It Was Not Supposed To Happen Like This

My brother came over to my house for Easter and told me my goats would have their babies following the rain.  He swore that the old goat farmer at the ranch always said the rain dropped the baby goats.  This morning I didn't have school which called for a 10am wake up call.  I rolled out of bed to feed the animals and heard a crazy sound coming from the barn.  I grabbed my boots, hopping while getting them on my feet, and ran to the barn.  I was not prepared for what I saw.  Belle was rolling on the ground, moaning and there was, what looked like a goat leg coming out of her.  After having read all of the information in preparation for the arrival of these babies I knew this was not right.

I took a deep breath and approached her.  She looks at me and begs for me to do something to help her.  I am truly at a loss.  Not wanting to leave her, I try to figure out how to get my phone from the house without leaving her side.  No ideas.  I sprint to the house, making a mental note to sleep in a sports bra during kidding season next year.  I grab my phone and call my neighbor who is the resident goat expert.  She does not answer.  Instead I leave her a frantic voice message and a text, hoping she will come as soon as she hears the news.  I phone the vet and they assure me he can be here within the hour.  I call another vet, a dear friend of mine, and she is out at a ranch and it will take her two hours to arrive.  I am out of ideas so I put on the gloves and attempt to fix the problem.

Belle is increasingly uncomfortable and as I slide my hand in to feel what leg I see and to find the rest of the goat she cries loudly.  There seems to be more blood than I anticipated.  After thirty minutes of trying to figure the whole thing out she started becoming less responsive.  Her cries were faint.  I was petting her and telling her it was all going to be okay and the vet was coming any minute.  More blood pooled on the floor and I grabbed my goat handbook, now covered in blood, to try and figure out how to help her.  I don't know how long she was in this situation.  Goats often give birth at dawn which puts her labor at about three hours at this point.  She starts to lay her head down and makes only shallow breathing sounds.  I called the vet's office and they told me he was on the way.  Belle's head is in my lap and I'm stroking her face and ears telling her it is all going to fine in a minute as the doctor is on his way.

I leaned over and kissed her sweet face and realize the front gate is closed.  At that moment I hear someone running toward the barn.  I yelled, "I'm over here!!!!!!"  The vet comes in and kneels next to me and begins to listen to assess her.  He slowly raised his eyes and I knew what he was going to say.  Just then Belle let out a loud sigh and her head relaxed in my lap.  I looked at the vet, tears streaming down my face.  I was unable to speak.  I asked if we could take the babies out via c-section.  He said they likely died during the ordeal and he was not hearing any heartbeats or seeing any movement.  I placed my lips on her beautiful face and my tears rolled along her cheek and to the ground.  I couldn't stop the tears.  The vet helped me lift her on to a wheel barrow and I moved her out of the barn so her sister didn't have to see her body.  I thanked the vet and walked him only a few steps.  He knew I wasn't going to "see him out" as I was grieving for my Augusta Belle.

After a while Brett walked outside wondering where I had been.  He saw Augusta Belle in the wheel  barrow and began to cry.  I walked in to the barn and grabbed a shovel to start digging her grave.  I wouldn't be able to wait till my husband got home.  I started digging and digging and digging and realized this was a terrible april fool's day story to tell you.  I don't usually play terrible jokes on people and as I wrote this blog post I cried real tears.  None of this happened today.  My goats, Augusta Belle and Pip are still very pregnant.  What you've just read is a real life worry, but not a real life event.

I am so thankful for the day off today to recover from the weekend (Day 101).  Goodnight Friends!