Goat kids are special. They are cute and soon provide hours of fun watching their various escapades. Waiting for them to be born doesn’t include thinking about goat birth defects.
Like people, goats grow old. High Reaches Juliette is old. She got bred by accident – she wasn’t supposed to be in season, her daughter was, but she wasn’t as out of season as I thought – and I watched with a mix of anticipation and dread. The dread won.
Goat Birth Defects
Yes, livestock can have babies born with birth defects. Juliette’s single kid was born with several. Why? I will never know.
In a way, I think Juliette knew. Most new mothers talk to their kids. She says nothing. She doesn’t look for her kid.
The kid was born dead. There was nothing to be done for it, if it was alive.
Disappointment
Yes, I am disappointed. The strain of wondering if the kid would be born during the recent cold made sleeping hard. I was glad the kid waited.
When Juliette showed all the signs of imminent kidding, I was excited. The prospect of new kids brightened my day.
Now there is a different disappointment. Goat birth defects have been rare in my herd, only a handful over almost fifty years. Each is a loss and felt as a loss.
Living With Disappointment
Goat birth defects are disappointing. Such kids are usually born dead or must be destroyed as they will not survive.
Louie, a blind kid, was an exception. He learned to get around quite well and lived several years before falling victim to illness.
Losing livestock is part of life for owners. It’s always disappointing and demands reflection as to what happened, why and changes to prevent it in the future. Unfortunately, this loss for me has no obvious cause or prevention.
Looking Forward
Four does are due to kid in March. All are younger.
Like Juliette, I will put this behind me. March kids will be here in two months.