New videos of births and pictures at the
bottom of the page.
The pictures on this page were all taken here at Sweet Gum Minis of our
does during kiddings. Some photos are to show you what to look for when
you expect your doe to kid. Also what things may happen during delivery
and of course the actual delivery. Its hard sometimes to get decent
pictures because I am so busy with the kidding itself. I rarely have
much help during a delivery so I will try when I can to get more. If I
find photos from previous kiddings I'll add them also. Thanks for
looking, hope they're helpful! :~)
Ligaments Left: This doe is very close to kidding,
but is not quite ready yet. I am feeling for her "ligaments". The run
from the hips to pins down either side of the doe's spine down her rump.
My thumb and index finger are touching both ligaments. This doe still
has obvious ligaments. When a doe is either not close or even open (unbred),
they will feel like pencils under the skin. Very hard. When a doe is
getting close, but still has a few days to a few weeks to go, they'll
get softer, like rubber bands. They'll start off tight with just a
little movement, and slowly get softer and softer. They can even lose
one and still have the other or be so low you can only barely feel the
top of one. When she is ready to kid they will "disappear" completely.
The entire tail head area will be mush, just like the right picture.
This doe is overdue and ready to deliver. When the ligaments completely
disappear, then they generally kid within the next 24 hours. Most of
mine are about 12 hours from the time I notice the ligaments
disappearing. We do not leave a doe when the ligaments disappear. We
listen on the baby monitor and she is stalled in a birthing stall where
she can be watched via our cameras until she is ready to kid.
Contredanse Kidding with
twins This is Contredanse entering a contraction
(left), watch her tail in these photos. Her tail arches out away from
her body when not having a contraction. As a contraction approaches it
goes up and then curves up over her back. Some does show these signs,
others do not. Right you can see her getting ready to have a contraction
sitting like a dog. Now we have a bubble. There are actually 2
bags that cover the kids. One for each kid and one that all kids are in.
Both have fluid in them. They often rupture on their own, however
I often break the bubble anyway. This does not hurt the doe or kid, all
it does is make it easier for me to see what's coming when the kid is
coming out of the birth canal. After the bubble bursts it often can have
nothing in it or it may have a long stream of goop like the photo to the
far right. This means a baby is coming! Sometimes you'll see feet or
other parts of the kid.
Contredanse kidded twins after the last picture was taken. Both
presented correctly and she needed no help at all delivering them. The
babies are SGM AZ Danse The Cha-Cha and Break Danser.
Luna Kidding with
triplets This is a normal presentation of two
feet first. You won't see the nose right away since the neck is not as
long as the legs. If the feet come out with the bottom of the feet
facing down, then the kid is coming out diving position or the correct
position. Another correct position is the feet soles facing up, this is
backwards, but still correct. Shortly after seeing the two feet you will
see a tongue. This is normal, all kids have their tongues out while in
the sack. Some does kid standing up as Luna did here, and some lay down.
Luna kidded with triplet bucklings after these photos were taken. All 3
came in the normal diving position and needed no assistance at all.
Secrets Kidding with Quadruplets! I finally caught a birth on
video. Well more than one video. Below you'll find a few videos of
Secrets kidding easily with her four new babies in 2011. The first kid
is seen being born in the first video, the second kid came out quickly
between afterwards. The second video shows the third kids birth. She had
3 doelings then last a buckling. They're all doing great!
*Side note: The kids in the background yelling are bottle babies. They
have just been moved over with some other kids and are reduced to one
bottle a day so they're very unhappy that we're not paying them
attention. To top that off its actually right at their bottle time so
they are letting us know what they think about it. ;~)
First kids delivery.
Delivery of the third kid.
(Left): Secrets starting a contraction. (Right): Secrets thrusting
out her rear leg in the height of the contraction. (Left): Secrets nipping her side during the painful contraction. Some
does do this. (Right): A nose and foot are starting to come out of the
brith canal. I fished the foot forward since the kid was coming head
first. (Left): A bubble is presented
and I am popping to see what is inside the bag. Just to ensure the kid
is coming correctly. (Right:)And a new baby arrives! I am holding onto
the foot and the head is sliding out along with it.
