Latte's Baby Goats
3/23/2022 about 12:45 pm, Latte went into active labor. She was quiet yesterday, but today, she was very vocal. All morning she was crying out. We've noticed that her Spine and the hip bones were showing more, and she looked no longer "wide." As a first-timer, I couldn't really tell the difference when people were asking me if her baby "dropped." But when I saw what it actually looks like, it made sense.
I frequently checked on her. Then about 12:30pm, I went to her pen to check on her, and her water broke right in front on my eyes. I called my husband, and my friend to take pictures... I grabbed my kidding kit which includes iodine, baby bottles, towels, nasal aspirator, and gloves- and went to her pen to make sure everything went smoothly for Latte. She decided to lay down facing her "end" against the wall. I didn't know what to do, so I called my mentor Debbie who lives right down the street from us. She came right over and coached us through the labor. Thank God for her! I wouldn't know what to do!!
So here we go- me, Debbie, and my husband in the pen assisting Latte's first birthing, and Tom (my photographer friend) taking pictures and videos of this event. It was very exciting.
Just like someone's YouTube Video, a bubble started to appear from her end, and Latte started to push and scream as contractions were happening. All we could do was to cheer her up. About 10 minutes later, started to see little hooves coming out. Debbie reached in, and pulled the first baby out. Debbie checked the baby and- "It's a boy!" She passed the first baby to me and told me to use the nasal aspirator to clear the airway and wipe the baby down with a towel. I did the best as I could and passed the baby back to Debbie. She did a little bit more of suction, and made sure the baby was in good condition, and immediately placed the baby in front of Latte. Then Latte started to push the second one. That one came right out! Debbie said "Another boy!" We laughed and said "Oh No!!!!!" but they were so cute! We cleaned the second one and placed both of them under Latte's nose.
Latte knew exactly what she needed to do. She started to lick her babies. We were so glad that Latte did not reject any of her babies. She seemed so exhausted. Debbie recommended that we give Latte some Molasses water, so I mixed that up and gave her a cup of molasses water. Then we dipped babies' umbilical cords all the way to their belly to iodine to avoid infection. Debbie showed us how to unplug goat teats so they can nurse babies. We didn't know anything about it! It was such a wonderful experience to assist in our first goat labor at Poof Dirt Farms. Total time of this event was about 30 -45 minutes! A lot of waiting for a short event- thank God there weren't any complications!
Everything went very well! During this process, we were encouraged by other goat farmers. They texted me, called me to support and came by during the day to check on Latte because Latte was 5 days past due and I started to worry. We were very blessed to have a lot of people who were supporting us and showing us love! Thank you everyone!
I frequently checked on her. Then about 12:30pm, I went to her pen to check on her, and her water broke right in front on my eyes. I called my husband, and my friend to take pictures... I grabbed my kidding kit which includes iodine, baby bottles, towels, nasal aspirator, and gloves- and went to her pen to make sure everything went smoothly for Latte. She decided to lay down facing her "end" against the wall. I didn't know what to do, so I called my mentor Debbie who lives right down the street from us. She came right over and coached us through the labor. Thank God for her! I wouldn't know what to do!!
So here we go- me, Debbie, and my husband in the pen assisting Latte's first birthing, and Tom (my photographer friend) taking pictures and videos of this event. It was very exciting.
Just like someone's YouTube Video, a bubble started to appear from her end, and Latte started to push and scream as contractions were happening. All we could do was to cheer her up. About 10 minutes later, started to see little hooves coming out. Debbie reached in, and pulled the first baby out. Debbie checked the baby and- "It's a boy!" She passed the first baby to me and told me to use the nasal aspirator to clear the airway and wipe the baby down with a towel. I did the best as I could and passed the baby back to Debbie. She did a little bit more of suction, and made sure the baby was in good condition, and immediately placed the baby in front of Latte. Then Latte started to push the second one. That one came right out! Debbie said "Another boy!" We laughed and said "Oh No!!!!!" but they were so cute! We cleaned the second one and placed both of them under Latte's nose.
Latte knew exactly what she needed to do. She started to lick her babies. We were so glad that Latte did not reject any of her babies. She seemed so exhausted. Debbie recommended that we give Latte some Molasses water, so I mixed that up and gave her a cup of molasses water. Then we dipped babies' umbilical cords all the way to their belly to iodine to avoid infection. Debbie showed us how to unplug goat teats so they can nurse babies. We didn't know anything about it! It was such a wonderful experience to assist in our first goat labor at Poof Dirt Farms. Total time of this event was about 30 -45 minutes! A lot of waiting for a short event- thank God there weren't any complications!
