Marcie to Kid Soon

Heavy with kids, Marcie lies down often.

We've been watching our big Saanen/Alpine cross doe, Marcie, get bigger and slower for some time. Now I am convinced that she will be kidding soon, possibly even tonight! Why do I think the birth is imminent? For one, there's her size. She's big and slow moving. Add to that her behavior: she has taken to lying down often, and has become resistant to climbing onto the milking stand.

Why are we milking a doe about to kid? An excellent question. The reason is that Ms. Marcie tested CAE positive (that's caprine arthritic encephalitis) and in order to keep her from passing it on to her kids, they should be pulled from her at birth and bottle fed. (Given the insanity of my off-the-farm schedule for the next several days--the Tennessee Master Gardener 2012 Winter School is fast approaching--I am questioning the decision to pull kids to be bottle fed. More on that when the time comes.) In the event that we do manage to pull her kids before they nurse, though, I am trying to keep Marcie milked dry; she, on the other hand, is reluctant to be milked. Since milking her is normally an easy process, I gather she is trying to retain her milk for the good of her kids.

Pronounced hips are an indicator of impending birth.

Another indication that kidding may be imminent is how pronounced her hips have become. I guess that's what is referred to as a pregnancy "dropping," which is an indicator of the dam getting ready to give birth.

Our Nubian triplets and a Savannah kid, Shea, seek warmth from the lamp.

While we watch and wait, I am mostly nervous because this is Marcie's third season with us and we have yet to get kids from her. Since she is our finest dairy goat, of course we want little Marcie's frolicking around our pastures. (The first year her kids were both breech births and both stillborn. The second year she appeared to be pregnant, but we never saw her kid. We're hoping this year's birthing will go well.)