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A Breakthrough with Carmelina
This morning, I went inside the pen to distribute some morning petties (Paolo would be bringing the food in a bit) and ended up having a major breakthrough with Carmelina, at least from my point of view.
We didn’t get Carmelina as a young kid; she was already a few months old by the time she came to us. Needless to say, most people around here don’t handle their goats the way we do, certainly not the way I raised Pasqualina — with a bottle and lots of caresses.
So Carmelina has always been, while not exactly skittish, just a bit standoffish when it comes to prolonged petties. She’ll stay for hours at the fence if I’m scratching her face — as I stand on the *outside* of the pen. But when I’m inside, she’ll only hold still for a few face strokes; she’s not much into the full body massage. In fact, touching the back of her is grounds for a head butt in Carmelina’s world.
Yes, she worries me for kidding and milking time. I have a sneaking suspicion this one is going to be a kicker.
But today I was pleasantly surprised when Carmelina stood still for several minutes and let me pull some burrs out of the fur of her hind quarters. The new hay we got seems to have a lot of these little guys whereas the old hay didn’t have them at all. As Carmelina’s fur resembles that of a mountain goat, thick and long, these tend to get caught up in her fur more than they do in Pasqualina’s or Margherita’s.
It was wonderful to share some early morning bonding time with Carmelina. Does tend to get more affectionate as they approach delivery time, I’ve read.
I’m hoping this is Carmelina’s way of starting to let me in.
The Kidding Process: One Nervous Goat Ma
On my nightly after-dinner walk with the dogs, I stopped in at the goat pen to say hello. Margherita and Carmelina came to the gate immediately, but I couldn’t see Pasqualina.
So I went inside and there she was, kind of off in the corner, laying down. She bleated to me twice–totally normal-sounding calls. For those who have never owned goats, yes, you do know what’s normal and not normal in their cries…and you can even tell them apart. She usually gets up to greet me.
I petted her a bit, felt around her tail for the tell-tale ligament loosening that happens when a doe is preparing to give birth, and I will say, they do feel looser than normal. But it’s my first time! What do I know?
Anyway, things *do* seem to be proceeding as they should, except I can’t help being a worry wart, thinking “What if she’s laying down because she’s not feeling well…you know, other than having a kid or more inside of her wanting to get out?!”
I was the same way when Stella was having puppies a few years ago, by the way, always thinking of worst case scenarios. I like to think it helps me be prepared in case I’m called into action (animals generally can take care of this stuff on their own, right?), but I think all it really does is give me insomnia.
Pfft….
P.S. A *huge* thank you to the wonderful Naimhe Jeanne and Martha Ann of All Things Goat who are helping to calm my nerves!
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GoatSpotting!
Goats that readers have spotted out and about. Send your photos to michelle(at)goatberries(dot)com!
