Another Day with the Goats Pt. 3: Labor and Kidding

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Around 5 PM, I went out to check on Mabel. Her due date was May 31st, but her udder had been filling all day, and was now tight and hard. Now her ligaments were significantly looser, almost "gone". (For signs of early labor, see this blog post: Another Day with the Goats Pt. 2: Early Signs of Labor...)

I quietly concluded that we would have kids on the ground in the next day or two, and hurried back into the house.

That night, I checked on her at 10:00, 12:30, 2:00, and 3:30. The last time, I decided to stay out there with her. (I soon regretted this decision, since the goats were intensely interested by my curling up in a chair in the corner of the stall, and Freda, not being as preoccupied as Mabel,wanted to climb into the chair with me.) But, believing in all my wisdom that Mabel was very close to kidding, I stuck to my decision, and stayed in the chair.

Fast forward to 10:45, when the video begins. I had stayed in the barn most of the morning, determined not to miss this kidding, the way I missed Nelly's.
As a consequence of staying out there that long, I was finally on hand for the whole birth. And now, I'll let the video explain the rest.

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