One Hundred and ONE! Nope, only 4.

As stated in the previous post, we were itching for Dulci to have her babies.  She was HUGE and I was certain she had at least twins and possibly triplets in there.  Sunday,  Jan 29, we did chores and I checked her tendons.  They were undetectable indicating birth was imminent.  We went in and got ready for church.  From inside the house I heard Angel do a funny little "yip yip" type of bark.  Not her normal bark at all.  The same bark she did when Doby was giving birth.  I figured something was going on, but I wanted to finish dressing a little man before I went exploring.  Moments later Husbandman called me from the pasture.  "We have feet."  As in, feet were poking out.  By the time I got there the first was out and she was busy cleaning it off.  We stayed outside the barn peeking over the side walls to watch.  After a little bit, I began to wonder if she really did only have 1 baby.  But then she laid down to labor on the 2nd.  That one came out easily and she immediately worked on the third.  I slipped in to clear the nose of #2 as she was too busy on the 3rd to do so.  Then she was back up and cleaning them off.  I went inside to get the iodine and towels.  When I came back out, Husbandman said it seemed like she was still pushing.  I said she must just be working on the placenta, but when I looked, the upper half of a 4th was hanging from her and she had decided she was done.  There it hung, alive and confused.  I assisted just to break the sack and cause it to fall free from her.  We were amazed.  Four babies, all alive, well-formed and mama dutifully attending to them all.  I dipped the umbilical cords and readied, again, for church. 

When we got home, we separated the babies from Dulci.  We need them able to drink from bottles, and we want at least some of that milk.  The kennel was all ready for them and the kids were anxious to play with their new furry friends.

We have 2 does and 2 bucks in the mix.   Though so tempted to name them Eenie, Meanie, Miney, and Moe, we decided it wouldn't be too nice to name a goat "Meanie".  So instead we named them Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.  One doe has long, pointy, nigerian dwarf ears while all the rest have tiny lamancha ears, so she's Flopsy.  One is brown while the rest are white so we named him Peter.  Mopsy and Cottontail look very similar, noted merely by 1 large spot on her right shoulder for Mopsy and 2 smaller spots on the same right shoulder for Cottontail. 

Since then, there's been more to distinguish them.  Like Flopsy and Cottontail will suck ferociously and are vigorous enough eaters that the kids have been feeding them for a week.  Peter and Mopsy don't suck.  They gnaw and swallow as milk dribbles into their mouths.  This means I feed them, and it takes a LONG time.  And both at times have had their turns of making me wonder if they would make it.  But between vitamin B injections, Nutri-drench and a lot of patience, they've each managed to hold their own.  And with nibbles here and there on leaves and grass that the kids pick for them, it may only be a couple more weeks that I have to force every drop of milk down their throats.  They won't be show quality, but they are definitely getting used to human cuddling.