Babies

The stork visited us on Monday afternoon. Yay! It wasn't without a bumpy landing, however, as we had to call the vet out to pull the kids. I couldn't make heads or tails of the hooves in there, they were definitely malpresented, but sorting it out was not easy, even for him. But, miracle worker that he is, he got them out and they were two healthy bucklings. I had hoped for more does, but these boys are out of a buck that is amazing, and I am excited, as they could bring a lot of money (or fabulous bloodlines to my own herd, should I decide to keep them). One negative thing is that one of the babies was born breech, and as such is having leg problems. They should work themselves out in a week or two, but until then he cannot stand and nurse, so we are having to tube feed him or pick him up to nurse every 4 hours. It's cold out there for all of us! A little BoSe yesterday and he should be okay in a few days.

I have tried to spend a lot of time noticing the goats' behavior lately. B and I had some thoughts about animal communication, and we decided that they understand human behaviors much more than we give them credit for, and we believe it is because humans rely so much on our ability to hear and speak with each other. We don't use body language or smell or sight as much to infer mood or intent. But with the "communication barrier" that we have with animals, they are forced to watch us and study us and get to know our body language to interpret our mood and intentions.

It was especially amazing to me to think of this during the whole kidding process. She started to kid outside, and I managed to walk her into the barn and into the kidding pen without a lead. I did not leave her side except to call the vet, and she clearly wanted me there to reassure her. Now that her babies are born, she does not permit any cats in the pen (she will headbutt and try to bite them), and if the dogs are too close to the pen, she will headbutt the pen as well. She has tried to drive the children away, though not as aggressively as the animals, but with B and I, she is very tolerant and needy. She stands to be milked, though she has never been milked. She is an amazing animal, and we give her credit for that-- do you suppose she knows?

I know that this all seems as though we personify her, and that's not really the case. But we do want to give animals the credit they deserve for being intelligent, sentient animals.

I saw a quote in a book once, specifically referring to a photo of a cat with a human. It said, "I stay because I am free to go." That is so fitting for my relationship with my animals-- it is an unspoken mutual trust. It was never verbally agreed upon, terms were never laid out or discussed. It just is, and it's just as powerful as any agreement between humans.