Spring is truly spring when the goats start kidding, even if it is snowing again. So far Esme has had a single billy kid. He's very friendly and tolerates plenty of kissing and cuddling from the children! I was unsure if she was going to kid because she showed no signs of pregnancy that I could detect, probably because it wasn't her normal set of twins, just the one. When there are twins packed in there it's easy to feel them moving around if you place your hand on the underbelly of the goat. At first it can be tricky to decipher between the wriggling of the foetus and the constant gurgling of the goats many stomachs, but a bit of practice helps.
I became suspicious that she might well be in kid after all when I noticed changes in her behaviour around the field .... sleeping in the sunshine, grazing a bit further away from the 'crowd' and spending some time in the goat house during the day resting while the others ventured out ... sure enough after seeing this happen for about a week, along came Billy the Kid!
For more information on how to keep goats try the ebooklet available to buy from the Paypal store on the right hand column.

