Third set of triplets

So far our kid count is 8 girls and 3 boys.  Luti gave birth to triplet girls today.  The lighter colored girls are pretty big.   The smallest of the 3 is brown with white ears and looks like many of the other kids, taking after her dad.

Luti is an awesome mom.  She makes it all look so easy and she has plenty of milk for 3.

This has not been the case for Respa.  It's interesting to see how different all the mothers are.  Darla's kids are very independent and I hardly ever see them with her but she shows up to feed them regularly and they're bouncy and doing great.  Respa's boys have been nursing fine but this morning I thought the little girl looked cold and hungry with her back all hunched up like hungry kids do.  I made a note to myself to keep an eye on her.  I went out a few hours later and found her in the corner of the barn feeling stiff and very cold.  I was sure she was dead.  Well, she was nearly dead.  Her mouth was very cold and I could just feel a little movement in her so I decided to try to tube feed her and see if we could save her.  I really didn't think she'd live another 30 minutes.  I quickly coaxed Pessa in to milk her since I didn't have any milk and her udder looked like it could use some relief.  I took the weak kid indoors and James kept her warm while I got things ready.  In 6 years I've never had to tube feed a baby so I wondered if it would be as simple as everyone says it is.  I wasn't nervous, probably because I knew we had no other choice.  The tube went down very easily and she didn't cough or gasp so I knew it didn't go into the lungs.   

I gave her about 40 ml of warm milk but then later read I should have first given her some diluted coffee, molasses and electrolytes to give her some quick energy.  I knew you weren't supposed to feed a cold baby but I felt we didn't have much time to wait till she was warm.  An hour after I gave her the first dose of milk I gave her the coffee/molasses/vit E and water mixture.  I think I tube fed her at least 3 or 4 times in 5 hours and kept her in a cooler with a towel in front of a heater or tucked inside my coveralls on my chest while I took a nap.  By the afternoon she was able to stand, cry and took a little bit of milk from the bottle so I returned her to the barn to be with her brothers and feathered sister to bask in the warm sunshine.   

I'm not sure if Respa will mother her or not, especially since she has the smell of Pessa's milk on her.  I'll keep a close watch on her and will probably have to continue to bottle feed her.  Anyone want a bottle baby?

Pessa mothers her kids very different than Darla.  She's SO protective and drives everyone crazy, including me.  She stands in front of the doorway of the barn and you cannot pass her without her yelling and trying to butt every goat out of the way lest they come anywhere near her kids.  She doesn't mind me near or Cooper, just everyone else.  Her kids are struggling with nursing also because her teats are so gigantic and close to the ground.  I've helped them a few times and have also given them a bottle of her milk but I hope they catch on soon.  They sleep a lot and aren't real active yet but I really don't want to have to continue to bottle feed them.  

We have 2 more girls left to kid.  I hope they don't have triplets.