This is my daughter Hannah, owner of the registered dairy goat herd, "Rachel's Dowry". This is a short story of the last weeks escapades as the shepherdess.
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This her first dam to kid this year, she is a mix breed but the sire is purebred alpine.
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On Wednesday night Hannah began staying in the horse trailer/kidding pen. It got down to 20 degrees that night. The next day about 4:00 pm the dam, zucchini, showed signs of kidding. I was three hours away, the first kid presented perfectly front hooves and head, no problems she had her first ever doe on the ground. The second kid presented a tail, slightly rattled (Hannah had never done this before) she pushed the kid back in and fished out the back legs and pulled out a buck, second kid on the ground. The third kid (Hannah had believed there were only two) came out head only so she reached in and fished out a front leg and pulled out a doe, third kid on the ground. My wife and the other children were sitting around watching and helping any way they could, with three kids out they began cleaning up. As zucchini was passing some more afterbirth my wife noticed the one "sack " looked a little odd so Hannah broke it open, it was a fourth kid, a doe, presenting perfectly and born without help, four kids on the ground all happy healthy and eating by the time I got home. I'm pretty proud.
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With four kids and a doe all doing fine Hannah has stayed out there with them every night, the lowest temp I've seen is 13 degrees. All this has been her idea!
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