Everything went very well! During this process, we were encouraged by other goat farmers. They texted me, called me to support and came by during the day to check on Latte because Latte was 5 days past due and I started to worry. We were very blessed to have a lot of people who were supporting us and showing us love! Thank you everyone!
Cafe & Creamer
Originally, we had names lined up for these goats. Funny ones. We already have Peanut as a buck, and we said that if we were to have bucks, we were going to name them Walnut, Chestnut... all the nuts! But I couldn't. As soon as I saw these babies came out of Latte, one had a marble of white and tan. Another one was all tan. I named the tan color baby "Cafe" and marble one "Creamer" since their mother was Latte. So we have a coffee shop theme!
Creamer: less than 1 hour after birth.
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Cafe: less than 1 hour after birth
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Day 2. Latte's Heat Exhaustion!
3/24/2022 I have been spending a lot of time with Latte outside for the past week or so. I can tell when Latte is not feeling well at all. First of all, she's dramatic, and always has been very close to me. So every time she is sick, she gives me a couple of signs. One of the signs is trying to cuddle or put her head right next to me and then she won't move. When she did that, I knew something was wrong.
As a mother, baby birthing is very exhausting, so I thought maybe she needed to heal. But that bothered me. How could I help this poor goat? I researched, and came to 2 possible diagnoses. Heat Exhaustion or Mastitis. Today it was very hot. Still March, but the temp was going up to 93 F. However, she had been through two summers here in the desert. How could it be?? So Mastitis?? I called my mentor. She told me to check her temp, so I did. it was 102.2F, which is in normal range, and visually, she didn't seem to have any issues with her udder. So I moved everybody out from their pen to our porch. Concrete floor, better shade, cooler breeze... Ice cubes, cold water, what else do you need?? You want me to sit right next to you? OK!
As the sun went down, the temperatures started to drop, and she was acting much better. I guess she was exhausted... Desert heat is nothing to play with! I watched the babies while Latte was resting. Mother was exhausted!
As a mother, baby birthing is very exhausting, so I thought maybe she needed to heal. But that bothered me. How could I help this poor goat? I researched, and came to 2 possible diagnoses. Heat Exhaustion or Mastitis. Today it was very hot. Still March, but the temp was going up to 93 F. However, she had been through two summers here in the desert. How could it be?? So Mastitis?? I called my mentor. She told me to check her temp, so I did. it was 102.2F, which is in normal range, and visually, she didn't seem to have any issues with her udder. So I moved everybody out from their pen to our porch. Concrete floor, better shade, cooler breeze... Ice cubes, cold water, what else do you need?? You want me to sit right next to you? OK!
As the sun went down, the temperatures started to drop, and she was acting much better. I guess she was exhausted... Desert heat is nothing to play with! I watched the babies while Latte was resting. Mother was exhausted!
Wonderful Mother & Healthy Babies
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3/28/2022 I posted this on my Facebook page. Yep! That's Latte's babies! Creamer is super active. He is 5 days old! When I get them out from their pen in the morning, they get super excited and do a lot of jumping and running. They are so cute!
They are also very smart. As the sun moves and creates shade in different spots, these kids know how to find the cool spots to hide from the heat. Latte is mostly right in front of them and protecting them from all danger. Goats are very smart. Sometimes I just watch what they do, and learn a lot about their behavior. Nobody taught Latte how to be a mother, but somehow, she knows how to take care of her kids. She just knows. When I think of some of the horrible stories on the news of some women neglecting their kids, and letting them suffer, I thing to myself: "Humans gotta be better than goats!" |
Day 10: Sunday Family Fun Day!
4/3/2022 We worked from sun up to sun down. I just finished sowing seeds a couple of days ago. I needed a light duty day! So we went outside and had a great time with our goats. Cafe and Creamer can do a lot of things now! One of the shocking things that I have witnessed was that they are both male, but they pretend to mount each other at the age of 8 days. I guess that's how they show who is more dominant. Crazy!! Today, Cafe was practicing ramming his head to our outdoor cushions. My son Anthony is absolutely in love with our baby goats!
Latte is almost 100%. Still having a little bloody discharge, but she is eating good, moving around really well. Today, she decided to do some crazy poses for me when I was taking pictures! Another crazy day at Poof Dirt Farms!
Latte is almost 100%. Still having a little bloody discharge, but she is eating good, moving around really well. Today, she decided to do some crazy poses for me when I was taking pictures! Another crazy day at Poof Dirt Farms!
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The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), America's largest wildlife conservation and education organization, is pleased that Kozue Maye at Poof Dirt Farms in Pahrump, NV has successfully created a certified Wildlife Habitat through its garden for "Wildlife" movement.
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