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Recall how FAT Nubbin was in the photo taken a few days before her due date? The poor girl could hardly waddle about. You know how it looks when someone tries to push a wide, heavy table across a carpet by themselves, rocking it back and forth and lifting one leg at a time to sort of shuffle it along? That’s how Nubbin looked when she walked. Carole and I measured her that night and she was 64″ around!
Because she’d been induced, we expected labor to begin no later than Wednesday night. But Nubbin wasn’t going to be that easy. She spent a ridiculously long time in pre-labor and was unfortunately getting weaker and more exhausted by the hour. Carole and I spent the night in the barn with her. Sometime around 2:00 a.m. we were startled awake when Nubbin lumbered over and started pawing Carole’s legs. She was trying to make a nest in on Carole’s sleeping bag. I reached over to shoo Nubbin away so she shuffled off to an even better position–right on top of Carole’s head! Carole was trapped on the floor with Nubbin’s front feet tangled in her hair. I struggled out of my sleeping bag to rescue Carole before that enormous goat sat on her face!
The rest of the night passed fairly uneventfully. Nubbin got up, pawed, shuffled around, and laid back down quite a few times, and occasionally she gave a push, but it wasn’t until around 7:00 that she finally started labor. It wasn’t a very strong labor. Nubbin just didn’t have much “push” in her and I had to help deliver all of the kids.
The first little gal was a hard delivery. Nubbin pushed as hard as she was able while I pulled as hard as I dared. She wasn’t a big baby, but the lack of proper contractions meant Nubbin wasn’t as well dilated as she should have been so it was a tight fit. But we got her out and were delighted to see a pretty little chestnut!
Nubbin spent time cleaning the kid and took a 45-minute break before she was ready to deliver the second baby. This baby was upside-down at first and it scared me to death, but she was very much alive and kicking. Every time I grabbed her front legs, she pulled them right back out of my hand! She did that 3-4 times, but somewhere in all that tug-o-war she managed to flip herself over and come out the proper way. And then there were two baby girls: A pretty chestnut and a stunning bay!
The third baby made me nervous. When I reached in to get her she wasn’t moving and I told Carole I wasn’t sure if this one was still alive. But when I pulled her out she gave a couple of convulsive gasps and and showed us she’d made it. The third kid was black so now we had three different colors!
Kid number four was easy. I had to reach far down to retrieve her but she gave no trouble. She was also noticeably bigger than the other three and I was sure we had a buck. But no, it was another girl! Another beautiful bay like her mother and sister.
We took the four kidlets out into the sunshine while we heated up a bottle to feed them because Nubbin was too exhausted to stand up and nurse them. It was hot day so we laid them on the cool porch to nap.
And here they are in order. Kid #1: Doeling, 7.5#, chestnut with white markings. She might be the sweetest and friendliest.
Kid #2: Doeling, 7.25#, red bay with white markings and solid ears. She is the most vocal and is also adventuresome.
Kid #3: Doeling, 6.75#, black with white belt and one white leg. This little gal did not want to eat all day and we worried about her because she seemed weak compared to the others. Luckily she did perk up during the night and finally started eating. Phew!
Kid #4: Doeling, 8#, red bay with almost no white but with frosted ears. This is the liveliest of the bunch and the most assertive. She’s going to be bossy like her mama!
Kid #2 was my favorite. I love her deep reddish bay coat with the black accents. She’s going to be stunning when she grows up.
Because she’d been induced, we expected labor to begin no later than Wednesday night. But Nubbin wasn’t going to be that easy. She spent a ridiculously long time in pre-labor and was unfortunately getting weaker and more exhausted by the hour. Carole and I spent the night in the barn with her. Sometime around 2:00 a.m. we were startled awake when Nubbin lumbered over and started pawing Carole’s legs. She was trying to make a nest in on Carole’s sleeping bag. I reached over to shoo Nubbin away so she shuffled off to an even better position–right on top of Carole’s head! Carole was trapped on the floor with Nubbin’s front feet tangled in her hair. I struggled out of my sleeping bag to rescue Carole before that enormous goat sat on her face!
The rest of the night passed fairly uneventfully. Nubbin got up, pawed, shuffled around, and laid back down quite a few times, and occasionally she gave a push, but it wasn’t until around 7:00 that she finally started labor. It wasn’t a very strong labor. Nubbin just didn’t have much “push” in her and I had to help deliver all of the kids.
The first little gal was a hard delivery. Nubbin pushed as hard as she was able while I pulled as hard as I dared. She wasn’t a big baby, but the lack of proper contractions meant Nubbin wasn’t as well dilated as she should have been so it was a tight fit. But we got her out and were delighted to see a pretty little chestnut!
Nubbin spent time cleaning the kid and took a 45-minute break before she was ready to deliver the second baby. This baby was upside-down at first and it scared me to death, but she was very much alive and kicking. Every time I grabbed her front legs, she pulled them right back out of my hand! She did that 3-4 times, but somewhere in all that tug-o-war she managed to flip herself over and come out the proper way. And then there were two baby girls: A pretty chestnut and a stunning bay!
The third baby made me nervous. When I reached in to get her she wasn’t moving and I told Carole I wasn’t sure if this one was still alive. But when I pulled her out she gave a couple of convulsive gasps and and showed us she’d made it. The third kid was black so now we had three different colors!
Kid number four was easy. I had to reach far down to retrieve her but she gave no trouble. She was also noticeably bigger than the other three and I was sure we had a buck. But no, it was another girl! Another beautiful bay like her mother and sister.
We took the four kidlets out into the sunshine while we heated up a bottle to feed them because Nubbin was too exhausted to stand up and nurse them. It was hot day so we laid them on the cool porch to nap.
And here they are in order. Kid #1: Doeling, 7.5#, chestnut with white markings. She might be the sweetest and friendliest.
Kid #2: Doeling, 7.25#, red bay with white markings and solid ears. She is the most vocal and is also adventuresome.
Kid #3: Doeling, 6.75#, black with white belt and one white leg. This little gal did not want to eat all day and we worried about her because she seemed weak compared to the others. Luckily she did perk up during the night and finally started eating. Phew!
Kid #4: Doeling, 8#, red bay with almost no white but with frosted ears. This is the liveliest of the bunch and the most assertive. She’s going to be bossy like her mama!
Kid #2 was my favorite. I love her deep reddish bay coat with the black accents. She’s going to be stunning when she grows up.