Cheeky must have thought it was too warm on her March 17 due date, so she waited three more days till the coldest night of the month (3 degrees) to release the hostages.
She didn’t look ready when Barb checked her at 11:30 Friday night, but then shortly before 1:00 AM Saturday we were jolted awake by sounds of distress over the baby monitor. We rushed to the barn and found a foot poking out, followed shortly thereafter by the first baby.
A quick check under the tail indicated a girl, to Barb’s delight.
Considering the dangerous coldness of the night and Cheeky’s history of rejecting kids, Barb had already decided to raise the newbies as bottle babies, so Number 1 went right into the tote that had been prepared in the bathtub.
She was already spewing liquid meconium everywhere, and our coats were slimy and bloody from the delivery and initial toweling off; in all the excitement of getting her indoors quickly, we managed to smear goo on floors, walls, cabinets and other surfaces:
Back in the barn, action had stalled. Cheeky clearly had more to offer, but they just weren’t coming out.
After waiting as long as she safely could, Barb washed up, gloved and lubed up, and went prospecting. Turns out Number 2 was breech. Barb did some interior rearranging and then tugged while Cheeky pushed until a buck baby finally popped out.
He then joined Number 1 in the tote.
Most of Cheeky’s past deliveries have been triplets, but this year she restricted herself to two.
Barb milked her right away and then fed the babies their initial colostrum. Number 1 was an eager eater from the start, but Number 2 was a typical guy goat baby and couldn’t quite get a handle on this sucking thing.
He needed (and still needs 2 days later) lots of patience and encouragement to take the bottle.
Both babies are prolific pee-ers and poopers. We have to change the towels lining their tote many times throughout the day. And we devote a lot of time to what their mom should be taking care of: cleaning their messy little butts.
On the morning after their birth, Barb noticed something odd about the way Number 1 was peeing. The stream was coming out not the back end but mid-tummy. Whoops – the original gender reveal turns out to be mistaken; she is actually a he.
In this era of gender fluidity, we’re hoping that perhaps Number 1 may decide to transition into the girl that Barb wanted.
Nameless at first, the guys were designated:
after the latter’s obtuseness around the bottle.
Henceforth they will be known as Viili and Skyr, though we don’t know yet which will be which. (They are named after Finnish and Icelandic cultured milks; their mom is Tzatziki, after the yogurt sauce).
Here they are a little over 2 days old, stretching their legs in the garage and pooping up a storm:
Then back in the tote, which they will soon outgrow.
Next up: Kuiper, due on March 24.
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