Chat
05-29-2017, 09:37 AM
As much as I hate these rough kiddings, I find them fascinating. I don't want to build mental blocks because I learn something new every time, and the things I learn even in these sad kiddings may save one down the road. I keep replaying this one in my head and thinking about what I might do differently if presented with it again in the future. I'm fortunate I'm fairly ambidextrous. That's where our vet had a hard time. She's very right handed and this kid's head was way to the left, making it very much a left-handed job. My left hand and wrist are quite bruised this morning from Tigerlily squeezing the life out of them yesterday! If I ever have to do this again, I plan to find the head before I look for the feet. Once I got the feet out, there was no pushing them back against Tigerlily's contractions, and there was so little room that the head and feet couldn't fit in the passage with my hand in there at the same time. It wasn't until Tigerlily ran out of energy that I was able to put the feet back, reach in just a bit further, and finally bring the head around. A nerve block to stop the contractions would have been helpful in this case, but of course we didn't have anything like that.
It's comforting to know that even a qualified vet with many years of experience can't always set things right. If it had just been me I might be blaming myself this morning. But in the end it was me who got the kid out after the vet gave up, and we did not have to have a c-section so I'm very grateful that I gave it one more go. My wrist and hand are nicely bruised this morning from Tigerlily squeezing them to death. Both me and the vet kept giving up when our hands went numb. We tag-teamed that way.
One thing I learned was the value of a straw bale. Phil and his dad (yes, my in-laws are visiting right now) broke their backs holding Tigerlily up in a standing position against her will. When Kathy showed up, she suggested we use a straw bale underneath her so she couldn't lay down. It worked a charm! She still kicked Kathy and I in the face a few times, and all five people there besides me got knocked down by her at some point. She's a big, strong goat is Tigerlily! But the straw bale helped immensely despite the occasional rodeo.
Sad as it was, I'm glad I had a little time to hold baby. We dried him off and cleaned him up well and I was able to cuddle him for a while. He looked asleep. He was so pretty! All those beautiful colors and roan spots with a little white tip on his tail. He was perfect. This was the most-anticipated kid of the season for us, and I was so wanting a buck. And he had one wattle. Just one. It was adorable. Phil said he was too cute to be allowed on earth so God had to take him back. I said he's going up to be with Cuzco, who is probably giving everyone in heaven a really hard time by now and needs something to distract him. Cuzco always hated baby goat season and timed his exit perfectly (so he thought). Apparently he's not getting off so easy! Now the one-horned Wonder Goat has a little one-wattled sidekick to keep him occupied.
In reflecting on our many blessings, the other seven kids are all doing marvelously well. Delilah's udder is staying healthy (clear CMT this morning!), and she has more than enough milk for her babies. Nubbin's kids are starting to get really fun now. Everyone is bouncing, bouncing, bouncing! Racing from one place to another, then ricocheting off rocks and trees and walls. Jezebel and Delilah's kids were nervous of us for a while because they all have overprotective moms. Also, the bad weather has kept us from being outside playing with everyone as much as usual. But this past week we've had nice weather and I've taken time each day to play with the kids and get them playing with me. Now they're coming up to me and letting me catch them. When they start jumping on me I'll know they have no fear, and then I can start training them to stay down.
It's comforting to know that even a qualified vet with many years of experience can't always set things right. If it had just been me I might be blaming myself this morning. But in the end it was me who got the kid out after the vet gave up, and we did not have to have a c-section so I'm very grateful that I gave it one more go. My wrist and hand are nicely bruised this morning from Tigerlily squeezing them to death. Both me and the vet kept giving up when our hands went numb. We tag-teamed that way.
One thing I learned was the value of a straw bale. Phil and his dad (yes, my in-laws are visiting right now) broke their backs holding Tigerlily up in a standing position against her will. When Kathy showed up, she suggested we use a straw bale underneath her so she couldn't lay down. It worked a charm! She still kicked Kathy and I in the face a few times, and all five people there besides me got knocked down by her at some point. She's a big, strong goat is Tigerlily! But the straw bale helped immensely despite the occasional rodeo.
Sad as it was, I'm glad I had a little time to hold baby. We dried him off and cleaned him up well and I was able to cuddle him for a while. He looked asleep. He was so pretty! All those beautiful colors and roan spots with a little white tip on his tail. He was perfect. This was the most-anticipated kid of the season for us, and I was so wanting a buck. And he had one wattle. Just one. It was adorable. Phil said he was too cute to be allowed on earth so God had to take him back. I said he's going up to be with Cuzco, who is probably giving everyone in heaven a really hard time by now and needs something to distract him. Cuzco always hated baby goat season and timed his exit perfectly (so he thought). Apparently he's not getting off so easy! Now the one-horned Wonder Goat has a little one-wattled sidekick to keep him occupied.
In reflecting on our many blessings, the other seven kids are all doing marvelously well. Delilah's udder is staying healthy (clear CMT this morning!), and she has more than enough milk for her babies. Nubbin's kids are starting to get really fun now. Everyone is bouncing, bouncing, bouncing! Racing from one place to another, then ricocheting off rocks and trees and walls. Jezebel and Delilah's kids were nervous of us for a while because they all have overprotective moms. Also, the bad weather has kept us from being outside playing with everyone as much as usual. But this past week we've had nice weather and I've taken time each day to play with the kids and get them playing with me. Now they're coming up to me and letting me catch them. When they start jumping on me I'll know they have no fear, and then I can start training them to stay down.