First Goat Births on the Farm
We reached a major milestone earlier this month with our first Nigerian Dwarf goats born on the farm.
Fig and Fern, the first two goats we ever brought home with us after moving here in 2020, were bred last fall to our buck Thomas, and were due to kid within about four days of each other in late February/Early March. Fig was the first of the two to deliver. She was due February 28th, but didn’t give birth until three days later on March 3rd, right in time for morning chores. It was a fairly quick, straightforward birth with no complications, and although mama was exhausted from pushing, she bonded with her baby right away.
Like Fig, Fern would wait three more days beyond her due date to actually give birth (March 7th). It was trickier to spot labor signs with her because she seemed so uncomfortable. Her belly was much larger than Fig’s and she seemed to need more rest, so us newbies had a hard time discerning between discomfort and signs of early labor like pawing, nesting, staring off into space, getting up and down, and so on.
As it would turn out, her belly was larger because her baby was about twice the size of Fig’s 3.5-pound doeling. She delivered a healthy 6lb buckling, and although it didn’t go as quickly as Fig’s delivery, it was still a very smooth birth experience for all of us.
We named the kids Olive and Otis. They are both beautiful, and look exactly how you might imagine a split down the middle in appearance between their respective dams and our buck Thomas would be. It’s been a lot of fun to watch them play and grow.
We’ve opted to dam raise our kids, so because both mamas only had one baby this time, we are already milking the does in the morning and evening to help keep their milk supply on par with how it might have been if there had been multiples. As a result, we’ve had a chance to taste Fig’s milk and compare it to the raw milk we buy from our local dairy (From the Field Farm in Oregon City), and it’s incredible. Sweet and creamy and so, so good.
Fern’s milk still tastes a bit like colostrum, so we’ll get back to you on her in a few more days. In the meantime, if you’d like to see the footage we were able to capture of our first goat births on the farm, watch our YouTube video below here: