Since I am building Luna's genetic line from the ground up, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her kids. I had the vet out to do an ultrasound a couple of months ago and she could see that Luna had multiples. It was too late in the game to get a count since the babies had gotten big enough to block each other. The vet could see that there was more than one spine but the babies were big enough to crowd the space so much that she couldn't get a count. This is pretty common if you miss the ideal window for ultrasounds. When we had the buck in with the girls, I chose to let him run free with all 4 of our does, since 3 of the 4 were first fresheners (never having been bred), I was worried that trying to catch their heats and have controlled breeding would result in the younger girls not getting bred, so I decided to let nature take its course. While this worked in successfully breeding all of them, it isn't ideal for knowing due dates. I had kept a close eye on their lady bits and recorded when it looked like they were in heat and/or bred but it's not an exact science. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that it can be hard to tell if a goat is just in heat or if she has been bred. Especially since these things take place simultaneously.
Luna was the trickiest of the bunch because I never really saw any hard evidence of either. I had noted a possible heat on a day that would give her a July due date but the vet threw me for a loop when she said that she looked to be the furthest along. I've worked with the same vet for 10+ years now, so I know better than to question what she says. She hasn't been proven wrong by me a single time in all of these years- and I have questioned some of what she has said. I am not a blind follower, I assure you that. And, once again, she was right! Luna was our 1st mama to deliver this year. I was watching the camera because her ligaments had softened and her udder had gotten the flat, angled shape that I have found to be a telltale sign that they are close. I used to think that when people said that they watched for their goat's udder to "bag up" it meant that their udder would fill to a huge size. I have since learned that it can be a subtle change. They get almost a "sharp" angle to their udder. That's where Luna threw me for a loop. She never filled to the point of catching my attention.
The last photo in this sequence is Luna's udder 9 hours before delivery:
I knew that she was close but not THIS close!
So, needless to say, I woke up to find babies on the ground. She birthed them, cleaned them, and fed them, all while I slept! So without further ado, here are Luna's twin bucklings! I had the cam set up and when I went back to look, I saw that she was a champ at all of it! She did, however, seem very confused after the 1st baby came out! 😂
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