her elbow, repositioned the kids, and brought them out one by one -- Alba was a trooper - and outside of normal childbirth stuff, is recovering excellently - none the worse for wear.
 If Shakespeare's Macduff "was from his mother's womb untimely ripped," Alba's two girls were from their mother's womb timely released.  Without intervention, all three goats would have died.
 Because of the quick removal, the twins are doing fine.  Alba started right in cleaning them up.  
 and was assisted by friend Laura (goat-mom to last year's triplets, who will have babies of their own soon).
 The girls weren't allowed to rest for long.
 They got a nice warm blow dry
 more sprucing up
 and advice on where to find a good meal.
 The older one (by a few minutes) got confused about which end of Mom was which
 but eventually hit the jackpot.
 
 
 Alba continued grooming and bonding with the girls for the rest of the evening.
 After a few hours they lost that "drowned rat" aura and looked like healthy kids.  The younger is an exact copy of  the infant Alba. 
 Lassi, who is due on April 3, was having second thoughts about this motherhood business after witnessing the day's excitement.
 The morning after their birth day
the girls enjoy hanging out with Mom
and showing off their new coats (carefully color-coordinated with Alba's feed dish and water bucket).
 
 The girls will be named Terra and Freya -- the future new owner of one of them will decide which is which when he visits on March 21. 
 
 Yesterday's lessons have paid off; they now know their way around Mom.
 They are already adventurous and curious, exploring the treasures of the barn while their pen is being cleaned.
 They are much steadier on their legs the second day
  but occasionally have to collapse for a rest. 
Grandma Dream looks on proudly -- but reminds Alba that she doesn't "do" babysitting.
Kona (due April 5) hopes that her kids are just as cute -- but come with less drama.